Recognizing the Hero in You!

The Christmas season provided us a respite from the busy work days. It allowed us to find the time to reflect on the greatness of God and His divine decision to send His Son to become man, and therefore, be one of us. Then it made me rediscover the soul of Mary who said yes to the will of God, considering herself as the “handmaid of the Lord”. The theme for me was utmost heroism and self-sacrifice.

HEROIC SERVANT LEADERSHIP

In leadership literature today, one encounters more frequently “heroic” and “servant leadership”. It is noteworthy that the trend was set over 2000 years ago when at the right time, God put in motion the series of events that permitted us to celebrate Christmas today.

I understood, there is something deep and profound around the term heroism. It was a term popularized once again with the untimely death of DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo (though I believe that God’s time is always perfect) and how people saw in his simple and moving ways true service and concern for people. He embodied the selfless leadership that moved people’s hearts to go beyond themselves and reach out to others.

ROBREDO AND MAGSAYSAY AWARDS

A few weeks after his death, I received an invitation from Magsaysay Foundation to attend the awards night for the 2012 Ramon Magsaysay Awards. Out of curiosity and a desire to write about the subject, I nudged my husband to join me. It was to listen to a running theme of heroism. Heroism means having the courage to forget oneself at the service of community or society. It is making that contribution that matters. The awardees were ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives. Or rather they were people who responded to that deep calling within them for service and sacrifice, not counting the cost of their personal comfort.

It also made me ask myself, in this stage in my life, am I ready to live a heroic life? A heroic life is living life to the fullest driven by that mission that lies deep within our soul that drives us to serve others. I also understood that heroism has a different meaning for every person. Every person is irreplaceable in the sense of the unique combination of talent, disposition, competence and grit that moves one to act. The core question is: what can I best contribute within my unique capacities and competence?

HEROIC ROLE MODEL

Recently, I met a married couple, friends of mine, whom I used to tap as consultants for value formation when I used to work in a bank. I encountered then in the Saturday market held inside our village. I heard the good news that the woman has gone in remission for the cancer that has afflicted her. And in her journey her husband gave solid and faithful support. What impressed me most was her story. She went for chemotherapy in Singapore. She understood how at the chemotherapy room people felt sad and depressed, with a lingering pallor and scent of death.

In her case, she was deeply spiritual. She understood that her sickness was a special gift reserved by God for special people, who willingly offer their sufferings in union of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. With this prayerful attitude she became the “ray of sunshine” in that room spreading cheer and joy, energizing patients with love and hope. She understood there is nothing “impossible with God”. She wanted to provide the “positive psychology” she has mastered to everyone. Today, with much gratitude in her heart, she demonstrated to us what heroism meant in that hospital bed. Indeed, whatever our circumstances we can be heroes.

HEROISM AND MISSION

A hero based on the dictionary definition is a “man of distinguished courage or ability admired for his/her brave deeds and noble qualities”. S/he is in the opinion of others a model or ideal person. I also strongly believed that the essence of heroism is the ability discover one’s mission and start to actualize it. I understood mission as “listening to the voice within” and doing God’s will. I agree with St. Jane Frances de Chantal when she said, "Happy are those who concentrate on following the will of God in all their actions. They will enjoy a deep peace because they find happiness in doing God’s will”.

Twenty two years ago, I made the decision to think through my personal mission. It was a statement that gave me clarity and a sense of purpose defining who I am and how I want to live. In pursuit of this mission I decided to set up Ancilla (a helping hand), a training and consulting company at the service of people and enterprises using my competencies in organization development, human resource management and communications.

Most importantly, it was to embrace the philosophy and values of the economy of communion of the Focolare Movement. Essentially, the company’s profits would not be at the service of its stockholders alone, but a portion is given to help the poor and another portion for spreading the gospel. They have truly been the most fulfilling and enjoyable years of my personal and professional life. We know the gospel is true, “give and you shall receive” and our cupboards have never run empty.

PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT

Stephen Covey guides us through making a personal mission statement. “It is an individual statement that defines what you want to be (character) what you want to do (contributions and achievement) and the values and principles upon which being and doing are based”.

