In this issue:

The 33rd Dutch Vietnam

Management Supporter
This magazine was first
published in March 2007. t is
digitall! distributed among
m! Vietnamese " Dutch
business " pri#ate associa$
tes.
%urpose& to 'eep !ou
informed about m! acti#ities
in Vietnam and o#erseas
This amazingl! attracti#e and
energetic countr! has rapid$
l! con(uered m! soul. t is m!
home awa! from home.
)oe' *opsta'en
Pr of . L oek Hops t aken

Emai l :
l oek@hops t aken. com
Mobi l e:
090 888 940
!ctober "0# $0"4
8th %ear# no. &
+n!thing ,oes
-urocham " D.+V
/
2
0or'ing with 1+2-
Vinbi3& business e3$
change 4 Minh *ung
3
5
Millennials are eager
*eine'en6 .)+
)eadership 7 la Du'e
1lients 4 1ontact info
8
9
7
:
D.+V ;l!er


<



Anything
Goes

1ole %orter
'n%thin( )oes
For decades the no. 1 advise for startups was: concentrate
on one product that predictably meets a demand.
The assumption behind this was that you can be good at
one thing, but not at many.
Like so many things in the business world, this once pop-
ular one-liner has proven to be false. It seems we now live
in a Diversify, or die!-era. Then again, watch out for
those one-liners. "s a #$%&ies kid, I prefer Anything Goes.
'istory confirms this blunt statement, again ( again.
)ome disagree, some prefer denial. *ut it+s hard to disa-
gree with reality, or to deny it. ,ole -orter was right.
)cience, business, the arts.all fields where an avant
garde defies e/isting ideas and norms by e/ploring ( dis-
covering something new. That+s why I suggest to be open
to change. In business re0ection of a new product because
it disagrees with e/isting products tends to result in loss-
es. Like when out-of-the-blue a competitor arrives on the
market to wake ( shake up the business world. Tesla 12
The 3#st ,entury 1 "nything goes. "gain.
!ne *a% to +i(
+eeper into ,iet-
namese culture is
to .isit the imperial
cita+el in Hue.
/hen there# rea+
the te0t on the
man% posters. 1ou
ma% +isco.er that
in ,ietnamese soci-
et% man% elements
of the empire are
still ali.e.

2
8th year, no. 3
The 33rd Dutch Vietnam
Management Supporter
4hen you work in a country like 5ietnam, you soon find out it has two
sides. 5ietnam is eager to attract foreign investment to support its econo-
my and by doing that, to provide professional work opportunities for
5ietnamese. )ince the country opened up in the #$$&ies and in 3&&6
became a 4T7-member, countless foreign companies have set up shop in 5ietnam. 7ver
the years many barriers to do successful business have been removed. )till, official re-
strictions make running a business often unnecessary hard. )ome deal with the still com-
plicated and lengthy procedures to get work ( residence permits. That+s why 8urocham,
as the -ublic "ffairs branch of the combined 8uropean business interests, publishes a
yearly 4hitebook, offering a range of suggestions to improve the business climate.
If %ou *ant to achie.e %our (oals# help others to achie.e theirs.
=ig =iglar
Eurocham: impro.in( the business climate
In Vietnam several countries have their own
Chamber of Commerce: "mcham 9:)";,
"uscham 9"ustralia;, ,ancham 9,anada;. Euro-
cham represents 8uropean countries. Its events
( services facilitate doing business in 5ietnam.
The Dutch Business Association Vietnam
9D*"5; supports Dutch entrepreneurs ( e/pats
by providing information as well as communica-
tion ( social platforms.

" D*"5 member is also a
8urocham member.
Chairwoman icola Connolly welcomes
new !urocham "embers.
As a child we look up to the skies &
fantacize about the shapes of clouds.
On a HueHCMC flight these clouds
triggered my childhood fantasy.
2o.ember $3 I *ill +eli.er a seminar in
Ho 4hi Minh 4it% about ,ietnamese
culture 5 ,ietnamese (enerations.
See page 9.

