Songkran Issara

Songkran Issara

True freedom is hard to find in this modern world where commitment in one way or another is inevitable. Have you ever dreamed of taking forever to grow up on a tropical island of beauty and tranquility? Phuket can give you that dream. The Thai word for ‘freedom’ is ‘issara’, and who better to guide you to your dream than a man whose very name means freedom – Songkran Issara

The Charn Issara group is one of Thailand's leading real estate developers which has been in the industry for over two decades and has extensive experience. The company was founded by Charn Issara but Songkran, his third son, is now at the helm and projecting its prosperity into the second generation. Phuketindex.com had the good fortune to meet Khun Songkran and what follows is what we learned from him.

Songkran Issara was born in Songkhla Province but later moved to Bangkok to become a boarder at Vajiravudh College. On completion of his junior high school, he then went to the United States for further high school and a university education, graduating after a few years with a Masters Degree in Economics from Indiana University, Pennsylvania. With his formal education complete, he flew back to Thailand and began his career with Citicorp Finance & Security Thailand. Before long however, he left Citicorp and joined his father to help to run the family business. Here is what he has to say about business, life and happiness:

On Charn Issara's beginning

It was my father who was involved in the construction business before me but we also previously had businesses in gas stations, transportation, and selling some petroleum products like Bitumen to the government. When I joined my father about 25 years ago, I started with Charn Issara Tower I, the first high rise building in Bangkok and many projects followed after that.

On the projects of the company

Since Charn Issara Development PCL was established by the Charn Issara group in December 1989, we have offered a number of property development projects to the market. We have branched out into office buildings, residential condominiums, shop homes, town homes, single homes, pool villa hotels, industrial estates and shopping arcades. Our on going projects are another Charn Issara Tower, Issara Ladprao, Issara @ 42 Sukhumvit, Sri panwa Phuket, Baan Chaan Talay Cha-am, Baan Issara Rama 9 and Baan Ploen Talay.

On our working principles

We put our heart in what we do. We don't aim to make a great profit from our projects but we try our best to meet both our and our customer’s satisfaction since I do believe that 'the more we give, the more we get'. For a working ethic we hold on to passion, honesty and teamwork.

On problem solving

When we meet a problem, we do not panic even when it looks very critical at first. We try to examine every aspect and detail, and we always find that there is a solution somewhere. We have surmounted thousands of problems in this way, some small and some big, such as the Tom Yam Kung crisis, but one thing to remember is 'experience will teach you' as it has taught us through every difficulty we have faced.

On getting along with staff Right now I have almost 200 staff working directly under my control. In order to work together, sincerity is very important in my opinion and as we grow and become a bigger organization, we need our employees to help us as much as we help them. With our well designed working system, we allocate tasks with trust and our people apply themselves to those tasks with their hearts. In this way, we can all win as a team.

On taking care of himself

I strive to find a balance between my working and my personal life and do as the old saying goes: 'work hard, play hard'. For that reason, my daily routine is usually to wake up around five or five thirty in the morning, spend time on chanting and meditation for 20 minutes, then go out to play golf or tennis until 8. I arrive at the office at 9 o'clock and after finishing work in the evening, take the time to work out physically if I didn't do so in the morning. Now I have taken up Yoga in addition to golf, tennis and swimming.

On his motto for life

My life is guided by Honesty, supported by Unity, and sustained by Health. Just the same as our company's motto.

On things he would like to do

I think I have already achieved what I would like to do, but to do it again would be to appreciate it to a greater degree. I like to travel, always keen to go yachting, skiing, or partake in other adventurous pastimes which can provide an escape to health and inner balance. We, our family and friends, often have trips which mostly are closer to nature than to say, shopping. In particular, I like to see the world, see people in other places, and observe how others run their lives and businesses whilst doing so.