2013 MISSION 

 
After much reflection, I have decided that I will continue to be a “helping hand”, but this time not only for business enterprises but to provide affordable services to social enterprises that help in alleviating poverty. As I see the rosy Philippine economic indicators, my wish is to have more people participate in the gains of the economy through reduced poverty levels in our country. I understood that side by side with what is done at the national levels, one can help families and communities.  

I will use my competencies in managing change, human resources and communications to help strengthen social enterprises located in poor communities to build capability to enable and empower the poor. I believe in KASH mapping, looking deeply in the knowledge, attitude, skills and habits of a poor family and make it easier to customize and find the precise intervention needed. These can include coaching, training, education, referrals, networking among others. The key is for the family to find work or livelihood that ensure financial stability.

WORKING MODELS FOR ADDRESSING POVERTY

I dream of discovering and writing up working models that will be useful as I pursue work for my doctorate degree and put the material at the service of the country. I know that in partnership with others, this is possible. It is not easy, one has to persevere in helping, but I am aware that true “peace” in my soul and in our country can result from caring and systematic ways of helping the poor. I wish to firm up my plans in 2013 and start to execute in 2014.

I end this article with the wish for our dear readers to craft or review their personal mission statement and start building the hero in you. My best wishes for a meaningful 2013!

Employee Engagement Through Innovation

Recently, Ancilla Enterprise Development Consulting launched a movement for national innovation by inviting Herman Gyr Ph.D. and Lisa Friedman Ph.D., principals of Enterprise Development Group, a consulting company based in Palo Alto, California to conduct a CEO Forum and an Innovation Skills Boot Camp. Gyr and Friedman have consulting practices that span Europe and the United States. Being at the center of innovation that is Silicon Valley, they came to share their insights and impart innovation tools and skills.

Sponsors to the events among others are national associations such as the AIM Alumni Association, People Managers Association of the Philippines, the Philippine Society of Training and Development and the Organization Development Practitioners Network and the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

We are fortunate to work closely with them as partners and we had the privilege to have deep conversations that resulted in this interview article.

Tita: Why is innovation so important in this day and age?

Lisa: For two reasons.  One, today many economies are struggling. Manufacturing is shifting. Business is shifting. Whole industries need to reinvent themselves. Many countries are losing their manufacturing base. They have to find solutions solve economic problems. They have to invent solutions to revitalize their economy. Second, man today is facing many big problems that did not exist before and they need to be solved. These problems are global warming and environmental disasters. He has to seek solutions and this means to innovate.

Herman: There is a third reason, the digital revolution. Look around you in this restaurant, people have gadgets that did not exist when I visited the Philippines 16 years ago, three people using Ipads, even that two year old watching a movie through a tablet, everyone with a cellphone. In the world today, things change very quickly all the time. There is the constant digital revolution, speeding up of new technical developments. A whole new world is opening up with potential for whole market. Take for example the apps stores innovated by Steve Jobs. What is wonderful is the world can benefit from innovation. A relatively poor person can have access to all information. This is a revolutionary moment, where we have access to information to express ourselves, to innovate.

Lisa:  Even the nature of change is changing. Everything is  speeding  up. People have always been changing but the difference is change today is exponential. Changes also have completely changed culture. Exponential changes are happening almost every 18 months. It all began with the microchip.

Tita:   Does man have the capability to cope with all these changes?

Herman:     Creativity is not a limited resource. Man is capable of developing new ways of thinking, learning, communicating and managing information. For example there is a physics experiment today that can only succeed if 7000 scientists are connected to each other, trying to discover the building blocks of the universe, how did it all started. During the time of Einstein he worked probably with a small group. Today with technology, one can study in collaboration with others, complex problems, thinking of things the world has never thought of, it is a new era of innovation.

What is exciting about this moment is that technology is very cheap with instant connection with the world, there is  no difference where you are in the world today. It gives the small country an advantage. Take for example the Philippines.  English provides you the opportunity to connect to the world, you have a global language, no reason why  you cannot develop a Silicon Valley here.

Lisa: In fact in the United States, many young people leave stable jobs and start things on their own. This is the story of most successful innovations.

