Executive Read

Amid complex strategic choices, leaders, managers go for ‘laws’

2006-07-18T00:04:00.000-07:00

In the midst of information overload on the so- called “best”, “time-tested” and “fail-safe” marketing strategies and tactics, you can almost hear confused and exasperated leaders and managers saying: “Enough!”
This is one phenomenon of the age. In this complex world, people thirst for the simple- and, yes, the elemental. With the avalanche of choices, people yearn for old-fashioned order.

Imagine the chief marketing officer or a CEO bewitched, bothered and bewildered by so many tactics offered by numberless consultants, innumerable books- and his irrepressible board!

This explains the widespread hunger for a set of principles, leaving tactics and methods to the leader and the manager.

And this explains the drawing power of the “Al Ries Brand Marketing Conference,” held recently at the Philippine Plaza.

The father-and-daughter tandem, Al and Laura Ries talked about the “immutable” laws- meaning, unchanging, forever relevant, and eternally constant principles.

Take the “Law of Leadership,” for example. The Rieses have a one-liner to explain it: “It’s better to be first than it is to be better.” And they cite known brands- Coca Cola, McDonald’s, and IBM. That looked unarguable, at first glance.

And there is another law that seemed to contradict the first, according to one participant- the “Law of Opposite”- which is also a one-liner: “If you’re not the leader, then you need to be the opposite.”
They cited Pepsi Cola, which became the cola of the “younger crowd”- and thus was born the “Pepsi Generation.” Coke is 120 years old.

So, on the midst of such seeming contradictions, why are the Rieses so credible? The reason could be that one law works for one, and another law works for another. They are not actually contradictory; they may be stand-alone laws that work.

Another particular pointed out the seeming conflict between the laws of “focus” and of “divergence”. The focus law stipulates: “Every company needs to resist the temptation to keep adding products and services.”
The Rieses, underscoring the need to focus, compared the success of Southwest Airlines, which they called a “one-fork” airline- no other destinations but business, no other class but coach, and no other flights but domestic.

The other airlines take the best of many worlds. They observed: Southwest is currently worth $12.4 billion, or more than three times the other airlines.

In another breath, though, they offered the “Law of Divergence,” with this explanation: “Over time, a category will diverge and become two or more categories.

Taking off from Charle’s Darwin’s “Origin of the Species,” they explained: “A species starts out as a single species and then, over time, diverges…Divergence has created new categories of automobiles such as the sport utility vehicle and the mini van.”

The Rieses have been observing the marketplace and have come up with the “natural laws” that govern the market- and gave each law a name.

These laws seemed to have stood the test of time simply because they provided some “anchors” or “principles” to market players. In turn, these players took these principles to heart- and their actions were blessed with success. A principle that has spawned many successes must be a valid one.

That is the reason behind the ever growing following of the speaking, writing and consulting tandem. Such activities reinforce one another.

The books that precede their visits country-to-country or city-to-city continue to have a growing following. Thus when a conference is organized with them at center stage, such a gathering is consistently assured with great success.

There is actually a heart warming quality that Al and Laura share: While they are mentors to over half a million people around the globe, they are also enthusiastic learners.
That’s the secret behind their success. Their capacity to listen is as huge as their capacity to be heard in a very compelling and inspiring way.

Communicate in a ‘recession’ or be a victim of ‘depression’

2006-07-17T23:59:00.000-07:00

Principle has not changed; it pays to advertise during hard times

THE FOLKSY STATEMENT- “OUT of sight, out of mind”- is the best argument among couples that being apart too long would be detrimental to a relationship. This is also a compelling argument for branded products to remain on the shelf- and be visible at all times- to solidify customer loyalty.

Being within sight- and within reach- are also time-tested marketing principles, which the uninitiated or the backslider can ignore at their own peril. And yet, this truism- to advertise, publicize or perish- is soon forgotten when hard times strike, and the knee jerk response of companies is to cut down on such essential functions as advertising and public relations.

In the late 70’s and early 80’s, there were already persuasive arguments in favour of advertising during a recession. In fact, in a section in my MRR (Management Research Report, the equivalent of a master’s thesis) at the Asian Institute of Management, I argued in favour of advertising in the midst of a recession that was already felt then in the early 80’s.

It was supposed to be a compelling logic for organizations to seize the communication initiative when hard times strike. I cited a study made by the Laboratory of Advertising Performance (LAP) of McGraw-Hill Research covering the period 1974-1975.

Advertising equals sales

In the study findings, McGraw-Hill vice president for research, Dr. David Forsyth, cited the “common experience of companies that continued advertising”: In 1974-1975, their sales grew 15 percent higher than those who cut advertising. By 1978, companies that continued advertising had sales of 132 percent above 193 sales levels. Those who trimmed advertising managed a mere 79 percent over 1973 levels.

These figures are, of course, dated. The latest figures from the same McGraw-Hill Research analyzed 600 companies in the US between 1980 and 1985. The results showed that business-to-business firms that “maintained or increased their advertising expenditures” during the 1981-1982 recession averaged “significantly higher sales growth” both during the recession and for the following three years.

And in 1985, the sales of companies that were “aggressive recession advertisers “were 256 percent higher than those which “did not keep up their advertising.” This is a higher figure compared to the 132 percent advantage in 1978.

There is a more encouraging fact, established by a study of another research firm – Meldrum & Fewsmith. The findings are conclusive: Aggressive advertising did not only grow revenues; it even increased profits.

More recently, as pointed out by Dave Donelson, author of “Creative selling: Boost Your B2B Sales,” we should not be perturbed by post-Sept. 11 jitters. “The best way to combat paralysis is to get on with the business of living,” he said. And the business of living includes the “for-profit businesses” as we know them.

