In 2005, I stepped down as the CEO of Trend Micro Inc., an international anti-virus firm. At the time, I hoped to engender social impact with the knowledge I have learned as well as experience and resources I have obtained in the business world over the first half of my life.

Over the 15 years, I have contemplated how to apply core competitiveness and resources to public welfare correctly, adequately, and efficiently. A year after my retirement, I traveled to Vietnam to plant trees and founded Flow Inc. During the process, I have encountered numerous setbacks, so I relentlessly try to explore what the essential qualities of a NPO are.

Management expert Peter Drucker once said that for-profit and nonprofit organizations all invest money but they generate different outcomes, the former is money, and the latter is human change. For investors, the ROI (return on investment) is used as an indicator of performance, but how does one measure human change?

My Chinese Philosophy teacher Hsin I-Yun used Mencius' “Jin Xin”  to provide me with guidance. The literature documents the various stages of elevating one's heart in detail. Starting with the upliftment of self-esteem, true awakening is about seeing oneself and more importantly, to accomplish yourself and others. The mentaltransformation process is exclusive to eastern philosophy.

For 15 years, I learned that the first step to creating a good NPO or social enterprise is to never have any subjective thoughts. Instead, be as good and selfless as water, always seek the greater good. One should always think about how to ascertain the genuine needs of those in need of assistance and gather, analyze their feedbacks for the sake of optimizing service quality on an ongoing basis.

There are already many non-profit organizations(NPOs) in the world and there is no need for an additional NPO. Ming Yi aspires to become the NPO for the NPOs, collaborating with NPOs who share the same vision in Taiwan and across the world through introducing the know-how of business optimization and innovation. By integrating eastern and western measurement methods and goals, we will be able to enhance the spiritual health of beneficiaries.

During the process, the beneficiaries will allow the entrepreneurs or social workers to uphold their aspirations by constantly offering them feedbacks so that they can provide better services for the beneficiaries. Ultimately, all Ming Yi's coworkers, NPO partners, and beneficiaries can be enlightened to emanate their innate moral character and become better selves.

This is the North Star I seek.