An

excerpts from Barefoot Leaders The Art and Heart of Going That Extra Mile by Alvin Ung.
Chapter 2 Embrace your calling
Dato Sri Idris Jala, the fast-rising turnaround guru at Shell, was asked this golden question one day:
Would you like to become CEO of a global airline?.
There were just a few hiccups, though, the top government official explained. At that time, Malaysia
Airlines had lost more than RM1 billion in one year the worst in the companys sixty-year history.
Company morale was rock-bottom. Airline analysts predicted more turbulence in the industry,
especially with budget airlines and fuel prices on the rise.
And one more thing. In six weeks, the company would be out of cash. If Idris failed, he would be
grounded, along with the planes. All the nineteen thousand staff who lost their jobs and their
families would be cursing him forever.
Idris polled friends and family about the decision. Youll crash and burn, Idriss friends warned.
Youll fail, said Idris wife. How could someone with zero experience in the airline industry do this?
And why would anyone leave one of the worlds more profitable companies to lead one of the
worlds least profitable companies?
But something stirred deep within Idris. As a boy who grew up in Bario, a Kelabit village in the
remote Sarawak highlights, Idris remembered joining his grandfather on hunting expeditions. God,
help me chop down this tree, his grandfather prayed, as he created a clearing in the jungle. The
clearing became a space for sunlight to dispel the gloom of the dense forest canopy. In the clearing,
everyone felt safe. They saw the sky. There was hope.
Idris sensed that deep down he could create such a clearing for the people at MAS. He had prayed
about it. And he felt called to do it. So he said yes.
The rest is history. Less than three years after Idris announced the turnaround plan, MAS posted
record profits and Idris won many awards for rescuing the airline.
There is no certainty you can achieve what you want to achieve, said Idris, as he reflected on those
intense three years. Its only when we understand that things are not in our control and
ultimately only God is in control we can do the best that we can. Thats when we treat our work
like our calling.
*** Barefoot Leaders The Art and Heart of Going That Extra Mile is available at major bookstores in
Malaysia (e.g. Popular, Borders, Kinokuniya, MPH). You can also check out Alvin Ungs blog at
www.barefootleadership.my