The 33rd Dutch Vietnam
Management Supporter
8th year, no. 3 3
4oachin( *ith 4'6E
7ra.el is fatal to pre8u+ice# bi(otr%# an+
narro*-min+e+ness. Mar' Twain
CARE Vietnam is a non-governmental organi<ation 9=>7;, aiming to improve the living conditions
of the disadvantaged.in particular, marginali<ed 5ietnamese women. To reach this goal ,"?8 focu-
ses on women empowerment pro#ects. @unded by international donors, these pro0cts are e/ecuted in
close collaboration with local 5ietnamese. =eedless to say, working for ,"?8 is demandingA it reBui-
res a strong belief in its mission and determination to bring about positive, lasting change. 7nce a
year all ,"?8 staff get together to e/change e/periences and lessons-learned, to improve their skills,
and to learn new ones.

7ne of the characteristics
of ,"?8+s organi<ation is
management at a distan-
ceA pro0ects run in rural
areas all over the country.
To enable smoothly run
pro0ects, staff needs skills,
content! ( organi<atio-
nal support. 8ffectiveness
largely depends on con-
stantly updating ( upgra-
ding these three areas.
,"?8 teams focus on
Gender !$uity, %isaster
&is' &eduction ( Climate
Change, Advocacy ( )n-
clusion, *nowledge "a-
nagement, and +perati-
ons. It+s an honor to serve
,"?8 5ietnam.

The 33rd Dutch Vietnam
Management Supporter
8th year, no. 3 4
Cy friend ( associate Dr. =go-"nh ,lement, ,87 of 5inbi/, asked me to 0oin him for a day+s
tour of Cinh 'ung >roup factories in Tien >iang -rovince, close to ',C,. -urposeA to
introduce a proven-successful business concept. 7ur tour guide was mr. Tran 'oang 'uy,
founder 9#$$3;, owner ( Director of Cinh 'ung >roup. I was impressed
by the state-of-the-art setup, the efficiency ( Buality management, e/cel-
lent staff working conditions, and the cleanliness of its production areas.

Copied,pasted from the -inbi. website /www.vinbi..com0:
9tate-of-the-art copy & paste
Director Mr. Tran oan! u"
,I2:I; pro#ides the growing number of established global corporate entities doing business in Vietnam
and Southeast +sia with dedicated manufacturing ser#ices in order to foster suppl! chain transparenc!
and sustainabilit!.

,I2:I; is a >.usiness +ccelerator? suppl!ing uni(ue end$to$end ser#ices to our business partners. ;le3ible
and proacti#e@ our compan! acts as !our trusted contract manufacturer and distributor@ deli#ering (ualit!
controlled finished products to !our proposed distribution channels.

Why put yourself through a maze of red tape& obtaining licenses and permits@ finding appropriate loca$
tions@ building a factor!@ hiring local emplo!ees@ outsourcing suppliers@ managing production process@
handling ta3 issues@ finding logistic resources . . . or setting up ris'! Aoint$#enturesB
Let us do the job for you! Consider V!"# an e$tension of your %or&force in Vietnam!
1. We will build a factory according to your specs, including importing your designated equipment.
2. 0e will hire and train (ualified emplo!ees for bringing !our (ualit! products to mar'et.
3. 0e will handle personnel management@ production@ and logistics according to !our re(uirements.
5. 0e will in#est "00< in building and running !our full!$insured factor! in Vietnam. Cou ma! super#ise all
the production acti#ities remotel!@ #ia %$based #ideo securit! sur#eillance.
8. Cou will guarantee our production process with a :ank )uarantee D$'eep !our mone! in !our ban'$E
and allocate us a negotiated margin for the finished products.
9. Cou will assign inspectors for Fualit! 1ontrol@ prior to shipment to !our designated distribution channels.
7. Cou will reimburse our costs according to our mutuall! agreed contractual agreement for the finished
products.
#ro$ucin! mos%uito be$nets for &umitomo
'( million )er "ear

