'Have a clear goal in life'

"Ask yourself the question of what you want to do in life and have a clear goal, try to think out of the box, be committed and have confidence" said entrepreneur Rohan Pallewatte CEO/MD of Lanka Harness Co (Pvt.) Ltd. He was addressing Eagle's top performers at the annual Achievers' Congress held recently at the Trans Asia Hotel.

Pallewatte, the winner of the prestigious TOYP Award for "The Outstanding Young Person of the Year 2006 - Entrepreneur Category" said that though he faced immense challenges to establish his business he fought hard against all odds and succeeded.

The company manufactures impact sensors for automobile air bags and seat belts for brands such as Volvo, Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Mazda, Ford and General Motors. His business earns US $ 25 million worth of foreign exchange annually.

Speaking on gaining the trust of people, he said, "I believe in the principle "honesty is the best policy." We have developed a Trust culture within the organisation. We have sent over 100 employee to Japan on training during the past few years without signing a single agreement or any type of bond, but each one of them returned to Sri Lanka and they still work for us.

Another example is the Nobel Prize winner Prof. Unus in Bangladesh, who uses the same model in his bank where loans are granted to poor people purely on trust, without signing any agreements. But the recovery rate is reported to be 90.99%, and this is what Trust can do."

Eagle Insurance recently recognised the efforts of its topmost sales professionals at a special gathering at the Trans Asia Hotel. While 500 sales professionals had met the stringent criteria set to qualify to attend the prestigious event, seven individuals stood out among the rest.

In first place was M.A.I.A. Perera serving in the Chilaw region and in second and third places were K. Janaka Ruwan Kumara Perera and Aravinda Gamage both from the Colombo Region 1. All three of them have been consistent in achieving new business targets and have represented Eagle at the MDRT conference, on many occasions.