We work harder. We try every idea. We solve one problem, another shows up. The team gets more confused, priorities keep changing, and in the end we ourselves are tired of thinking about where this business is actually supposed to go.
That was part of the reality Dr Shahawati Umar and Muhammad Anas Mohd Bukhori, CA(M), faced when they first joined my TITAN coaching during the pandemic.
At that time, Innovative was making losses. Everyone was busy doing work and handling daily operations, but the strategic direction for the future wasn’t clear enough.
When we did our 1-on-1 sessions, my focus wasn’t just on fixing sales or marketing. I wanted them to get clear first.
Who is our market, really? What is Innovative’s differentiation? What are we trying to build? And in the next two or three years, what does Innovative need to become?
Dr Shahawati shared their journey. Innovative started with around 500 students, then grew to 2,000. But when they reached that level, they felt stuck. There was a barrier they couldn’t break through.
So they had to fix the team, leadership, marketing, sales and systems. Not just one thing.
Today, IUC is approaching 5,000 students. The team has grown from 25 people to around 100. From only having diploma programmes, it has now expanded all the way to PhD level.
As Chairman of the Board of Innovative Holdings Group, I am truly proud of Dr Shahawati, Anas and the entire IUC team.
Because this change didn’t happen from one session or one idea. It required a willingness to learn, change old ways, make hard decisions and implement consistently.
I do believe in education and self-development. But to me, education cannot be just theory or getting a certificate.
Education must give direct value to a person’s life.
Students who come in to study must have a path to get into work and build experience. That’s why we push work-based learning.
Executives and managers, meanwhile, need opportunities to upgrade themselves, raise their capability, get recognition for their experience and become more valuable to the organisation.
And now, we are bringing IUC towards AI transformation. Not just digital. We want students and working professionals to know how to use AI to think, make decisions and execute work better.
The next challenge I’ve set for IUC is to move towards 1,000 student enrolments every month.
Not just to chase numbers.
But so that we can help more people become more capable, more marketable and more ready for the future.
That is the kind of education we must fight for.
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