5
8th year, no. 3
The 33rd Dutch Vietnam
Management Supporter
A returnin! conversational to)ic: *!enerations+. Carketing books like to use the
*aby *oomers!, >en D! or the Cillennials! as a group with a range of specific charac-
teristics, caused by world or cultural events when a generation began to come of age!.
)trauss ( 'owe are often referred toA *aby *oomers born between #$E3.#$%# 9growing
up with rock ( roll and The *eatles;, >eneration D #$%#.#$F3, and then the Cillennials
9or >en G!; between #$F3.3&&E. )ome call the generation that is now entering high-
school the 3&3&! generation. *e that as it may, it means very little if you are 5ietnamese
or an entrepreneur seeking to define your target groups in 5ietnam. ?easonA world and
cultural events that are facts for the 4estern world are simply not true for this country.
)o when I found that 5ietnamese students were dutifully memori<ing the te/t about *a-
by *oomers, >en D ( Cillennials, I couldn+t resist asking them if they recogni<ed it as an
aid to understand the 5ietnamese market. ?eplyA no. This marks the start of my own
modest research into the 5ietnamese >enerations. To understand the 5ietnamese >ener-
ations, you first need to understand 5ietnamese culture ( know its history. Cost foreign-
ers learn what they know about 5ietnam from tourist guide books, "/tell+s >estures! or
the Hiss, *ow ( )hake 'ands! book. These resources are great in providing tips and pre-
venting one from making silly mistakes in interactions with 5ietnamese. *ut if you want
to know how 5ietnamese really think, why they behave a certain way or what their real
values are, you have to dig a little deeper. I don+t pretend to fully grasp the 5ietnamese
soul. *ut I do listen to the 5ietnamese >enerations, and whenever I don+t understand, I
ask my 5ietnamese friends about the what, the how ( the why. 1ee the flyer2 final page.
,ietnamese Millennials: ea(er to take o.er
=on>t 8ust teach %our chil+ren to rea+. 7each them to ?uestion *hat the%
rea+. 7each them to ?uestion e.er%thin(.
,eorge 1arlin
After a seminar at the ,niversit" of -oo$ In$ustr" about
career )lannin! . learnin! En!lish.
Ms. Vu Bao Chau/ Director Vietlearnin!
. Communit" Develo)ment Center

The 33rd Dutch Vietnam
Management Supporter
8th year, no. 3 6
9a% cheers@
In )eptember I delivered
a 3-day Centoring course
to top managers of Viet-
nam Breweries 0imi-
te$, also known as 'ei-
neken.
-er policy, all 'eineken
managers need to know
how to coach ( mentor.
*ack row, %th from rightA
,87 Leo 8vers. )eated
bottom right is Cs. =a-
thanie *erkenbosch, who
assisted me during the
many e/ercises.
Cid 3&&F a semi-
nar for law stu-
dents on mediati-
on started my
relationship with
the Internatio-
nal Business .
0aw Aca$em".
It serves lawyers
( ,87+s who
want to improve
their know-how
( skills.
4e are revising
its curriculum.
'(e is an issue of min+ o.er matter.
If %ou +onAt min+# it +oesnAt matter.
Mar' Twain
1bottom row 2th from ri!ht3 Davi$ Cam)bell/ a -e$eral District 4u$!e
from #hoeni5/ Ari6ona. e lecture$ about liti!ation issues in the ,&A.
1bottom row/ mi$$le3 Ma$ame &on/ #resi$ent IB0A.
7ualit" Mana!ement has its ori!in in
final ins)ection. A 7ualit" Ins)ector
chec8s if the s)ecs are in )lace.
In Vietnam not all 7ualit" Ins)ectors
master En!lish. 9ith sometimes fun-
n"/ now . then embarrassin! results.
0i8e this e5clusive car mat.

7
8th year, no. 3
The 33rd Dutch Vietnam
Management Supporter
In #$I$, weeks before =a<i >erma-
ny invaded -oland and detonated
4orld 4ar II, the orchestra of
"merican 0a<< legend Duke 8lling-
ton toured 8urope. "fter a train
ride through >ermany.a confus-
ing sight for "ryan supremacy be-
lievers.the band arrived in The
'ague. "s a fan of Duke and his
band a picture like this tells me
much more than black gentlemen
with a bicycle.! I see alto ( sopra-
no sa/ophone legend Johnny 'odg-
es, supreme trumpeter ,ootie 4il-
liams, and voted 3&th ,entury no. # baritone sa/ player! 'arry ,arney, cornerstone of
the band. Duke rides the bike. "ll four are considered immortals in the 0a<< pantheon.
9Listen to *lue ?everie! on *enny >oodman+s #$IF ,arnegie 'all ,oncert.GouTube;
Ellin!ton was one hell of an em)lo"er. Those three men started their careers as
8llingtonians in the late #$3&ies. 'odges ( 4illiams left to pursue solo careers, but re-
turned to the fold and stayed until the end. ,arney+s loyalty stretched over EK years.
Duke+s leadership habits includeA
3and pic' your musicians
yourself2 but follow leads from
band members.
4et a star soloist only play
solo when he has learned his
parts ( his place in the band.
5hen a star misbehaves2 let
him solo until he drops /almost0.
+nly fire someone when he
threatens to harm or 'ill a co-
band member.
)f you want someone to $uit2
ignore him profoundly.
6ay them handsomely.
K& years of creative leadership.
I>m eas% to please. Bust (i.e me the best.
Du'e -llington
' real *ork of art +estro%s# in the consciousness of the
recei.er# the separation bet*een himself an+ the artist.
)e# Tolsto!
Ma" :;<2/ Amster$am: full house. Davi$ Ber!er con$ucts
the Amster$am Conservator" 4a66 =rchestra/ )la"in! an
all-Ellin!ton . &tra"horn re)ertoire.