Donelson continued, as he zeroed in on advertising: “Numerous studies, including one by the AAA (Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies) of the recessions from 1948 to 1982, show that consumer spending actually grows from the quarter when the economy peaks to the quarter in which it bottoms.” That’s one to really think about.

Preference, awareness

A more comprehensive study is one conducted by the Cahners Research and the Strategic Planning Institute (PIMS). The institute stated: “As awareness increases, preference increases.”

The study, mind you is not without basis. It was based on a survey made in July- September of 2001, covering 88,000 businesses in the US and based on the responses of 23, 341 businesses. The survey sought to correlate preference levels of awareness.

There is direct relationship (researchers call it “correlation”) between awareness and customer preference. Susan Mulcahy, PIMS vice president for research, shared these key insights: As awareness increases from 25 percent to 35 percent, the preference increases from 10percent to 15 percent. As awareness grows from 35 percent to 45 percent, the leap in preference is greater- from 15 percent to 23 percent.

And the largest jump occurs when awareness is 85 percent to 95 percent: preference rises to 56 percent to 71 percent. Such awareness can only be “driven” by the communication discipline of advertising and public relations.

In the same 2001 study, the marketing expenditures of the surveyed companies are channelled to the following: print advertising, 33 percent; sales/promotion materials, 22 percent; television, 11 percent; trade shows, 10 percent; and others include Web advertising, direct mail (print and e-mail), seminars, newsletters and billboards.

Principles the same

What is the message of these figures? The principle has not changed- whether in the ‘70s or the ‘80s- and, in a post 9/11 era. It pays to advertise during hard times or even a recession.

Where does the practice of public relations- or, more specifically, publicity-come in? At the turn of the century, companies have taken the wiser step of using a mix of advertising and public relations to increase sales, expand market share, and build a corporate brand.

A new discipline also emerged: “below the line of advertising.” It is obvious that the phrase was coined by advertising people- showing that the discipline with clout, is still advertising. That this influence may change through time is arguable.

So, how does one make of the audacious statement of Al Ries and Jack Trout, which is also the title of their book: “The Rise of PR and the Fall of Advertising’? Did the tandem sound the death knell of advertising? Far from it, they quickly add. They just underscored the increasing value of PR.

PR, Ries and Trout say, “builds a brand”; while advertising” maintains the brand”.

Vivian Lines, Asia Group president of Hill and Knolton, told a group of PR professionals recently: “Both PR and advertising build brands.”

Advertising builds recall with its complete control of form and content; PR uses the power of third party endorsement. Actually, even this attempt at drawing the lines is still open to challenge.

Dr. Atichart Suntharos, executive vice president, strategic planning of Lowe Lintas & Partners states: “Branding is even more critical in times of crisis. There’s also a need to gain insight into consumer’s changing values.” It may be said that this agency man is biased, but his message is compelling.

And harder to ignore is this advice: In good times, communicate to stand apart; in a recession, communicate to gain unbeatable advantage.

Speaking of a recession, a celebration author once distinguished it from a depression: “In a recession, your neighbour loses his job; in a depression, you lose yours!”

It may be good to consider communicating- via advertising or public relations- or else, you will be overtaken by our own “recession” or “depression”!

Coming to grips with political risks

2006-02-28T00:25:00.000-08:00

There are happy and sad cases of projects that take off and those that would never see the light of day. You know the successful cases: their inauguration rites are flashed on television and find themselves on choice pages of newspapers.

And, soon enough, these projects would begin doing the business they know best – churn out products or provide public services.

Projects that fail. It is not so with projects that failed. They also hit the headlines alright, but these are photos of protesters brandishing placards in a barricade, news on legislators summoning project officials in a congressional hearing and, worse, a banner story of court of law or a regulatory agency ordering the project suspended!

Meanwhile, all forecasts of revenue go hay wire, and shareholders are shocked by the impunity by which government executives, proving the Shakespearean lament on the “insolence of office,” abuse their discretion.

Project proponents, particularly the multinational partners, usually have two choices: one, pack their bags and try friendlier host countries or, two, seek redress from an international court where justice, alas, also grinds so slowly.

The third way. There is a third alternative. They should wise up to the situation and deal with something they at first failed to do: use corrective measures, come to grips with political realities locally and nationally. More specifically, they must, this time, include “political risks” in their risk assessment.

Let’s face it. Engineers and construction experts may build an engineering marvel, harness the best project management methods, complete the project on schedule and within budget, go through scientifically tested simulation exercises, even perfect technical information dissemination among themselves – and yet the projects are delayed or mothballed because they are met with great resistance by people.

We are not lacking at all in books and journals on project management and risk assessment. But, a cursory reading of such books and investigation of other data bank shows a very limited appreciation of the crucial importance of reaching out to the community, listening to their hopes, identifying with their aspirations.

Political risks cannot be ignored. Often, project managers realize a little too late that beyond technical, financial, construction and other risks are the more unpredictable but very important “political risks.”

Helga Odden Resknes of Norway, in a speech before risk managers, cited the need to “establish binding contact between social sciences and natural sciences in order to create the best possible platform for risk communication.”

She meant that real communication must complement the comfort zones of engineers. “A project is never without risks,” said Daniela Van Well-Stam, co-author of “Project Risk Management,” adding that “performing risk analysis and management is actually necessary to maintain control over a project.”

Engineering precision and predictive techniques must be accompanied by honest-to-goodness stakeholder communications, and thus come to grips with community, political – even regulatory – risks.

Communities predisposed to support. Host communities – and even the usual suspects that make it difficult to put up a plant or establish a tollway – do not actually want to squander valuable time opposing worthwhile projects. After all, they would benefit more from a project that creates jobs, brings forth allied industries, and promises a much-delayed prosperity in the area.

