Mr. Le Ba Thong – TTT Corporation CEO   Being professional while playing, while working and even in the anger are quite complete sketching lines of the portrait of TTT CEO Le Ba Thong By Thanh Dung - The Bridge of Investment Newspaper 24/05/2010 Half of the year 2010 has not been over but TTT Trading and Construction Joint-Stock Corporation, specializing in design, construction and interior decoration, is not able to get more customers because there have been the contracts signed until the end of the year. The work is overmany but the Company’s schedule of entertainment does not change. And CEO Le Ba Thong is rarely absent from the parties of Singing Entrepreneurs Club (HCMC), Young Entrepreneurs Club of HCM City (YBA) ... Recently, while opening for the chain of "Café on Saturday morning” talking about the subject of management organized by YBA, he also "incited" the entrepreneurs to follow the model of joyful company.   Le Ba Thong’s style of entertainment Le Huy Truc, an architect of the company, won the prize for outstanding individual who "Works hard and plays hard” in 2009. Besides the bonus, Truc also received a trip overseas, equivalent to the reward for the best staff in expertise. Each year, TTT gives approximately 20% of the working time to a number of employees in group just to take care of the entertainment of the Company. Losing 20% of the working time of a number of staff and on the birthday of TTT, the whole Company closes the door to travel for pleasure, but the revenue per capita is not only unchanged but also increases. "That is the difference," Le Ba Thong confirms. Nearly every company organizes for their staff to travel for pleasure, but after the trip whether the revenue and profit of the company has increased or not is something that the management should seriously takes into consideration. Being professional while playing is what he said repeatedly in the exchange session “Café on Saturday morning". His working schedule includes going out for a drink, going out for a coffee with his employees. For him, it is also part of the work. Because only when the employees feel comfortable they can increase the efficiency of the work. However, that is not enough, because in his opinion, being professional also needs playing sincerely. This must originate from the management. "At work, bosses must act like bosses, employees must behave like employees. But while playing, everybody is friends" he said. No party of TTT takes place without him. In fact, he has also drawn his staff to follow him by implementing programs such as Enterpreuners Night Meeting, businessmen "Breathe and smile", Green Painting … directed by him. Le Ba Thong confirms, the model of joyful company is a model which should be applied, especially for newly established companies to create cohesion among members. TTT has adopted this approach early and has maintained until now. However, businesses should not stereotype the model of TTT. Having the same opinion with Le Ba Thong, Mr. Cao Tien Vi, Chairman of the Board of Management of Saigon Paper Joint Stock Company and Chairman of YBA, shares his idea: "Management always needs flexibility because any model is only for reference. The entrepreneurs must find a way appropriate for their business".   TTT’s working style  If being lost in a meeting of deploying work of TTT, many people may easily mistake it for a joyful meeting. Each person wears a paper hat with the shape of their favourite animal and is given a letter. At the end of the meeting, the letter given initially is the task which that person must perform. During 18 years of establishment, TTT has constructed many hotels and high-class resorts all over the country. However, there was a contract that whenever recalling it not only he but all the staff feel "respect" themselves. That is within only 2 months, the company did complete all the work of design and construction for Honda shops all over 63 provinces and cities. "If we played professionally we had to work professionally ten times as much," he recalls. Design was only one part, construction with equipment to be transported to over 63 provinces and cities was not simple. Both bosses and employees had to eat while working and sleep with the work in mind. He is a perfectionist, he would not do anything if it is not done to the best. While working with the colleagues in the management, Le Ba Thong also thoroughly applies the concept "square things finally become round if you are patient". In the meetings of TTT, there are few cases in which majority wins minority. "When there are persons disagreeing it is hard to succeed," he confirms. Therefore, in his opinion, when a strategy was launched if there is only person who disagrees, then the strategy of "rolling into balls" began to be implemented, from email to explain, to explaining directly, from saying at the office to talking at the party. Until that person "votes to accept" then the new strategy can be developed. Talking about TTT, people still mention a combination attached throughout 18 years between the Board Chairman Tran Minh Tam, CEO Le Ba Thong and Project Director Tran Khanh Trung. "It is a record that not every Vietnamese business can do," Le Ba Thong confirms. Of course, in order to do that all these 3 persons must comply with many common principles. Two of which have no family factor in the company's strategies. And all must put efforts for the company, no one in the 3 persons forms their own company. Talking is easy but at the beginning in order to have consistency in their work there were very fierce arguments among them many times. The image of 3 monkeys (with the heads of the 3 company leaders) standing shoulder to shoulder laughing together sticked on the door of his office is not merely a funny symbol but it also shows a good alignment of the three Ts.