Do you have what it takes to resuscitate a losing company?

If you haven’t found that one bright business idea, how about resuscitating a losing company?

This strategy is definitely not for the faint hearted. Read how 37-year old Tony Fernandes, Warner Music’s top honcho in Southeast Asia six years ago, turned his back on his company Jaguar and a lifestyle that included hobnobbing with recording stars and entertainment executives, to gamble on a Malaysian airline that was under an $11-million debt and seemingly dark future.

“He quit Warner, mortgaged his home, and sank his lifetime savings into a Malaysian airline that had racked up an $11-million debt even before 9/11. To Fernandes, it was the realization of a boyhood dream to own an airline; to his peers in the corporate world, it was like jumping off a plane without a parachute.

“Most people thought I was crazy,” says Mr. Fernandes. “When we started, they said it wouldn’t work. They said we would die.”

Mr. Fernandes not only survived the costly plane ride; he thrived. His Air Asia is now an international carrier world-renowned for revolutionizing Southeast Asian air travel as Asia’s first budget carrier. Its no-frills business model has spawned copycats among Southeast Asian airlines offering low-cost fares and forced Asian skies open.

How did he do it? There’s that P word again. Hey, I meant passion. He also has a knack for hiring people who share his passion, cultivating a good corporate culture, having a good branding strategy and never losing sight of business goals.

Read the entire article here.

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