Project managers who turn a “blind eye” to and dismiss political risks as a needless distraction to their perfect engineering marvel will get a surprise of their lives. But, if you heed these project risk analysts and spend time on “people issues,” the usual distraction of engineers, your efforts would be rewarded by the community folk themselves, choosing pro-existence or, at the very least, co-existence.

So, the next time you are called upon to do a project, or a friend tells you about his dream infrastructure, advise him to do some environmental scanning in the area, do some thinking out of the “engineering box” – and deal with people issues in the area. Who knows, when his project succeeds, he may reward you with a fat contract – or, at the very least, a steaming hot coffee! (dantemvelasco@yahoo.com)

POLITICAL RISKS Handling a project’s blind spot

2006-02-17T11:43:00.000-08:00

NOTHING ELSE IS NEW. PROJECT PROPONENTS and managers – after putting up an industrial plant, inaugurating a mining site, or erecting a cement plant – are usually shocked by the consequent hostility of host communities.
A power plant in Mindanao, a few years ago, was about complete and turbines were just about to crank out electricity, but other important installations could not be delivered to the site because the roads were blocked by protestors lying in the middle of the road.
A mining site could not start operations due to an implacable resistance by the community, raising environmental concerns. A changing of the guards was hastily made for a new tack, but even the local church prelate remains unconvinced.
A cement plant in the north did not see the light of day due to the vigorous opposition of local residents, confronting the project proponents with serious environmental issues that remained unanswered to this day.
The good news is, the power plant in Mindanao has long begun operations, due to a belated realization that there was a “political” crisis in the community, and then officials staged a successful stakeholder communication effort.
It addressed concerns on the possible pollutions of rivers and risks on health, and reached out to the leaders in the area at all levels of decision-making, from the barangay chairman to the governor.
The protesters were not won over completely, but a mechanism of “critical collaborations” was agreed on. Thus, plant authorities to this day are always on their toes anytime the multi-sectoral monitoring group calls their attention to a possible health or environmental risk.
The mining project continues to be hobbled by a lack of genuine communication effort, but hopes are high that the entry of a high profile executive, known for his commitment to the environment, might yet resolve the impasse.
Engineering marvel is not enough. There must be a gap somewhere. And most project managers have a “blind spot” in the area of “political risks,” which can be addressed by a wide-ranging and well-informed “stakeholder communications” program. This program proceeds from the concept that host communities, among many others, are “stakeholders” of a project.
Engineers and construction experts may build an engineering marvel, harness the best project management methods, complete the project on schedule and within budget, go through scientifically tested simulations exercises, even perfect technical information dissemination among themselves (which they call “communication” in a severely limited way) – yet the projects are delayed or moth-balled because they were met with great resistance by people.
In a study I’m making, I found out that we are not lacking at all in books and journals on project management and risk assessment. But, a cursory reading of such books and investigation of other data bank shows a very limited appreciation of the crucial importance of reaching out to the community, listening to their hopes and fears.
If the project handlers do this, they will invariably find a common ground and thus achieve “co-existence,” at the very least, or “mutual trust,” at best.
Mitigating or eliminating risks. Project managers, deep into engineering disciplines, may understandably gloss over the importance of “human communication” in their risk assessment exercises. Often, they realize a little too late that beyond technical, financial, construction and other risks are the more unpredictable but very important “political risks.”
Jose P. de Jesus, president of the Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC) and formerly Public Works and Highways Secretary, zeroed in on “political risks” as the proverbial hard nut to crack.
In a speech before the Management Association of the Philippines, the MNTC chief pointed out that political risks “confront every major project in terms of changes in the political dispensation, community resistance, legislative inquiries, and organized opposition by civil society.”
De Jesus added that a “proactive and comprehensive public information program, government liaison and communication efforts can mitigate these risks.”
A risk management expert, Helga Odden Resknes of Norway, refers to these political risks in a more academic way. In a presentation she made before project risks managers, she emphasized the need to “establish binding contact between social science and natural science in order to create the best possible platform for risk communication.”
Go for a shared future. She meant that real communication in the realm of the social sciences must complement the comfort zones of the engineering discipline mostly grounded ion the physical sciences. If you think this sounds “too academic,” just bear in mind that considering the human and social factors might yet save your project or add an important element to your risk assessment.
“A project is never without risks,” said Daniela Van Well-Stam, co-author of “Project Risk Management ,” published by Kogan Page, adding that “performing risk analysis and management is actually necessary to maintain control over a project.” Other books refer to such analysis as “uncertainty analysis.”
Ahead of every project manager be it an industrial plant, the Olympics, a space shuttle project, an IT prototype or even a corporate anniversary celebration is an uncertainty in varying degrees of severity and likelihood.
The lesson learned is this: Engineering precision and predictive techniques must be complemented by a program on coming to grips with community, political even regulatory risks. When you do your homework, as proponents of some successful projects did, you can actually mitigate or completely eliminate the risks.
After all, even host communities would prefer to spend their time co-existing with a structure that promises them a brighter common future than to waste valuable time on the sidelines with screaming placards in opposition to an otherwise good project that has been poorly communicated.
Project managers who turn a “blind eye” to and dismiss political risks as a needless distraction to their perfect engineering marvel will get a surprise of their lives. But, if you heed the words of experienced project risk analysts and take to heart the wise counsel of veteran Ping de Jesus of flyover and NLEX fame, you will be glad you did.

‘Go on offense when others retrench'

2005-07-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

“Jack Welch and the 4Es of Leadership”
McGraw-Hill, 2005

This sounds like an unlikely advice in the latest book on the leadership style of former General Electric Chairman Jack Welch. After all, Mr. Welch is renowned to have a “rulebook” that the bottom 10 percent (of low performers) of the multinational giant “be fired every year.”

