Ask Management Anything: 5 Lessons Learned from GO-JEK’s BOD
When you hear the words ‘town hall meeting’, what comes to mind?
Is it something like this?
Or this?
At GO-JEK, our town hall meeting is infused with GO-JEK flair. Instead of naming it a town hall meeting, we have something called “Ask Management Anything” or AMA.
Once a month,we invite all GO-TROOPS to listen to an hour-long chat by BOD members on literally anything, including but not limited to our business growth, upcoming projects, company milestones, and our secret lives outside GO-JEK. Intimate, no?? Yes, appropriately so.
Our AMA looks like this:
Like this:
And this!
So, why do we have AMAs in the first place?
AMA is an internal communication platform to foster a culture of transparency. In addition to providing updates and preventing information delays, AMAs help close the gap between BODs and our GO-TROOPS.
Without waiting any longer, because some of this hasn’t been published anywhere, here are 5 lessons learned brought to you by our latest AMAs!
1. We learned the stories behind GO-JEK’s latest acquisitions
GO-JEK’s acquisitions were made to broaden and deepen social impact as we leapfrog Indonesia to a cashless society through technology. This was explained by Andre Soelistyo in AMA volume 8. The acquisitions with Spots (Kartuku) and Midtrans were designed to enable frictionless GO-PAY transactions, whether we make them online or offline.
Meanwhile, the acquisition of Mapan (Ruma) was a natural follow up to earlier collaboration efforts in 2017. GO-JEK and Mapan jointly launched a project, which revolved around driver empowerment (Swadaya).
The project turned out to be a success as it helped raise the incomes of drivers’ families. “Mapan could be the platform to significantly elevate our drivers and their families as we’re not only helping them to generate income, but also to become financially educated”, said Andre.
2. We dug deeper on Mapan, Spots, Loket, and Midtrans
We continued to celebrate the recent additions into the GO-JEK family. In our latest AMA, we invited all the BODs from Mapan, Spots, Loket, and Midtrans to answer some intriguing questions from Nadiem Makarim.
The audience listened closely as Novi Tandjung from Spots, Ryu Kawano from Midtrans, Edy Sulistyo from Loket, and Hendra Tjanaka from Mapan had to answer Nadiem’s question, “What is one thing, which you can bring to GO-JEK? And how can GO-JEK support you?”
Here’s what they answered:
3. We learned about how we could get involved in international expansion
GO-JEK’s international expansion has become a hot issue among GO-TROOPS and the most common question by our Go-Troops was whether or not Indonesians could be involved.
So, is it possible for Indonesian GO-TROOPS to be involved in international expansion? “Yes, of course it’s possible! However, given that you most understand Indonesia’s local contexts, you would help create more impact within our own country”, answered Nadiem.
4. We received life hacks from Kevin Aluwi
In AMA, we’re not only focusing our discussion on GO-JEK’s business growth, but also on self-development, life-hacks, and deep personal secrets.
So, what is one habit that makes Kevin Aluwi feel like himself? “I’m always questioning myself; am I doing the right thing? What can I do better? Was that done well? I constantly ask myself questions, making improvements and becoming more conscious about what I’m doing.”
Alright then, what about one movie that shaped your personality, Kevin? “The Matrix! I’ve learned that it’s difficult to tell the difference between perception and reality. How it shaped me is that it has probably made me more aware.”
5. And, we ended with a heartwarming answer, even from Kevin
Not only do we share life hacks at our AMAs, some of our leaders divulged what made them happy. Kevin answered,
“I think what truly makes me happy is when I see GO-TROOPS doing well, whether they’re inside or outside the office. I love seeing social media talking about how they’re enjoying life beyond work. Another thing that makes me happy is seeing GO-JEK’s progress — both at a company and individual level. I like to see people who push themselves to be better, the same way technology is constantly improving.”
Summing up, AMA is more than a monthly gathering; it’s about the feeling of belonging, trust, and intimacy to foster and build a culture of transparency in GO-JEK. It’s about building a community amongst GO-TROOPS, our drivers, our merchants, our customers, and all of the people who belong to the wider GO-JEK family.
Are you interested in being part of us and unleashing impact at scale? Join us and apply here!
