61 am alivays surprised at people's
universal wariness of change...
There appears to be an ambiguity about Dennis Ziengs. On the one hand, the
general manager who has worked in eight countries around the world, the last
two for Rl, says he is no advocate of immediately 'turning a unit on its head'
when he arrivés in a new location. On the other, he relishes change and the
challenge it offers international bankers
Northeast Asia's chief explains why that
working in a global environment,
is no contradiction.
l6 WhatsNewS Issue 9* September 1998 ll^ddS
Hong Kong branch's general manager
came in just nine months ago and
the management team have developed a
new organizational structure to firmly
embed the customer focus strategy. Th is
will bring about - sometimes far-reaching
- change, not only in their own activities,
but also in how they service the whole
region. If this is not 'turning a unit on its
head', then what is, you may ask. Dennis
Ziengs is quick to explain there is no
ambiguity at all. 'I have never been a pro
ponent of walking into a unit and taking
rapid, so-called "decisive" action,' he
says, 'because you could make some rash
decisions without taking into account key
considerations. 'Even if there is a seem-
ingly obvious need for change, it's proba-
bly a good idea to look at things for a few
months and listen to people before you
make up your mind about what needs to
be done and how to go about it.'
The reason change is often needed, says
Ziengs, is that units 'get tired'; they go
through stages in their life cycle - you
have the young, the mid-life and the
mature operation. 'And where they are in
the cycle also reflects on the market, the
economy they are operating in,' he
explains. 'So there is no set pattern, no set
response. You have to look at the whole
picture. In one sense, it is tricky because
you're dealing, perhaps, with different
cultures. On the other hand, by definition,
international banking attracts a certain
type of people who are above average in
talent, energy and drive. That makes it
easier to get a working relationship going
in your work environment. I tend to focus
on a small group of people who seem to
know the key issues. You try to find peo
ple who are not afraid of change, but who
see it as an opportunity, and then you just
go at it. But you shouldn't be afraid to be
decisive and if you make a mistake, and
it's an honest mistake, then I find most
people will be very
tolerant of that.'
Ziengs clearly has
great expectations
from the people
who come into what
he calls the business
of international risk
management.
'Experience is a very
important compo
nent, maybe more
important than in
some other busi
ness,' he claims. 'We
deal with large Dennis Ziengs, taking
risks, other people's in Northeast Asia
money - never for-
get that: it is always other people's money.
So you really don't want to mess up.
Everything we do involves risk, so we
have to be risk managers 18 hours a day.
And I really mean 18, even in your behav-
iour outside the office. People know you
are a banker, they look at you and think:
this is the person who looks after my
money. So you have to be involved in risk
management behaviour all the time.'
While experience is high priority, and he
says it is a key component in the team in
place at Hong Kong branch, he also
believes that experience should be interna
tional: 'If you look at our people, you'11
see every nationality, they have worked in
just about every market. That adds value,
especially because I think it's what our
clients want. If you don't offer it, you just
can't compete.' He grins when asked if
perhaps he values this kind of experience
because it reflects his own career path. 'I
think the globalization of business has led
to the globalization of education, and vice
versa. And, yes, we need to interact, work
and compete with people from other
countries, other cultures. If you are not
well educated for that purpose, there are
more chances for misunderstanding, more
chances of missing out on mutual bene
fits. I was very curious and adventurous
when I was young and I grabbed the
opportunity to do an MBA in the US in
1971 - there weren't many Dutch people
doing that then. It also gave me the privi-
leged opportunity to end up in a work
environment that appreciates that educa-
tional background.'
There is a confidence about Dennis
Ziengs that is built on a strong early edu-
cational foundation and a
wealth of later international
experience. He comes across
as the kind of man who M
would be appointed to head™
up a diverse team of profes
sionals and support staff in a
very diffïcult market. This is
the eighth time he has moved
into the top job in a new
environment, and he appears
to do it with ease. Yet, when
asked how hard it is to walk
into a new branch, whether
he ever feels insecure, he
responds spontaneously:
'Absolutely, yes. The tough-
est was when I joined
Rabobank in North America
from ABN Amro in Brazil.
The people didn't know me and I didn't
know them. But there is an amazing
patience in people, a willingness to give
you the benefit of the doubt.'
Over time, he reckons, it gets easier. 'You
build routines, take certain steps that
seem to work. Basically, what I hope I do
is sit down and listen to people, let them
express their hopes, aspirations, concerns,
what they are happy about, what they are
angry about. And usually it is not too dif
fïcult to find consensus on what has to be
done. Sometimes a lot of change is expec-
ted. Yet, the one thing that I am surprised
at - and I think that is a reflection of my
personal background - is that no matter
the culture, most people see change as a
threat rather than an opportunity. The
vast majority of people I've run into are
wary of change. Personally, I have always
liked the process - it keeps you alert.'
Even without the change process, the
tough income and solvency goals they
have set for the region mean there should
be enough to keep Ziengs and his whole
Northeast Asia operation alert for a long
time to come.
centre stage