But, that’s the paradox of Welch and of how he views business, according to author Jeffrey A. Krames in this book “Jack Welch and the 4Es of Leadership.” Krames writes of his icon:

“You have to shrink in order to grow; you have to give up things in order to gain things. By eliminating jobs and closing unproductive factories … he was creating the means to reinvigorate the places that would spark the company’s transformation.”

Averse to keeping things hanging, Krames adds: “Welch understood that many apparent contradictions in business resolve in the face of a larger vision – and may not be contradictory at all.” This so-called propensity for giving low achievers their “walking papers” has not endeared Welch with professors of the finest graduate business schools – at least in the Philippines.

And yet this new book may provide the answer to the riddle, as it lists the 4E’S of leadership, saying: The 4E Leader has energy … energizes … has edge and … executes.

As the author describes the 4Es of leadership, one notes a consistent theme running through the discussion like a unifying thread. Jack Welch wants his leaders to have “energy” – the fuel that drives the business, the passion to get things done. He wants a leader who runs 95 miles per hour --75 miles elsewhere in the same book -- “in a 55-mile-an-hour world.” (Don’t try this inside the North Luzon Expressway!) And so he is impatient with those who lack passion for their work, and who wind up in the bottom ten percent in his organization.

The next attribute – the leader who energizes – is simply the logical consequence of a suitably driven leader, who then “sparks others to perform.” In this section, the theme recurs, quoting Peter Drucker: “One can only build on strength.” And those who are weak, reminiscent of the Darwinian “survival of the fittest,” must go.

Welch does not waste time on those who are weak links (or, pardon the pun, “weaklings”) – since how can you energize one who has no energy in the first place? I remember a training manager who dished out a homegrown philosophy with this bald statement: “Huwag magtiyagang maghanap ng kuto sa ulong kalbo!”

The Welch style acquires more edge as Author Krames discusses the last two qualities in the 4Es of Leadership – the Leader has edge and the Leader executes. The book confronts “people decisions” so that the firm retains the competitive “edge” – making the principle sound bland enough: “Use a differentiation system to keep the best and weed out the worst.” The author says it simply, downplaying the bloody process of thousands of heads rolling: “He cut costs relentlessly (including the payroll).”

Krames shows the results in two sentences: “When Welch took over, GE had revenues of about $25 billion. When he stepped down, GE was a $130 billion company.”

Ever emphasizing the need for passion and strength, the last E – the leader executes – should mean that the boss must have the managerial will to drive the company effort to its desired conclusion, meaning: positive results. The book emphasizes the need to improve the leader’s “execution quotient,” chalking up high scores in nothing less than the bottom line.

The book, meant to develop leaders around the 4Es Leadership Formula, succeeds in making us understand Mr. Welch better who actually had to adopt a “retrench” policy just so he can mount an aggressive “offense”. He narrates how the controversial retired GE Chairman likened his business team with Super Bowl winners or Olympic gold medalists with this obvious conclusion: He wants only the best in his team.

So the seeming ruthlessness, the apparent indifference to human dimensions are better understood now under the overall theme of “winning,” the title of Welch’s other book. The author, earlier in the book, gives a hint: “To Welch everything is about winning, winning in the marketplace, winning customers, winning new business, winning for shareholders.”
Come to think of it. A local business leader, when he took over a giant beverage company shocked the entire organization with downsizing decisions. Today, the company remains the most admired in Asia.

Is winning the only metric by which to measure the caliber of an executive? Or, changing the question, we ask: Can you forgive a CEO who, due to some other considerations, bring your firm down to bankruptcy? Is business a game, and heads roll as a natural consequence of the overweening desire to win?

Even philanthropists believe in the primacy of “doing well” as a pre-requisite to “doing good.” Read this book, wade through the many digressions of the author, and you will hit oil – or gold. You will have the answers, but you will also ask even more questions. Isn’t that the paradox of business?

Capturing the ‘moment’ to win, not to fail

2005-07-10T17:52:00.000-07:00

“Lend Me Your Ears”
(Updated and Expanded Edition
By William Safire
W. W. Norton & Company, 2004

The attention of the entire country continues to be riveted on the speech of apology of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, delivered recently over nationwide television. What the speech sought to achieve, when the Head of State said “sorry” over what are now called the “Garci tapes” was not, however, achieved.

Instead of assuaging the feelings of both her disappointed allies and unrelentingly acerbic critics -- the speech triggered a series of rambunctious and chaotic Congressional hearings and emboldened a lynch mob with even shriller voices crying for her resignation.

The mishandling (?) also planted a poisoned idea to politicians with moist eyes for the threatened Presidency and for a Senate seat two years from now, and prompted an unflappable Susan Roces to give vent to pent up emotions with uncharacteristic bravado – thus leaving the rest of us wondering what went wrong. And asking: What could have gone right?

Observers were wondering why the Palace, with its vast information resources at its command, could not even muster a phone brigade programmed to provide support to the President right after her “confession.” In fact, the confession was totally unnecessary, but the Palace committee of wordsmiths woefully stumbled all over to string together contradictory statements, needless absolute statements, and a sophomoric line: “I will serve you to the best of my ability.”

Those of you who still doubt the power of rhetoric to make or break a political career or to espouse or frustrate an idea must now be convinced that a careless phrase thrown into a speech invites disaster.

Some observers volunteered the insight that the Palace wordsmiths patterned the GMA speech after the apology of Bill Clinton concerning his links and acts of indiscretion with Monica Lewinsky. If they did, they committed a grievous wrong failing to note the contrasting contexts between Bill’s very private act at the Oval Office and Gloria’s very public act speaking to the arbiter of a Presidential election.