Tita: Today the Philippines is a major business process outsourcing center from IT, finance, human resources, customer service. Over a million people are employed in said companies. Can this industry lead to innovation?

Lisa: Definitely, people working in these industries acquire skills that can be put at the service of innovation.

Tita:  How do you differentiate creativity from innovation?

Lisa: Innovation is taking your creativity into something that creates value in the market. This is innovation.

Herman: It is creativity that delivers a value to a market. Something new is not necessarily innovative. Innovation delivers value, creativity is an important quality to enable innovation.

Tita:  In the case of developing countries like the Philippines, can’t we just be followers, can we just wait for innovation to come in?

Herman: Innovation is all about creating a community of users. Community is built by a first mover. If we just improve a little bit, we fall behind exponentially. Innovation is an economic engine, that must remain viable. Innovation means innovating processes and products to existing customers who want more. It is all about inspiring and engaging employees and getting them involved in the process of innovation. If you don’t innovate you fall behind. You have the capacity to do things better. It maybe corporate culture that holds people back, if you make people wait, this destroys the innovative spirit, people lose energy.

Tita: Talking about culture. Can national culture be holding back our ability to innovate? Filipino culture is often described as one that has high power distance with a strong respect for authority, more collective than individualist, more short term in thinking and risk averse,

Lisa:  The opposite is in fact true. Philippine culture has all the ingredients for successful innovation. It is not the individual alone but the group, the team that innovates. It is not about being reckless but it is about truly delivering value to the customer by managing risks.

It is about creating a value proposition that pays off. It is about leadership inspiring innovation.

Herman: Let us debunk the negative myths of innovation. What is best for innovation is doing it with others, not alone. It is not taking big risks, but managing risk taking. Venture capitalists do not take unnecessary risks, the idea they fund has great chances of being successful in the market. What is the market opportunity? We teach the discipline of innovation.

Lisa: We teach how to do innovation in person or on line. We have tools where people can vote, teams work out their value propositions, we have judges who sit in panels, we have contests that surface best ideas tapping the wisdom of the crowd, we look at which value propositions get the most votes, the customers are your gauge.

Herman: This is the age face book and twitter where human activities and exchange of ideas are happening in virtual space, we can solve things together.

Lisa: We can have bottom up  campaigns that can lead to strategic areas. Leaders can ask  for innovation, people look at leaders to run innovation campaigns. Working for example with a client in London they will be running a campaign that will supports the summer Olympics, where leadership defines an area of strategic importance. People and leaders must know how to develop innovation, people should not be punished for innovating.

Tita: How did you get interested in innovation as a consulting practice?

Lisa:  We felt and saw the need. The companies and industries we were consulting with were changing rapidly. They needed to be redefined from television, newspapers, post office, telecom, health care. There is potential disruption in these industries due to change. Innovative processes are needed. There was need to reinvent industries, some growing quickly, others smaller and more streamlined. It grew out of the work of the dynamic enterprise we wrote in our book ten years ago. It is about how to look at the future.  This is the work we have been doing for 25 years. It is also being based in Silicon Valley and proximity to Hollywood the center for entertainment. We have developed powerful innovation tools that we have seen succeed across continents.

Herman: We are truly happy being able to share to Filipino CEOS and people who will support innovation what we have learned for the past 25 years.

In closing, we are grateful to the Principals of Enterprise Development Group for their selfless support to our campaign for national innovation.

Entrepreneurship At It's Best

By Tita Datu Puangco

Recently, I flew to Cagayan de Oro to help " form" the new management team of an aqua and hog feeds plant named Pro Natural. Traveling from the airport, one can witness the brisk activities of rebuilding after the devastation wrought by the recent Sendong typhoon. I did not know that the workshop was to be held in a beautiful unpretentious resort called Midway owned and personally managed by Borge Echavez, 32 years old.

I was quite impressed by the level of customer service of the person assigned to assist us. He was quick on his feet, pleasant and respectful of the rules. Once he was offered something to eat. he politely declined the invitation because it was against the rules and that there is a proper time and place for the service assistants to eat.

Our training room left much to be desired, the air conditioners were not enough to cool the blistering heat being transported to us from outside. At one time we decided to open the windows and the doors to let the sea breeze cool us. But the group managed to work their best given the challenging environment. The joy of bonding, camaraderie and of course of good and delicious food worked wonders on people's learning.

