Awards Gala 2010 Keynote Speech by Dr. Long Nguyen, CEO of Pragmatics

Dear esteemed guests, I am honored to be here today and want to thank The Vietnamese American National Chamber of Commerce and Ms. Anh Nguyen for having invited me here this evening. I thought I would share with you several practical lessons I have learned during my time with Pragmatics, which I established twenty five years ago.

For background information, our market focus is on Information Technology services and solutions to the Federal Government in 5 areas: Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, Information Assurance, Infrastructure Management Support, and Program Management. We support programs of national importance such as SW development of the DoD’s Global Command and Control System, Software Development of the FAA’s next generation Air Traffic Management System, and Independent Software Testing of all of the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection Systems. For FY10, our revenues were close to $150M. Within a few years, through organic growth and acquisition, we should be near $250M, when we plan to go public with an IPO.

I have summarized the major lessons I learned over the past twenty five years into the following main ideas.

1. Aim high. Do not be afraid to take risks. Twenty years from now, you will regret more for what you did not do than for what you tried. No matter how old you are, you can still conquer the world.

2. Persevere. Never give up. Never quit. Always finish what you start. Look at obstacles as opportunities to improve and grow. The rescue of the Chilean miners should be a reminder for all of us: for 17 long days President Sebastian Pinera never gave up. He persevered until the rescuers made contact with the trapped miners.

3. Keep your integrity. Do what you say you will do, i.e. keep your word. Your reputation is very important. We can be both successful and honest.

4. Develop and maintain a global vision. The world is a global village with a global economy. Whether you are in business or not, your life is affected by events around the world.

5. Be humble. As people become more and more successful, they tend to become arrogant. Also, in order to progress, we need to be egoless and willing to seek and accept better ideas, be surrounded by talented people and willing to accept criticism.

6. As many of you already know, the keys to success are: motivation, hard work, some intelligence, and a little luck.

7. Make a difference in the lives of other people, no matter how small that difference is. Help those less fortunate than we are. Pragmatics established relief funds for the victims of the Haiti Earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, and 9/11. We have organized a dinner, phone card drives, and care packages for our wounded veterans and warfighters We have an active public service group called Pragmatics SERVES, which regularly does fundraising drives, collects food, clothing for the needy among other community activities.

8. Invest in the next generation by emphasizing education. Education and family are the ingredients that have made us economically secure today. We also want our children to learn how to work in and lead teams, have a social conscience, and be highly motivated. Being book smart is just a starting point to build a work ethic.

9. Be grateful to America for the freedoms we enjoy and opportunities for us to succeed if we are willing to work hard. We have benefited from this and should contribute back into making it an even better country and society for our descendants to grow up in. Help those who come behind you. America took in more than 1 million Vietnamese refugees and now this investment should start to pay dividends.

10. Unite. You have started a Chamber Of Commerce. Your next important step is to unite the various groups. Look at the big picture and avoid factional fights. Common interests always come before personal interests. Get rid of group thinking. Vietnamese people are very intelligent and talented. If we work together we can be even more successful and achieve bigger goals. I didn’t build Pragmatics by myself, but through identifying, recruiting, and rewarding talent around me. At Pragmatics, our leaders work together toward common goals in a Leadership Team, not a Team of Leaders.

11. Be proud of your Vietnamese heritage and convey that to your children. A few months ago, Ngo Bao Chau was awarded the Fields Medal, which is the Nobel Prize equivalent for Mathematics. It indicates that Vietnamese can produce world class scientists, artists, entrepreneurs, leaders etc. I expect that future Vietnamese generations either in VN or in other countries will produce top-notch talent to contribute to the development and growth of the world. By being Vietnamese Americans, we are culturally richer than just Vietnamese or Americans. We can take what is best from both cultures to live a successful, balanced, and happy life.

12. And most importantly, enjoy your life and work to the fullest.

This has been a great privilege for me to meet with all of you today and share some thoughts about being a successful entrepreneur in the greatest country on earth. Again, thank you for having me here tonight.