And, if you read Clinton’s speech (the delivered version), you would note the deft hand of seasoned rhetorician. This brings me to speak to you about “Lend Me Your Ears,” a book that I picked out at a cozy bookstore, Ink & Stone. This is actually the updated and expanded edition of “Great Speeches in History” selected by noted rhetoric expert and writer William Safire. The earlier edition was published in 1983.

Editor Safire says in his “introductory address” in this book: “What makes a great speech? Occasion. There comes a dramatic moment in the life of a person or a party or a nation that cries out for the uplift and release of a speech. Someone is called upon to articulate the hope, pride, or grief of all… Some great occasions are frittered away with pedestrian addresses.”

If you have a copy of the President’s speech, and you get hold of the “delivered version” of Clinton’s piece, you will note similarities – and contrasts. One difference is this calibrated phrase from Clinton: “I know that my public comments and my silence about this matter gave a false impression. I misled people, including even my wife. I deeply regret that.” Isn’t it clear that Clinton is apologizing about the consequences of his silence? Compare that with the lachrymose phrasing of GMA’s speech -- “Pinagsisihan ko ito ng lubos,” not even making clear what she is repenting of.

The book also includes the “undelivered” version of the Clinton apology which the former American President had the good sense to reject it. GMA’s contrite speech sounds like this other speech – not thanks to her advisers.

Three undelivered speeches are actually featured in this anthology of 1,156 pages, plus rhetorical pieces classified as memorials and patriotic speeches, war and revolution rhetorical classics, tributes and eulogies, debates and argumentation, trials, gallows and farewell speeches, sermons, inspirational speeches, lectures and instructive speeches, talks on social responsibility, media speeches, political pieces, and commencement addresses.

The speeches date to as far back as the time of Pericles years before Christ and as recent as Tony Blair’s spirited exhortation to fight terrorism right after 9/11. The “moment” cited by Author Safire has been captured by the masters of the spoken word. And when such a moment is “seized,” the speaker is rewarded – if not public support in his time and generation – with a special place in history. And be anthologized to join the ranks of “great speeches” and compelling speakers.

This book, obviously, is a timely read for Palace insiders. Executives in the corporate world can also keep this thick book handy when the moment comes to rally the corporate troops – not with a bland memo – with a soul-stirring speech.

Key to real success: ‘Bulletproof integrity’

2005-06-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

“Integrity Is All You’ve Got”
By Karl Eller
McGraw-Hill,2005

WITHOUT meaning to, this book is as timely as the headlines in print and broadcast media in this part of the world. I am referring to the political and ethical dilemma our head of state has been thrown into-to speak or not to speak about wiretapped voices. And to speak or not to speak the truth about her kin’s involvement in “jueteng” an illegal numbers game.

From this book, here’s a quote that may show her the light at the end of a dark tunnel. It begins with a question: “What should you do when your reputation takes a major hit?”

Answer: “Don’t hide, deny, dissemble or fake the truth. Above all, don’t lie. Face the facts. Speak immediately and frankly. Nothing disarms your critics as being totally candid and quickly correcting whatever went wrong.”

The author says it simply on other page: “A straight shooter is someone who does what’s right and keeps his or her world.”

This book is entitled, “Integrity Is All You’ve Got,” and yet it turns out to be an insightful guide for entrepreneurs-and leaders-about selling, creativity, hammering out win-win formulas, opportunity-seeking, making connections, the joy of giving-and, of course, success because (not in spite of) integrity.

Karl Eller, a billionaire who made good in the billboards business, tells his story with distilled truths. You sit up and listen, because the insights come from someone who, in his words, has his “follies, takeoffs, crashes, comebacks and final reckoning.”

It is one thing to talk about integrity or earning trust-but it’s another to live a life of complete honesty.

The author, after whom a school of management was named, has lived integrity first and now is talking about it.

In other words, unlike many people we know, he has remarkably gone beyond paying lip service to this much desired virtue.

Speaking of trust, Eller is laconic: “Your handshake matches the tightest contract drawn up by the fanciest law firm in town.”

“I’ve been around long enough to confirm that integrity is key to business life and success. Integrity is what allows you and me to trust each other. Without it, we begin suspecting and then fearing each other , and soon bad things happen.”

Written on a prominent wall at the Eller College of Management is a quote from the author:

“Without integrity, motivation is dangerous: without motivation, capacity is impotent; without capacity, understanding is limited; without understanding, knowledge is meaningless; without knowledge, experience is blind.”

The book laments that “the priority of MBA student seems to be learning a thousand ways to kill your competitors, rather than the one true way to really succeed – develop bulletproof integrity.”

At the home front, this seems to be not the case. My alma mater, the Asian Institute of Management, has ethics in its curriculum – so with other major graduate business schools.

While the author devotes an entire discussion titled “Integrity is your only collateral,” he dishes out words of wisdom on succeeding as an entrepreneur, and yet still peppered with ideas on forthrightness and earning trust.

For salesman, he has a brilliant one-liner: “Love selling and sell what you love.”

For those having a problem with optimism, he quotes Winston Churchill: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

And idea makers, this quote is graphic: “Minds are like parachutes; they work only when open.”

He has advice for CEOs who think they can take over any company, even a different industry and erroneously think they can succeed: “If you’re going to take over a business, you had best arrive with a real understanding of what makes it work.”

“I learned that lesson the hard way,” he says, and he relates heartbreaking stories when he lost billions of dollars because of disastrous decisions.

What about the seeming staple of entrepreneurs – luck? Quoting his friend, Mort Feinberg, he writes: “You need to keep running, so that when the train comes by you’re ready to jump on. If you keep missing the train, you have no one but yourself to blame.”

This book is for rising managers – and for CEOs who must still run their businesses and are daily confronted with ethical decisions.

