Davis Yung is the president of grocery wholesaler Fresh Direct Produce. The Vancouver-based company employs 160 people and supplies major supermarket chains such as Loblaws, Wal-Mart and Safeway.
Today, Yung is a confident speaker and storyteller. But it wasn't always that way. As a 22-year-old working his first job after university, Yung completely flubbed his first cold call.
"The call lasted for about two minutes," recalled Yung, who came to Canada as an international student. "After I did my pitch and introduced myself and the company, all I heard from the other side was, 'I can't really understand what you're talking about. Please get it together and call me back,' and then he just hung up."
The experience was humiliating. Yung says he still blushes every time he tells the story. But the harsh reaction really got through to him.
"I had to thank that person," said Yung. "Sometimes it takes something like that to make it stick. If it had been a very nice, polite way of saying no, I might not have got it."
Yung realized that despite completing a business degree in Canada, he needed to improve his English. He started taking night-school courses but didn't tell his boss.
"I was too embarrassed," he said.
After a year, his English had noticeably improved. The process inspired him to keep learning. He went on to get an executive MBA from Queen's University and earned a CMA designation.
"Knowing that I one day may possibly be running a company, I wanted to have a background in financial management."
He now shares that passion for learning with his employees. Fresh Direct Produce pays for training throughout the year on practical skills like negotiation, efficiency and peer-to-peer communication.
"We are paying for that [training] time," said Yung. "Why? Because we really believe it's going to be for the benefit of the individuals and the company."
