I recently visited former ITRI president Chintay Shih in Hsinchu. Shih said he joined ITRI in 1973, and the next year he took part in the RCA semiconductor program. That was half a century ago. He said he worked his way up to become president of ITIR before retiring 20 years ago. And since then, he has been teaching at National Tsing Hua University (NTUH). Over the past five decades he has been focused on semiconductors in two different job positions. He must be very happy that the semiconductor industry has been thriving. For him, has that been the best career choice?
He said there are many possible choices one could make in life, and he has chosen a top-down research path. In companies, it is difficult to get the chance of working in a top-down approach that gives you a comprehensive look at the entire picture. And that is ITRI's biggest advantage. He said he enjoyed working at ITRI. ITRI encourages talent mobility and shares its achievements with the industry. No one would have regrets as long as they enjoy the work assigned to them according to their expertise and personalities.
Shih was an A-student. He graduated from NTU's Department of Electrical Engineering, completed his master's degree at Stanford and then a PhD at Princeton. With such credentials, he would not have had any difficulties finding a job in the US. Asked why he would come back to Taiwan, he replied, "You wouldn't need a reason to come home, would you?"
I'm a generation younger than Shih. And so far in my life, I've taken two jobs. I started out as an analyst at MIC where I conducted industry research for 12 years. Then I started my own business, which marks its 25th anniversary this year. But actually I have been engaged with industry research all of my life. I understand industry research through and through. I understand why Shih feels comfortable with a life experience gained from years of devotion.
I recently finished reading former AIT chairman Richard Bush's "Difficult Choices: Taiwan's Quest for Security and the Good Life." In the book, Bush says the traditional service sector in Taiwan has a lot of catching up to do. Advanced service providers offer 54% more in salary than traditional ones. In Taiwan's service sector, companies that hire more than 200 people each are mostly in finance and logistics. Big accounting and law firms are almost all foreign. How can Taiwan create a success model for its local service sector?
IBM makes a very good example: it diversified from hardware to software, and then crossed into the service sector. Shih noted that he incorporates the concept of service into his teaching at NTHU. It takes time to build up a service business, and there are risks in the formative stages when the corporate culture and foundation take shape. This is challenging as far as Taiwan's business and social environments are concerned. Taiwan's "shallow plate" economy typically emphasizes quick responses to market developments, and it is a big challenge trying to establish a professional knowledge-based service business.
In the early days when Taiwan's electronics firms set up factories in China, they had to invest large amounts of resources to fulfill customers' orders and shoulder enormous risks. The pressure from stakeholders forced them to give priority to profits over innovations. A business proprietor must make proper decisions in response to ongoing developments, and sometimes it's not about one's capability, but rather one's vision and courage.
Shih likens life to a book, which starts from "Chapter 1." It's a blessing that one can do things they like and do them well. If you haven't gotten lost throughout the years trying to complete the basic mission you set out for, any frustrations would not be frustrations at all when your life returns to "Chapter 1." This is the same for individuals, companies, and governments.
The more complex the environment, the more pressing one needs to define his or her own basic mission. I've been an industry analyst for 38 years, doing what I know and like best, and what I'm best at. Like Shih, I know what is meant by "Chapter 1."