The book also throws in nuggets of wisdom on what makes business a calling and an exciting life’s work.

After giving us the impression that everything is business to him, using all his waking hours thinking and concluding business deals, he dishes out a life-saving advice. He asks: “How do you keep failure from wrecking your life?

His answer could prevent a disastrous bout with depression: “Business is only part of life, and not the most important. Your family, your friends, role as citizen of your community and nation – these are what counts.”

After reading this book, remember the truth in Oliver Wendell Holmes’ quote: “Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never goes back to its original dimension.”

How to deal with gov’t deficit?Use principles, tools of business

2005-04-17T22:18:00.000-07:00

“The Price of Government”
By David Osborne & Peter Hutchinson
Basic Books, 2004

The government is one gargantuan bureaucracy. And it remains such a huge challenge to make it efficient that “government efficiency” has sounded like an oxymoron!

In some elections here and in America, some politicians ran on a platform to “run government like a business enterprise.” Ross Perot did, but later dropped out of the U.S. Presidential race, and thus kept Americans wondering what a Perot presidency could have done to improve the nation’s finances.

Not known to many, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (more renowned for his “crisis leadership” in the 9/11 aftermath) introduced efficiency in the country’s largest city – dramatically solved crime, streamlined the bureaucracy, and improved public service.

Close to home, Lito Osmena, who once ran Cebu City as Mayor, used business principles to transform the Queen City of the South into a bustling metropolis, earning a much deserved name “Ce-boom.” Current Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte applied political will to install sound management and fiscal systems may yet reap the fruits of his managerial resolve, but had so far chalked up the achievement of realizing revenues in the billion peso range.

In the past, even in a graduate business school I attended, a professor once said that one cannot compare the performance of government with that of private business – “because they are driven by a different logic.” For example, he said, a governor cannot downsize because he must promote employment for his constituents. And realistically speaking, the government cannot compete with the private sector precisely because its costs are higher (translated: it is unavoidably inefficient).

Will citizens now resign to the fact that government, by its very nature, cannot be efficient in the same way businesses are called, not only to be efficient, but to be profitable? Given the mounting deficit piling on the national government and the hidden costs of local government units, shouldn’t there be method and strategy to dismount a white huge elephant?

The good news is, there is a book, “The Price of Government,” that discusses principle and process that would liberate government from the yearly classic dilemma: How can you deal with a growing deficit, on one hand, and mounting resistance against new taxes, on the other? These and other major issues are confronted by this new book written by David Osborne and Peter Hutchinson.

The authors underscore this predicament thus: “Elected officials are always looking for ways to demonstrate their fiscal prudence while also supporting their favorite programs.” Is it possible to have the best of both worlds?

Osborne and Hutchinson want to see the budgeting process based on “desired outcomes” – and not on previous figures. “Last year’s numbers are not an entitlement” – or these budget numbers should be challenged.

Actually, more than three decades ago, the zero budgeting process was already at work in the world of private business. Osborne’s prescriptions seem to be a take-off from policies and strategies that have already made businesses not only profitable but leading-edge winners.

And yet to apply it to a huge bureaucracy and sharing a wealth of lessons learned and successes scored are remarkable feats by themselves, considering the Herculean task of virtually cleaning up the mythical Augean stables. The authors have written a piece that has both governing principles, details of execution and success stories that will make this book a valuable manual not only for planners and budget chiefs, but more so the state’s chief executive or local governors to get real results.

The book would like to see the day when budget officer’s job “shifts from padding the base to being essential players in steering the organization toward results.”

This book is not only about budgeting, though, tackling “rightsizing,” based on the principle of “the right work, the right way with the right staff.” It, however, has a word of caution: “If done wrong, downsizing can cripple performance, leading to crises of another sort: failing police departments, rising crime rates, dirtier cities, longer wait for service and deteriorating road, rails and buses.”

The book recommends something radical: “You can change almost everything, except the values.”

The authors also have a revolutionary thought about government welcoming competition. Citing an example – a water or sewer utility -- they point out: “Unless the service is a natural monopoly, the customers purchase the service wherever they choose. If it is a natural monopoly, give it a customer board and regulate its prices.”

What about performance bonuses for government officials and employees? The book calls that “gainsharing,” a profit-sharing plan for the public sector. This is largely unheard of in government!

The book, 370 pages in all, is a tour de force for authors – and readers like you and me – but there is one supreme benefit from reading it: You come away with a stronger conviction that a government that is efficient, responsive and useful to its “customers” – the citizens – is in the realm of the possible. Its call is compelling, quoting a native American saying: “When you’re riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.” Stretching the metaphor, they consider the old budgeting and planning process a “dead horse” – and thus declare an imperative: Find a new horse – “then saddle up and ride.”

Tap the Power of Emotion to drive corporate change

2005-04-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

“The Heart of Change”
By John P. Kotter
Harvard Business School Press, 2002

The myth that denizens in the corporate world are rational – or cerebral -- has long been shattered. But, the way our corporate leaders manage organizations and people betray their hard-to-break habit of going into long-winded analysis, dishing out cold facts and colder figures.

Thus, they succeed more in boring their peers and subordinates rather than in igniting their enthusiasm for goals to be achieved or, at the very least, for the job at hand.

But times have changed – or have they? Has the bastion of cerebral managers been demolished by the decisive march of “resonant” leaders. A landmark book titled “Primal Leadership” by Daniel Goleman (who also authored an earlier work “Emotional Intelligence”) prompted renewed interest in the power of emotions to move and lead people.

And yet resonant leadership was – and is -- demonstrated by leaders in times past and present – from Moses to Mandela, from Martin Luther to Martin Luther King, from George Washington to Winston Churchill, from Simon Bolivar to Tony Blair, from CEOs Jack Welch to Bill Gates.

