Bob Sadino

Bambang Mustari "Bob" Sadino (9 March 1933 – 19 January 2015) was an Indonesian businessman who was the CEO of Kem Chicks, Kem Foods, and Kem Farms. He started his business by selling domestic chicken eggs door to door. At that time, domestic chicken eggs were not popular in Indonesia, thus his goods were purchased only by expatriates, who lived in Kemang (an area in South Jakarta, Indonesia), as well as few people in Indonesia who had lived abroad before. Over time, the domestic chicken eggs began to be popular so that Sadino's business grew significantly. Sadino then expanded his business by selling chicken meat.^[1]

He released two books containing his unique view of doing business. People admire his unique view which he called "Stupid Learning", that we do not need to be smart to start doing business, instead we can use our dullness to start doing business. He illustrates a stupid man will start doing business as soon as an idea pops into his head, while an educated man will spend his time thinking which ideas need to be applied, and then at the end none of his ideas become reality. Sadino also emphasizes that theory without practice is nothing. Furthermore, he also has a unique trademark that he usually wears short-sleeved shirts and shorts on most occasions. Even when he met Suharto, a former Indonesian president, he stuck with his style of dress.

Background

Bob Sadino was born in an affluent family. He was the youngest among his four siblings. When his parents died, Sadino was still 19 years old. He inherited all his family properties since his siblings were considered to have prosperous lives. Sadino then spent his money to travel around the world. He stopped at the Netherlands and settled there for approximately 9 years. In the Netherlands, he worked at Djakarta Lloyd in Amsterdam and also in Hamburg, Germany. Sadino also met his wife, Soelami Soejoed, in the Netherlands. ^[2]

The Return to Indonesia

In 1967, Sadino and his family returned to Indonesia. He brought along his two Mercedes cars. He sold one of his cars to buy a plot of land in Kemang, South Jakarta, and he kept the other car. After had been living in Indonesia for a long time, Sadino decided to quit his job because he had the determination to work independently. His first self-employed job was as a taxi driver of his Mercedes. Unfortunately he got in a car accident, which resulted in his car being badly damaged. Due to lack of money, Sadino switched to becoming a mason. His salary at that time was only IDR 100 (equal to USD 0.01 or 1 cent). He experienced a great depression due to the pressure in his life.

Resurrection

One day, Sadino's friend recommended him to do poultry business focusing in domestic chicken (imported chicken) eggs to fight his depression. Sadino was interested and began to develop a chicken farm. At that time local chicken (native chicken, smaller than domestic chicken) still dominated Indonesia market. Sadino was the one who first introduced domestic chicken and their eggs in Indonesia. Sadino sold domestic eggs door to door. At that time, domestic chicken eggs were not popular in Indonesia so that his goods were only purchased by expatriates(such as Americans, Europeans), who resided in Kemang, as well as few people who had lived abroad. Over time, domestic chicken eggs began to be known throughout Indonesia so that Sadino's business grew rapidly. Sadino then expanded his business by selling chicken meat. Besides introducing the domestic chicken eggs, he also was the first man to apply hydroponic farming system in Indonesia. In the early 1985, the average sales per month of Sadino's companies was 40-50 tons of raw meat, 60-70 tons of processed meat, and 100 tons of fresh vegetables. ^[3]

Books

Bob Sadino likes to share his knowledge. "I do not want to bring anything when I die, my knowledge should be shared with this world," he said. He has released two books to date, Mereka Bilang Saya Gila! ^[4] and Belajar Goblok^[5]

Mereka Bilang Saya Gila! (en: They Said I'm Crazy!). This book is not his biography, but a book of provocation that encourages people,especially those who have a bachelor's degree, to want to make a paradigm shift. The paradigm says that theory without practice is nonsense or nothing. Furthermore, he says the movement of entrepreneurship is the trigger of Indonesian revival. The book also reveals Sadino's original concepts about the world of entrepreneurship, education revolution, business art, and discussion of the ideal of leadership in the eyes of a true entrepreneur.

Belajar Goblok (en: Stupid Learning).This book consists of four Bob Sadino's main ideas, such as the following expression: "A smart man usually has smart ideas, maybe even too many ideas, and in the end none of his ideas become reality. While a stupid man may has only one stupid idea and that idea is his only choice and then he apply it." The writing of this book is entirely inspired by the figure of a unique, and controversial Bob Sadino. Sadino also said, "If you want to be an entrepreneur, you better not think and plan like a smart person, instead, 'just do it' like a moron."

Style of Dress

Sadino is often visited by Indonesian presidents, such as Suharto, Megawati Sukarnoputri and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. For most people, when they meet an important person, they will always try to look good and wear neat clothes. This is such a contrary to Bob Sadino who does not hesitate to wear short pants when he meets important persons. As if the shorts is his trademark. Once upon a time, he was invited to the capitol and he wore shorts as usual. At that time one of the capitol staff even reminded him to dress neatly. ^[6]

References