"A leader is not only someone who inspires but also someone who does the job well," — Argen Darmann on the principles of effective leadership

Argen Darmanov, city — Bishkek, CEO of IT company Mancho, linktr.ee

About global changes and trends

Although the pandemic occurred only four years ago, time has passed quickly since then, and much has changed. COVID-19 accelerated digitalization, moving many processes online, and many companies adapted to this. During this period, the IT sector grew significantly as companies began actively hiring employees, and the demand for online tools and services was enormous.

However, when the pandemic ended and people returned to offices, the situation changed. Many online services and tools lost their relevance, and the revenues of IT companies fell. This led to mass layoffs in large companies, and many who worked in the technology sector found themselves without jobs, despite the initial boom in IT.

COVID-19 became a catalyst for change, but, as in any crisis, the consequences for many were not as rosy as expected. We live in an era of new trends and challenges, and the impact of the pandemic on the industry has become part of the past.

About new challenges

The main challenge for the IT industry is personnel. It is difficult to find qualified specialists. On the one hand, work standards are rising, and on the other, education is not keeping up with these changes. There is a mismatch between company requirements and specialists' skills.

Furthermore, AI-based tools are actively entering the market. Next year, many companies will begin using AI agents — virtual employees performing tasks according to set parameters. The active implementation of these technologies will further change the labor market.

For example, programmers using AI tools can increase their productivity by 30–50%. This will allow companies to handle the same volume of tasks, reducing the need for additional staff. However, such changes may lead to new challenges both in the labor market and for the specialists themselves.

About the role of new technologies

In Kyrgyzstan, it is difficult to talk about ML and AI because we still collect data poorly. Artificial intelligence works effectively only when there is something to process. At the moment, data is mainly collected by commercially successful companies for their own needs.

AI helps companies increase productivity through internal systems and agents. But in areas where there is no data or it is difficult to collect, it is too early to talk about artificial intelligence. Mass implementation of AI in Kyrgyzstan is still far off.

About future employees

We ourselves are engaged in education, and we always repeat the same thing to our students: the main thing is the ability to learn independently. Encountered a problem or risk — find a solution yourself. This skill seems simple, but it is critically important: to be able to immerse yourself, ask the right questions, understand the depth of the problem, and find a solution.

It is important not just to perform tasks, but to understand the essence of the problem, why it is needed, and how to solve it best. We call this engineering thinking — when you see the whole picture, evaluate resources, time, and value, and then offer a solution.

In addition to engineering thinking, it is necessary to develop other types: critical thinking, systems thinking, design thinking, first principles thinking, and analogical thinking. The ability to approach tasks correctly is much more important than just knowing tools. Tools, programming languages, and technologies can be mastered. The main thing is to be able to learn, think correctly, and be persistent to handle large volumes of information.

About the impact of global trends on company strategy

Successful IT products are those that provide a convenient and independent user experience without the need to interact with the support team. Unfortunately, we hardly have local products with such an approach, but we are developing precisely in this direction.

It is worth noting the sharing economy separately. In it, you do not necessarily need to own something: you can rent or subscribe, and owners, in turn, can share resources through IT platforms. We do not use this directly yet, but we are looking at such business models for IT development.

The topic of AI will be relevant for many years. This is not a short-term trend, but a long-term evolution that will constantly develop and influence the industry.

We are not currently considering new segments and want to focus on current products. Everything depends on the direction:

— MedTech: our product in medicine is already working well in the Kyrgyz market. We are considering the possibility of expanding to other countries in Central Asia or any other markets with similar business models
— FinTech: here we are still at the stage of testing in the local market. Under good conditions and partnerships, we plan to go international, but this is a matter for the future
— EdTech: our school with a self-learning model without lessons, teachers, grades, and exams is already attracting interest. We plan to first enter Russian-speaking countries, and then adapt the product for other markets.

What a future leader should be like

There is a great book, "Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action" by Simon Sinek, and I completely agree with his approach. Good leadership starts with answering the question "Why?" — why do we do what we do? What is our vision? Why do we work full-time, stay in the evenings and on weekends? Just for money is not an inspiring answer. We want to create fairer solutions, especially in such areas as FinTech, EdTech, and MedTech. We offer fairer solutions for users and business. This is the reason we work.

For me, a good leader is not only someone who inspires but also someone who does the work qualitatively, that is, possesses the necessary skills. This is a person who can deeply immerse themselves in the problem and solve it in practice, not just speak beautiful words. A leader must be able to work with a team, be involved in the process, and, if necessary, help at all stages.

What the company will be like in 10 years

Thinking 10 years ahead is difficult, given the dynamics of changes in the world. Previously, we imagined a large company with 500–1000 employees, but today our views have changed. We strive to maintain a small but highly effective team, paying attention to resource optimization and increasing productivity. We want to influence millions of people with our products, creating global IT solutions that make life fairer and more convenient.

We want technology to help optimize processes, eliminating unnecessary things that waste people's time, money, and energy. Our goal is to improve medicine, education, finance, and other aspects of life where effective solutions can be implemented.

In 10 years, we see our startups as global IT products that influence hundreds of millions of people around the world, making their lives simpler, faster, and better.

About the role of the company in the future

We want to create fair products, improving processes in various industries. Fairness for us is not just translating old methods online. It is rethinking familiar things, such as grades, money transfers, or education, using new technologies. We see that processes in various spheres can be improved with technology, automation, and optimization. We strive to create products that solve real problems and make life simpler.

Our YouTube channel is a priceless resource. We upload recordings of meetings, lectures, and events we hold. This can be useful not only for beginners but also for experienced professionals. We openly share our knowledge and experience, and we hope this will help many.