8 8th year, no. 3
In ,ietnam: a.o. business fiel+
Tan Thuan %1 ndustrial de#elopment
*1M1 Gni#ersit! of Technolog! M.+ program
2MT D*1M1 campusE %ro 1omm facult!
2o!al .usiness School 1ourses " seminars
nt. .usiness " )aw +cadem! D.)+E Training " consultanc!
Vietnam +irlines D2.S6 SME nternational airline
Vietnam Singapore .%. DS%-1T2+E ndustrial par'
%etronas DS%-1T2+E 1hemical factor!
%etronas 1arigali D%+1-E Hil " gas
Ii'e DTae Jwang VinaE DS%-1T2+E Shoe factor!
)e " +ssociates Training " consultanc!
Sacomban' DTraining *ouseE Training " consultanc!
Ministr! of )..S.+. D2.SE 1i#il Ser#ants
SHIC Vietnam D2.SE 1onsumer electronics
1apita)and Vietnam DS%-1T2+E 2eal estate
nstitute for %otential )eaders 4 %+1- 1ourses " seminars
Dalat *asfarm D+gri#inaE %ot plants@ cut flowers
*oanggia Media ,roup Je! to Success TV Show
;resh ,reen -arth *i$tech agriculture
Gni(ue Design nterior Design4archit.
-21 nstitute Vietnam .usiness school
Schoeller .lec'mann Vietnam Hilfield -(uipment
2obert .osch Vietnam D%+1-E -lectronics
De *eus Vietnam +nimal food
1ontrol Gnion Vietnam DS%-1T2+E Fualit! inspections
1entre for Tropical Med.KH3ford Gni. 1linical research
Jhue Van +cadem! 1ourses " seminars
1+2- Vietnam D+TE I,H
+sian nstitute of Technolog! D+TE Training " consultanc!
*1M1 ;in. " n#est. 1ompan! D+TE n#estments
+cadem! of ;inance M.+ DGn. of ,loucesterE
T-F Vietnam Mono$parts4assemblies
Vietnam .reweries )td D*eine'enE .rewer!

In 7he 2etherlan+s# a.o.
I, .an' ;inancial ser#ices
%hilips -lectronics
*eine'en .rewer!
Camaha Musical instruments
Damen Ship!ards Ship repair wharfs
The 33rd Dutch Vietnam Management Supporter

Loek Hopstaken>s 4lients
In ol+en +a%s# a
(limpse of stockin(
/as looke+ on as
somethin( shockin(.
:ut no*# )o+ kno*s#
'n%thin( (oes.
If +ri.in( fast cars
%ou like#
If lo* bars %ou like#
If ol+ h%mns %ou like#
If bare limbs %ou like#
If Mae /est %ou like#
!r me un+resse+ %ou
like# *h%#
nobo+% *ill oppose.
'n%thin( (oes.

7he =,M 9upporter is publishe+ b%
Prof. Loek Hopstaken.
Email: loek@hopstaken.com or
loek.hopstaken@(mail.com
Mobile: 090 888 940
+ssistant& Ms. Vo Igoc )ien *uong
-mail& Aane.hopsta'enLgmail.com
Mobile& 0<0 ::: <58/
Profile: http:CC***.linke+in.comCinCloekhopstaken
'n%thin( (oes@
7he *orl+ has (one
ma+ to+a%
5 (oo+>s ba+ to+a%#
5 black>s *hite to+a%
5 +a%As ni(ht to+a%#
5 that (ent to+a%
1ou (a.e a cent to-
+a%
!nce ha+ se.eral
chateau0.
'n%thin( (oes@

1ole %orter

=i((in( +eeper into the ,ietnamese cultural i+entit%:
iConfucius'
,enue: to be announce+D***.eurocham.n.or(