It is thus appropriately not a discovery, but a re-discovery, of a type of leadership that “connects” to the hearts of people. Someone said that a leader is allowed to fail in many things, but never must he fail to “inspire.”

The more recent beneficiary of this return to “resonant leadership” – one that inspires people (as opposed to “toxic leadership) – is the science of managing and effecting change in corporations. A book, titled “The Heart of Change,” addresses issues and narrates real-life stories about change campaigns that worked in large enterprises simply because they decided that “the heart of change is in the emotions.”

Kotter, the author, is categorical about the message of his latest book: “People change … because they are shown a truth that influences their feelings.” Kotter bats for shocking, or grabbing the attention of, people so that, first, they “sit up and listen,” and then are suitably empowered to embrace and initiate change.

This is an engaging and useful book, since it lives up to the promise of its sub-title which runs, “Real-Life Stories of How People Change Their Organizations.”

The narratives revolved on the Eight Steps for Successful Large-Scale Change. The steps are as follows: Increase Urgency, Build the Guiding Team, Get the Vision Right, Communicate for Buy-in, Empower Action, Create Short-Term Wins, Don’t Let Up, and Make Change Stick. Kotter calls these steps “a flow in a successful change effort.”

Every point made by the author on the Eight Steps was illustrated by a number of stories written by real people – some named, some not.

In the first step, “Increasing Urgency,” the book tells of a story titled “The Videotape of an Angry Customer.” It’s the story of a customer suitably frustrated by the seeming lack of listening skills of the front liners of a company. The narrator, presumably a top manager, decided to video tape the “angry customer.” He did not use the usual memo or speech extolling the virtues of customer relations, but showed the video tape to the firm’s managers and employees who got the complaint in the raw. Result: Most agree that they must do something about it.

Another success story, this time dealing with the refusal of people to change a work process, is about building an aircraft. A guy called Koz (author failed or decided not to give him a title) wanted to change the way an aircraft is assembled in many locations – resulting in ineffective quality control, delay in delivery of parts and high costs. In a management meeting, he announced: “We are not going to move an airplane until it is complete in its position… Until the plane is done and done right, no movement. Period.”

Kotter’s immediate commentary: “Everyone thought Koz was off his rocker.” But since Koz cannot be moved to abandon his decision, people followed his orders. As a result, quality has gone up and all aircraft have not only been on time, “they’ve been early.” Until today, says the book, the “story is still being told.”

Stories abound in this book. The tale of “Gloves in the Boardroom,” where 424 types of gloves were displayed at the large expensive table, delivered the urgent message to change a policy among division presidents of a conglomerate. There is story of a courageous CEO who refused to hang his portrait alongside portraits of former CEOs of a company since 1885. He did even more to shock the old timers: He removed the other portraits and, in their place, showed pictures of customers’ stores.

What the book is saying in stories and commentaries is that people respond to the need for change if they are confronted the truth – in a compelling or shocking way. That’s driving change through the gut.

And when you succeed in introducing change, improve processes dramatically, and evolve a completely new culture – how do you make sure the resulting changed culture stay as such. The book offers stories to illustrate the ever-present risk for people to revert to “good old tradition”. The tale, “The Boss Went to Switzerland,” is so familiar it could happen to a CEO who was successful in his role as “change leader,” only to come back after a three-year absence that the people went back – if I may say so – to worshipping the Baal of bureaucratic fat and smugness.

Never a dull moment in using commas, etc.

2005-03-13T11:46:00.000-08:00

“Eats, Shoots & Leaves”
by Lynne Truss
Gotham Books, 2004

A grammar class, many must admit, is never interesting. The English teacher recites the rules, asks you to draw a sentence diagram, and is ambivalent about when to use the preposition “of” or the preposition “for.” On other occasions, she insists that we should never end our sentences with a preposition.

I recall that the irrepressible Winston Churchill followed that principle when he objected to a policy, saying: “Up with which we shall not put.” It sounds ridiculous, but it is decidedly grammatical.

I had a long discussion once with writers and critics in writers’ workshops, and I was told that there is a trend toward “minimalism” even in the use of commas. “If you can avoid commas, the new rule says, just do it! In an intended pun, they say: “Never lapse into a comma!”

And yet, no one can argue about the need to place the commas in their right places. Here’s a sampler:

A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.

What a difference a comma makes, you may explain. It may trigger an endless anthropological debate!

What about this sign in a restaurant: “No dogs please.” Without the comma before “please,” the statement is “an indefensible generalization, since many dogs do please.”

The examples above are just two of numerous illustrations offered by an entertaining and instructive book titled “Eats, Shoot & Leaves,” by Lynne Truss. Even the title has its own story to tell. It’s about a Panda which suddenly develops the impulse to shoot. Check out the book and find out.

The book is actually a well-reasoned piece asking “sticklers” (those who care about punctuation) to unite and save the world – and the word – from ruin. The author expresses her lament: “While we look in horror at a badly punctuated sign, the world carries on around us, blind to our plight.”

“When words such as ‘phenomena’, ‘media’, or cherubim” are treated as singular, some of us cannot suppress actual screams.”

I have a collection of manuals of style from the respected newspapers around the world – those of the New York Times, Associated Press, The Economist, Wall Street Journal -- and their rules for precise language and unerring punctuation are laudable. This book by Ms. Truss, however, stands out as one of the most passionate – and interesting – about the need for correct (or proper) punctuation.

When the author is not seized into frenzy by a misused word, she settles for a sober thought like this: “Punctuation is a courtesy designed to help readers to understand a story without stumbling.”

She continues: “The reason to stand up for punctuation is that without it, there is no reliable way of communicating meaning. Punctuation herds words together, keeps others apart. Punctuation directs you how to read, in the way musical notation directs a musician how to play.”

