For The Love of... 'epret-epret'

I had a great time last Friday. Who would have thought sharing session with Samuel Mulia would be more than just fun, full of giggles and laughter, and most of all.. so insightful!

Samuel finally stepped into the orange house just before 5.00 p.m. last Friday. He was introduced to everybody and rushed to the meeting room to begin the sharing session.

I came in late. So I missed the beginning part of the discussion. All I realized was the room filled with laughter the moment I entered and Samuel was explaining about working for some events with few brands and the nity gritty part which he defines as… ‘yang epret-epret itu lho’ in his very own distinct style.

Samuel shared his valuable experience from the time he headed A+ Magazine, SOAP magazine, to his current occupation as the Special Project Editor with The Jakarta Post, not for the paper, but for its upcoming monthly magazine insert that will be known as the "Weekender". Nowadays Samuel is known nationwide through his PARODI column in the Sunday edition of KOMPAS. Sam is very proud with his achievements throughout his many years of career, from his years in the core team of DEWI magazine, and also when he sold the cover page of A+ magazine to a sponsor, which was the first time such thing was done in Indonesia. Not long after that, other followed.

Being a very straight forward person, Sammy is not embarrassed to admit whatever business he’s doing is 70% based on the money aspect. That’s what drives him to bring, give the best idea and end result with whomever it is he’s working with. According to Sammy, the tendency of what we called as a ‘corporate culture’ which most of the time, gets in the way. Not to mention bureaucracy, idealism and individual differences, prevents us from giving what is needed, and which may be the best or most appropriate result for our end users. In the end, they are the ones who will help us to achieve that success. Sammy also shared how to see things from many different perspectives, get out of the box, yet, be considerate. Move ahead one step at a time. When the right time has come, you’ll get to see what else the world has to offer you.

His piece of advise for us PR practitioners, to always understand what the media needs, not only what we need or expect them to do for us. Pay attention to those little precious detail, then you will gain the most out of it. Be approachable to the media, give a bit of personal touch, and make them feel like they are needed, because you really do need them!

Sammy’s love for fashion and lifestyle has brought him to the level where he is now. He can see things from angles which any other person can’t. He shared with us that changing a mindset of a person may cost you a lifetime, what more a nation to think or do as what we perceive as the best or the right thing.

The wisest thing to do is be a pioneer! Lead the way, be successful, and eventually you’ll find yourself having people to follow you.

As I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t entirely in the room during the session; however the small part of the whole story as what I just shared has contributed quite a big portion into my perspective. Hope it contributes something to you too!