Borge shared with us the history of the resort. His father bought it for 500 pesos a going away gift from wealthy and famous Muslim families whom he served for 10 years as a houseboy. He bought the resort in 1980. Borge recently got an offer to sell the resort for P 90 million that he courteously turned down.

In 2001 Borge took over after his father died. It was not easy because the enterprise had debts that even resulted in a foreclosure of property. After paying off debts to get back the property, he realized he a had to go back to study to manage the resort.

In one of the seminars he attended he was impressed by one of the speakers who talked of the importance of "personalized hands on operation" and the secret of success being " to befriend every guest " so that they come back for repeat business or spread through word of mouth the great service they received. He adopted the strategy and true enough he achieved a high 90 per cent repeat visitor record.

Then keenly aware of the trends in resorts he decided to attract the young through water sports including jet ski, kayaks, banana boat. He also added a zip line with a difference. The end point was a delightful splash into the sea. His first zip line he acquired at P 200,000 And the investment he recovered in 3 months time. Then he invested in a longer one for
P 400,000 and the experience of a quick return on his investment was repeated. When I took the zip line I noted the concern for safety and also the signing of the waiver protecting the resort from unjustified legal suits.

Another factor for success is good financial management that ensures that he keeps himself relatively free of debt. Borge also attracts groups to the resort through reasonable and competitive low packages for groups as few as 12 persons that include 3 meals, 2 snacks, rooms, all rides, jet skil, zip line, banana boat, kayak, glass bottom boat, beach volley ball and airport transfers for minimum for less than P2,000 per participant. He also understands customer seasons, one for the summer is attracting families and company outings and the seminar and training session from July to December. He has preference for government institutions who do several training batches year round.

Borge is also keen in preparing for succession, training his young children to work in the resort as his father did with him. Each child is assigned to monitor one major revenue stream on weekends. A young daughter takes care of the catering business. another boy the water sports and still another the zip line. Each one is paid P 100 per day during the weekend.

So, are these success factors in explaining success? In financial terms, resort revenues of P 400.000 to P 2 million a month. Other less tangible factors include his good relationships with both Muslims and Christians, and as a Christian he pledges a tithe to his community. he believes in " helping each other " as a practice.

Slowly he is replacing huts made of native material into concrete houses. In one section of the resort brisk construction is happening. One can already imagine the bright future of this resort and the blessings in store for the family that runs it.

It was a privilege talking to Borge. he is someone who can be mistaken as a coast guard, tanned with broad shoulders, wearing beach slippers with a walkie talkie in hand, making decisions and talking to customers. In Midway, unlike other resorts, one finds the learning entrepreneur, right at the middle of the action.

Managing Leader Transitions

By Tita Datu Puangco 

I rejoice every time I have the opportunity to do a leadership transition intervention for companies. I realize the benefits when a Mancom or Excom gets together to ensure through proper leader transition business continuity. It sensitively honors the legacy of past leadership and ushers in new  leadership that ensures new perspectives and approaches.

Recently, I had the privilege of acting as facilitator to this critical leadership challenge to a company that is leader in its industry. It  always amazes me how a series of simple questions answered and shared in sincere dialogue can increase trust. It builds the much needed bond among members who can move forward with great confidence towards the future.

I have witnessed it in a client company that is a leading institution in micro finance. The family owned institution decided to hire an experienced banker retired from a unibank. The two-day transition  workshop built a strong foundation of credibility and drove away fears and lack of confidence of the home grown officers. Since then, from the unified leadership, the institution has experienced much growth.

The training intervention has to be designed by first strengthening the bonding typical of a first stage team building exercise. Then it moves to a two-stage dialogue. The new leaders answer a set of questions guided by a consultant while the others work out answers to another set  of similar questions.

Then a sharing of answers follow with one side listening and asking questions of clarification . Then the tables turn with the other side sharing answers and enter retaining questions.

The session then concludes with norm sharing and a listing  of next steps. I realize creating a risk free environment where people can express their thoughts freely and candidly with consideration result in a windfall of goodwill for everyone. If any of our readers want sample questions, I would gladly share.

