StratNaViGO Consulting PLT

Innovation and creativity facilitator, certified coach and professional business advisor, certified trainer in entrepreneurialism.

Co-Founder and Alchemist

FORTH Innovation Institute

Certified Facilitator

Centre for Entrepreneur Development and Research (CEDAR)

Head, Entrepreneur Development

My team and I , managed to turn around CEDAR into a profit making organisation for 2019, with RM1.6M revenue secured for the first two months of 2020 with further RM3M to be secured projects for the rest of the year, prior to the COVID19 pandemic.

In order to design a strong value proposition for CEDAR, I  developed 3 new programmes: Coaching utilizing  GrowthWheel International Business Advisors platform,  Professional Certificate in Business Coaching (PCBC), and SME Enrichment Workshop (SEW).  The modules are designed to be applicable and actionable with clear outcomes according to project owners needs.

All of CEDAR Business Coaches including me are certified GrowthWheel Business Advisors. PCBC  has had positive reception from several organisations to enhance the business coaching skills of their officers in facilitating entrepreneurs under their programmes.

Acting Head

SME Bank Malaysia

Head, Specific Entrepreneur Development

Identifying and addressing  entrepreneurial  competency gap within the bank's clients to facilitate business scaling up.

Head, Entrepreneur Competency Management, EDD

Institut Keusahawanan Negara (INSKEN)

My main focus was collaboration and program development based on the research of the Malaysian Entrepreneur Development Ecosystem. I facilitated the INSKEN roadmap, the development of BisKaunselor program, and the programs to close the Entrepreneur Development Gap in Malaysia. I was responsible to present the road map to all Government Ministries for buy-in.

Manager

TERAJU

Managed the marketing, processing and selection of Performing Bumiputera Companies to join the TeraS program managed by Unit Peneraju Agenda Bumiputera.

Manager, Entrepreneurship

Manipal International University

Curriculum mapping, program documentation and submissions to MQA.

Assistant Registrar

Freelance Trainer and NLP Coach

Panidolce

I ran my home based catering and bakery business and also conducted  baking and cooking classes. I developed and contributed recipes to Flavor magazine and other independent publications. Was featured in a a cooking series aired in RTM titled Menu Bintang.

Entrepreneur

Trisystems Engineering Sdn Bhd

Everything under the sun except Engineering and services.]

Admin & Business Control Manager

As a Co-Founder and Alchemist at StratNaViGO Consulting PLT, I help clients achieve their goals and aspirations by facilitating innovation and creativity, coaching and mentoring, and providing professional business advice. I have over 25 years of experience in entrepreneurship, new business development, strategic thinking, leadership and communication. 

I am also a certified facilitator of the FORTH Innovation Method, a structured approach that combines design thinking, creativity, and business reality to start innovation effectively. I have attended various programs and courses on entrepreneurship and innovation, such as the Price-Babson Symposium of Entrepreneur Educators at Babson College, the Design Thinking Boot-camp with d.school Malaysia, and the GrowthWheel International Business Advisor certification. My top strengths are Learner, Individualization, Communication, Strategic, and Arranger, which enable me to deliver customized and impactful learning experiences to my clients. My mission is to turn knowledge into actionable intelligence and to ask "How might we?" with empathy and faith.

Grab the opportunity when you are presented with it. 

I had the opportunity to be one of the speakers at A Neuroleadership Conference  organised by ITD World on the 25th March . I spoke with Dr Leonard Yong and KC Lee  about how we need to and how we can maximise our brains to become awesome leaders. 

I shared my personal experience how NLP or Neuro Linguistic Programming helped me manage myself from depression. I shared 3 tools that can be applied not only at workplace but also on a personal level. 

Managing emotions can become so possible when we understand the mechanics of our brain and its  impact on our being and actions. As leaders we need to master techniques to manage our own self so we can help manage others. The reality is that we are human and as human we are a bag of emotions.

If we equate our unconcious brain with an elephant and our concious mind with the elephant rider, we would realise that the rider cannot control the elephant but can learn to manage it by understanding it better.

I like to thank Kiki Ng for being the person who guided me through my learning process. I will always be thankful for the learnings. Thank you to ITD World especially to Dr Kathleen Ong for the opportunity to share.

I hope I have added value to all the participants. 

#bebetter #emotion #nlp #leadership

Safura Atan

As a former staff member with employee ID INSKEN 001, I had the privilege of facilitating the institute's move from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and obtaining its status from just a unit to a national-level institute. 

Did you know that to use the word "Institut" as the first word in your organizational name and to add "Negara" or "Nasional," one needs to get approval from two ministries? And that's not all, there are also additional documentation requirements to become a government guaranteed 'Berhad' organization. 

One of the things I did was look closely and deeply into the Malaysian Entrepreneurship Development Ecosystem. I did research and comparative studies with other countries. I explored and discovered multiple frameworks, concepts, best practices, and platforms.

One of the concepts that I wanted to imbed in INSKEN at that time was the Exponential Organization concept and framework by Salim Ismail from his book Exponential Organizations: Why new organizations are ten times better, faster, and cheaper than yours (and what to do about it). I love his framework of I.D.E.A.S. and S.C.A.L.E standing on the M.T.P.: Massive Transformative Purpose.

