The president and founder of PM Leadership and a branch partner of Success Resource for Cambodia, Kham Piseth, told Sotheavy Thai about what is needed to succeed in business and life.

Why did you choose to teach how to lead and join PM Leadership?

We have a belief that everyone is a leader, and we want to be a part of future leader development. We have a mission to help everyone be a better leader’. First, PM Leadership was not about making much of a profit. It was founded in Kampong Thom province as a local training centre. On the recommendation of my adviser, seeing that there is a limit to what can be done in the province, I decided to move to Phnom Penh.

PM Leadership was created in 2011, and is a formally registered training institution linked to the world’s largest seminar organisers. These days, PM Leadership is a branch partner with Success Resources.

How did you come to know so many famous speakers and become a part of Success Resources?

I think that if you have a big “why?” then “how” automatically comes your way. If you have a clear mission and vision, you will find ways to reach it. Most people think that running a business means needing a lot of money, but that was the traditional idea. The main capital you need is your brain. When I met Richard Tan, CEO of Success Resources, I told him his programs could contribute to the growth of my country. He said “Yes”. He also mentioned that most of his business partners started with very little.

His partner in Indonesia started as an interpreter for Indonesian people who joined the seminars. And his partner in Vietnam started at an English school. Now they’re internationally recognised.

What tips do you have for people interested in attending a seminar, but just aren’t sure?

We may get good advice from consultants, but learning from achievers is more effective. Achievers are those people who’ve already succeeded, but a consultant might not have. For example, a teacher may have good theories, but may not be able to turn those theories into reality.

What are your expectations of PM Leadership, money and fame?

Money is not important, but conversely very important. If you work for money most of the time you can’t be rich, but you can meet your expenses. If you work hard on yourself, self-education, you will be wealthy.

If you work for money you will never get rich, but if you focus your work on helping others to changes their lives, you will be wealthy. That is my observation of many successful people in the world.

What is the vision of PM Leadership?

Our vision is to have a recognised leadership organisation in Asia. Recently, we arranged to link PM Leadership (Cambodia) with another branch in Vietnam. These days, PM Leadership has partners in Singapore and Malaysia.

Being a student, you must study. Some millionaires say you don’t need to finish university. However, if you don’t study you can only go so fast, but not far. Thinking of making a profit may not be the right thing, but you should work to learn rather than to earn.