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Reaping the whirlwind
Smart Investor,
Section: People,
22 September - 6 October 1997
Reaping the Whirlwind ( Lillian Too who studied at Harvard
Business School and once headed a bank in Hong Kong, is now
enjoying success with her books on feng shui. She tells Thusitha
de Silva it is an art everyone can practice).
Among the first things Lillian Too makes clear is that she does
not advice corporations on feng shui or Chinese geomancy. Too
stresses that she is not the sort of proponent this ancient
Chinese art who peddles her knowledge to companies - telling
the owners where to locate a body of water or which direction
the chairman’s desk must face - and charging a consultant fee
for the advice. What she does, and has done with considerable
success is write books about feng shui. In the cool, tranquil
ambiance of her home in Pantai Hills, Kuala Lumpur, Too cuts
a figure of someone who seems relaxed and at one with herself.
Her life now is far removed from a few years ago, when she was
very much a corporate person as the chief executive officer
of the Grindlays Dao Heng Bank in Hong Kong. “when you are in
corporate life, I think that sometimes you can get so carried
away with the business of making money that you forget the spiritual
side is very important too. I think I was hungry for spiritual
sustenance when I was right at the top of my career. Now, in
retirement, I very much pursue things spiritual,” she says.
Too points out however that feng shui is not one of those spiritual
pursuits because it is an art based on something more tangible.
She explains: “ feng shui is based on Chinese scientific principles.
These are different from western science. All our meta-physical
sciences are based on the balance of Yin and Yang. The harmony
between the five elements, the cycles of production as well
as the cycles of destruction.” While this sounds rather technical
, Too maintains it is not. She describe one of her strengths
as the ability to convey feng shui concepts into something that
is more palatable to the lay reader.
Too first started writing books as a hobby when she retired
from the corporate world because she wanted to do something
that “was not to taxing”. Now one of her books, The complete
Illustrated Guide to Feng Shui , published by Element Books,
is an international bestseller. In October, Element will release
a series of nine books on feng shui fundamentals written by
her. When she started writing, Too says she had a pretty good
idea of the route she wanted to take. It seems to be the same
approach as that which made her a successful businesswoman.
“ For me, the hallmark of a good writer is one whose can sell.
I set out to write a commercial work, not a literary work. But
I did not want to compromise and make it totally commercial.
I wanted it to be something which I believed in,” she says.
Among the topics she thought looked at before she hit on the
subject of Chinese geomancy were those of positive thinking
and creative visualization, which she describes as New Age and
spiritual.
Feng shui, Too says, tells you there are energy lines within
the atmosphere which can be manipulated, so to speak, to bring
good luck. “What feng shui offers is the method that allows
you to use certain formulas to ordinate your house, your offices,
your doors or your furniture in certain direction ; as well
as place certain objects at certain locations of the house which
then enable you to capture the auspicious energy which brings
you good luck.”
It is this sort of thing that has many people seeking out feng
shui experts for advice. While she gets “ about 100 letters
a week” requesting her assessment of the best feng shui for
houses, offices, and shops, Too says that at present she is
“too lazy” to do it “I don’t go and look at peoples offices
and buildings. What I do is write my books and pass on my knowledge
because I feel I am a very good communicator. I have the ability
to simplify it without in any way losing its essence. “If you
are interested in feng shui, make an effort, go and read something
about it and think it through. Look at it as an additional management
tool. Don’t expect people to do it for you. Do it yourself,”
she says, expressing her distaste at seeing people chasing a
quick fix to their problems.
Still, Too does not think that it is wrong that there are feng
shui experts around who dispense advice to corporations as this
is no different from getting accountants to come into companies
to do the books or seeing a doctor after all attempts to avoid
a cold fail. But she believes that feng shui is so much a “part
and parcel” of people’s lives that they should learn about it
and practice it themselves. Too stresses that it is not very
smart to wait until you are really down on your luck before
seeking out feng shui experts. She notes: “In cases that case
you have to pay an arm and a leg for good feng shui.” But she
adds that consulting on feng shui is “ so easy “ that she does
not think the experts need “to charge outrageous sums of money
to do it”.
Feng shui is a lot about how individuals interpret the signs
that are around them and varied from one person to the next.
“How do you assess a feng shui master? Let me tell you that
a lot of fortune tellers are not very highly educated. So their
interpretations of the five elements of yin and yang may not
be so good. With my books I give you the theory, the case studies,
all the underpinnings the fundamentals. You be the judge, you
do it yourself and you know what you’ll do it really well,”
she says confidently. Too has a twenty year-old daughter Jennifer
whom she dotes upon. She hopes that Jennifer, who shortly starts
her final year studying Economics at Cambridge University will
join her in her business and put a bit more structure into her
company, Konsep Lagenda Sdn. Bhd. “I’ll need her to get my company
organized,” she says. If that happens, Too says she may consider
consulting companies on feng shui but she does not seem particularly
exited about the prospect.
An Investor Too
Too says that she has used feng shui to enhance her life for
a long time, even when she was working. Holding such a senior
position in the Grindlays Dao Heng Bank gave her access to the
best proponents of the ancient art in China and Hong Kong which
helped to hone her own knowledge. She is also good pals with
Malaysia’s foremost feng shui master Yap Cheng Hai. But by concentrating
on feng shui when you are is talking to Too, you tend to forget
that she has years of experience working in the financial markets.
She still invests in shares when she describes her views on
the Malaysian stock market and other markets around the world,
you are reminded that this is no novice investor talking. “Of
course, I invest in stocks. I used to manage funds in my heyday.
And when I retired, I continue to do it. I had two or three
very big private clients who trusted me with their money and
for a couple of years, I continued to manage it on a private
basis and they did not do badly. At that time, I was very savvy
with the markets,” she says. These include Wall Street as well
as the stock markets in London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Malaysia and
Singapore. She pulled out of Thailand about six months ago following
a tip from some “very good friends” of hers, thus avoiding the
recent turmoil in the Thai market.
Too says that she does not take on private clients anymore but
instead manage her own funds. Asked for a rough estimate of
the size, she replies with a squeal: “I’m not very rich. Now
there are people who are billionaires, I feel very poor la,
right now. I am very comfortable but I would not describe myself
as fabulously wealthy.” She has a lot of admiration for Malaysian
Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Mahatir Mohamad but of late, she
has gone bearish on the Malaysian Stock Market. Explains Too:”
I think it is wonderful what Dr Mahatir is doing (for Malaysia).
He knows what he is talking about. But Dr Mahatir is only one
man. If you go down the middle level, you wonder whether they
understand what he wants. “I think it’s ridiculous that they
wait for Dr Mahatir to make a small, small decisions. I used
to run a corporation an I know that decisions must be made through
all the levels of an organization. And small decisions must
be made by people lower down. How can every small decision go
to the top man? He just won’t have the time. This has led me
to go a bit soft on the Malaysian stock market.” As far as Wall
street goes, she believes that the spectacular ascent of the
Dow is based on the strong economic fundamentals and the stocks
she “loves” are the technology stocks.
“A lot of the technology that is driving the economies forward
today, a lot of it is information and media-related ,” says
Too. Asked for her sectors picks, she replies with the aplomb
of a fund manager. Too says that in the next couple of years,
investors would do well to focus on the high technology stocks
in Singapore and Hong Kong. She also thnks media and communication
stocks will take off as well and become “darling” of the regional
markets just a Microsoft, Oracle and Sun Microsystems are on
the Wall Street. Now , would you bet against a feng shui expert
with her investment background? |
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