Institut Keusahawanan Negara was never to be a training provider per se, and this was something my boss at that time, Tuan Haji Norizan S. and I discussed on multiple occasions. INSKEN was to be the catalyst for change by supporting and strengthening Entrepreneurship Development Ecosystem Builders (EDEB). The focus was on program benchmarking, professional certification, and research with engagement with international bodies related to EDEB.

With the launch of the Malaysian Startup Ecosystem Roadmap 2021–2030 and the Malaysian Venture Capital Roadmap 2024–2039 by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI), I am curious how it meshes in with the National Entrepreneurship Policy 2030 by the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Cooperative Development (MECD). 

It comes to mind: what has become of the original transformative role of INSKEN? Are we now doing the incremental work and expecting a transformative outcome?

#my2sen #reflection #entrepreneurdevelopment

STOP FRUSTRATING INNOVATORS. Here’s How to Fix it …


A study among US companies shows that employees of corporations are eager to be entrepreneurial. More than half of those surveyed (52 percent) have pursued an entrepreneurial idea within their company. But what they lack, is support from their management. Only one in five employees feels supported by their management.

Senior management is reluctant to support innovation, all over the world I have noticed. This is a big frustration for innovative employees. 

In big corporations controlling risks is a day-to-day job. Once managing risks gets institutionalized like this it becomes "a pain in the ass" for the innovators within the same company. They get buried under all kinds of forms and procedures required to gain bureaucratic approval which is complex and time-consuming. 

Do not be surprised when in big corporations there are more people on the payroll trying to stop new initiatives than trying to launch them.

A major mind shift needed in big corporations to become entrepreneurial again is from managing risks to seeing possibilities for growth. Instead of asking 'What's the risk here?' people should ask themselves 'What is the opportunity here?'. For bigger companies this will be quite a task. 

A change in mind shift in a corporation always starts at the top otherwise it doesn't stand a chance. 

I plea to appoint a 'Chief Possibilities Officer' (CPO) in the board or management team of big conservative organizations. The first thing for a CPO to do is to free the innovators by creating ‘A SAFE ZONE FOR INNOVATION’.

When you want to unleash innovation in your organisation and double your innovation effectiveness as innovator and consultant …, then check out a unique innovation learning opportunity in Italy 🇮🇹 in June: https://lnkd.in/gAZU7ZPJ

#innovation  #designthinking #chiefpossibilitiesofficer

Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin from me and my family. Stay safe everyone.  Razman Radzi Iman Syafiqah Razman Redza Imran

25 odd years ago, I started my journey in  entrepreneurship development. 

An entrepreneurial journey is just like flying a plane. We start the a journey with limited resources with a planned desination with so many variables in the journey that could assist or hamper our journey. Much planning and monitoring is required.

What I learnt early on is that Business Planning sessions can end up becoming Fairy tale spinning  or Myths building sessions with statements like:

- Capturing  10% of market..
- Projecting 10% market growth..
- be able to break even in 3 months

Crux of the matter is that during such planning sessions we should be differentiating facts and assumptions. We need to make decisions on what actions we will be taking to exploit the facts and explore the assumptions.

This requires skill sets of analytical and creative  thinking that challenges most of us. It requires us to be arms length with our 'babies', be less sentimental that this is  the best idea ever and that we need to get our hands dirty and our hearts hardened to make decisions and take action. 

Business planning should be know what we know and what we do not and decide what is our next course of action. It shouldn’t be Hikayat Hang Tuah. 

#businessplanning #businesscoaching #startup #scaleup #makedecisions #takeaction GrowthWheel International Inc. StratNaViGO Consulting PLT 

There is more than one way to "skin a cat." 

When I say this, usually cat lovers will give me a horrified look.  There are two origins of this phrase. One says the word cat was meant as a short form of catfish, while another says that 'skin a cat' was a form of country boy exercise where you hang by your hands on a branch and loop your legs into your arms. Whatever the source of the expression, the real meaning of the phrase is that there are many ways to do something with the same outcome. 

Just like wanting to start a business, there are many ways one can start it. One can start it because of an idea, the availability of technology, a customer issue, or a business challenge.

Some people start a business out of necessity, and some do so because they see opportunity.

Those who undertake this journey have different resources, skills, and knowledge. 

But like any journey, we always must start with where we are and what we have and compare that to where we want to be and what we need to achieve that destination. 

I love the analogy of a patchwork puzzle vs. a jigsaw puzzle when comparing an entrepreneurial journey vs a management journey. One is exploratory with no clear structure, while the other is more exploitative with a clearer game structure.

That is a problem statement for our entrepreneurship education.  I like to compare the entrepreneurial journey to an expedition to climb a mountain, one has limited resources, and every climb is different. 

How might we structure an education system that allows this type of learning to happen?

P/S photo was taken by me ;)

Taplio

Safura Atan's Linkedin Analytics

Safura Atan

Safura Atan's Best Posts (last 30 days)

Want to drive more opportunities from LinkedIn?

Taplio

.css-1jgreyo{background-image:linear-gradient(284deg, rgba(39,43,72,1) 0%, rgba(33,47,183,1) 100%);color:transparent;-webkit-background-clip:text;background-clip:text;}Safura Atan's Linkedin Analytics

Safura Atan

Safura Atan's Best Posts .css-qqfgvy{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);}(last 30 days)

Want to drive more opportunities from LinkedIn?

Safura Atan's Linkedin Analytics

Safura Atan's Best Posts (last 30 days)