The opposite is true. A fast growing company was greatly hampered by cliques among the leaders, the clique of the old , the clique of the new and a number of leaders caught in between the politics of the two cliques. Leadership however refuses to see the need to confront the situation. Little by little resignations started to happen as the environment inside the company has become a contest poisoning the environment, discouraging talented employees from remaining and productivity remaining at low levels.

My learning, handling leader transitions result in big gains for an enterprise.

Art of Successful Career Shifting

By Tita Datu Puangco
[Published April 22, 2012  in the Philippine Daily Inquirer]

You are in a job that does not fully optimize your talent. You graduated from a nursing course and have difficulty landing a job. You are a call center agent who can’t adjust to sleeping during the day. These and other reasons may make you consider shifting careers. There is a part of you that wants to cling to the old comfortable job and skills, yet the yearning for a fulfilling job encourages you.

Leider and Shapiro, in their book “Repacking your Bags”, ask: where is your smile? They encourage you to answer the following questions: Are you living your own vision of the good life or somebody else’s? Are you having more or less fun than you did 5 years ago? They formulated the concept for the good life“ as living in the place you belong, with the people you love, doing the right work on purpose.” If you have lost your smile, then it is time to consider shifting work or career.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE JOB­

Where do you start? First step is to get to know better the job that you are attracted to. Interview people who work your dream job and find out how they got to their jobs. You may also offer to do on the job training with a company that offers them. For some , the Chinese saying,” one step backward and two step forward” may apply

NETWORK EXTENSIVELY.

Step 2: Ask your friends if they have in their network people who can introduce you to the sector that you are interested in. In this age of social networking, people can introduce you to people in the know. Keep an active curiosity. Be open.

INVENTORY YOUR SKILLS

Step 3: Take an inventory of your skills and competencies. Remember to do an exhaustive list to include general, managerial or technical skills. Then ask yourself which skills are transferable to other jobs and those you enjoy most.

MATCH WITH SKILLS IN TARGETED JOB

Step 4: Make a list of skills and competencies in your targeted jobs and do a match of your earlier inventory. For those that match, are they your strong skills? If not what can you to build them? You may want to attend training programs or find a certificate course

DEVELOP YOUR JOB OBJECTIVE

Step 5 : Develop your job objective. Your job objective in essence becomes your vision. It is important because it calls attention to your potential and alerts the employer on the type of job you seek. You may choose to do it the short way or th long way. What is important is to clearly state your functional interest. It can also express what you want to offer. Make it work oriented rather than self directed.

WRITE AN INTERESTING RESUME

Step 6: Write an interesting yet concise resume covering your competencies, knowledge and skills as well as your work experience. If you are interested in a career shift note down your strengths that you can tap for the position applied. Then email your resumes to acquaintances and friends who can help pass it on. The goal is to get as many job interviews as possible that increase your chances of landing a job. Or be on the watch for job fairs where companies go out of their way to woo applicants.

REHEARSE FOR THE INTERVIEW

Step 7: Prepare and rehearse for the interview. Write down a list of possible questions and prepare answers. Ask a friend to rehearse with you the interviewer-applicant interaction so you can refine your answers while maintaining authenticity and integrity.

ANTICIPATE CHANGE

Step 8: Identify the helping and hindering forces in making the career transition. Find out how you can optimize the helping forces and how to minimize, neutralize or eliminate the driving forces. Develop action plans to facilitate your career transition.

COMPARE RISKS WITH BENEFITS

Step 9: Consider the risks compared to the benefits. Anticipate the potential discomforts of moving from your existing job and prepare mentally and emotionally for the endings, moving through the neutral zone, then moving to your new beginnings. Consider likewise the financial adjustments by ensuring you have enough savings when you make the career shift.

LEARN THE NEW JOB

Step 10: Starting in a new job requires enthusiasm and energy. Manage your stress as you adapt and flex to the new job. Remember your learning curve has to rise. Be patient with yourself and make time for building learning partners in your new workplace.

Shifting career is not easy. But if your new job is aligned to your talents and skills before long, you will find not just a smile on your face but money in your pocket as well.