Older editors of newspapers, including a respected boss of mine, rue the fact that many of our deskmen are no longer sticklers for punctuations. Read the newspapers any day and you will know that the misuse of punctuation is as widespread like common cold.

The author of this book cares enough about this trend – and has written a magnificent piece to serve as a call to arms against further misuse of punctuation, and against the deterioration of expression.

Well structured language expression has even suffered further with the wide use of emails, which has defied many rules of punctuation. Worse, the era of text messaging'; return true;" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;">text messaging has introduced an alien language that assaults the sensibilities of people who respect the language – whether English or our local dialect.

“Eats, Shoots & Leaves” is must read book. You don’t have to be an English major to find it useful. When you struggle over the letter composed by your secretary, or you are thrown into confusion by a hastily made report by your manager – chances are they have thrown overboard our only hope in communicating clearly and in making sense of this already confused world.

And yes, wrong punctuation can even trigger a theological debate. The book cites these two sentences as examples, where commas are placed in different locations:

“Verily, I say unto thee, This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise.”
“Verily I say unto thee this day, Thou shalt be with me in Paradise.”

The author has this to say: “The first version, which is how Protestants interpret the passage, lightly skips over the whole unpleasant business of Purgatory and takes the crucified thief straight to heaven with our Lord. The second promises Paradise at some later date, and leaves Purgatory nicely in the picture for Catholics, who believe in it.”

You can have many uses for this book. It can actually be a manual for grammar. It can also sharpen your sensitivity to any punctuation infractions, if it does not clarify some fine distinctions about the use of such grammar marks.

The book has done something else, which to me is very important: The book has just communicated one central truth: There is actually never a dull moment in the world of punctuation.

A window into the mind, heart of the healing profession

2005-02-20T16:28:00.000-08:00

“In Defense of the Physician”
By Homobono Calleja, M.D.

Many of the comments on the professional descendents of Hippocrates (400 BC) – the physicians – have been coming from outside the profession, whether good or bad, unflattering or complimentary.
Hardly do doctors take time to make their views heard. Rarely do they engage government, media, or civil society in a debate – except in their own journals whose readers are confined to fellow medical practitioners. When the Generic Act of 1988 was yet a bill, the debate was lopsided in favor of the piece of legislation. Little did we know that the entire membership of the Philippine Medical Association opposed the bill, calling it the “Genocide Act.”
With the rise of non-traditional medicine, the return to natural healing, and the increasing popularity of “herbal medicine” – not to mention religious cults that rule out any need for surgery or other tested remedies – how we wish we would hear a voice from their favorite “whipping boy” – traditional medicine.
Little did we know that there is such a voice – and a book – published at the turn of the century. The voice has an eloquence and literary flourish that’s rarely (so we thought) found among the men and women donning stethoscopes in regulation white gowns.
The book, “In Defense of the Physician,” by noted cardiologist Homobono B. Calleja, is notable for its forceful essay about the profession and the profession’s creed, commitments and concerns.
Listen: “Only the physician sees the kaleidoscopic spectacle of life from cradle to grave, not merely as a passive witness to the creation, development, growth, and end of being – but also as an active, caring advocate of life. His intricately woven knowledge of the chemistry of carbons and the electricity of atoms of life makes him the healer of the body.” Is this your doctor talking?
That’s the author of the book speaking. The book is a collection of essays, speeches and articles fro medical journals, and turn out to have popular appeal to people who have always wanted to have a window into the physician’s mind and heart. The seemingly sedate, almost passionless and taciturn professional turns out to ban a advocate of unmatched devotion to a cause and an uncharacteristic intensity reserved for firebrand activists.
In a chapter titled “Generics or Genocide Act of 1988,” the author dared to lock horns with fellow physicians, now Senator, Juan Flavier. Calling it a second-class medical delivery system,” Dr. Calleja questions the fundamental basis of the Generics Law, which states that “drugs with the same generic ingredients and the same dose are equivalent.”
The author counters: “The statement has no grain of truth,” pointing out that drug preparations are “equivalent” if they satisfy three “equivalence” requirements: chemical, biologic, and therapeutic. For laymen like us, the author provides explanation in the book.
On the same controversy, the author likens the medical association with Galileo (1633) who was imprisoned by the Roman Inquisition of the Vatican for supporting the Copernican “heliocentric theory” (the sun is the universe’s center), when the acceptable belief was “geocentric” (the earth as center).
The author stretches the analogy identifying his profession with Galileo, saying: “The true science of medicine will prevail over the pseudo-science of political medicine formulated by the callous of the Department of Health and Congress.”
The book is not all passionate polemics and stirring defense. It is peppered with appropriate quotes from the world’s greatest thinkers and verses written by the author. A verse, directed at what he calls a “health provider licensed by an HMO,” with this line laden with sarcasm: “Once I saw a doctor and his license/ He used to diagnose disease by his expertise/ Now he is limited by his HMO plan.”
The book is interesting because it also touches on patient rights, malpractice suits and even media’s favorite topic: doctors playing God. On the latter, the author treads carefully and very thoughtfully on an ethical dilemma: “physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia.”
He declares: “A physicians is sworn to cure the sick and alleviate suffering… he cannot be an instrument of death; hence he cannot inject the lethal drug. However, he can lend his medical expertise to pronounce the criminal dead or still alive after the injection is given.”
Rarely does one come across a book where the taciturn physician speaks. In this book, not only is a medical doctor opening his heart and mind. The author’s voice is compelling, and his thoughts navigate the seas of God-given and human wisdom in history, poetry and science – or lack of it (in politics, the author’s nemesis)
Amid high profile views on non-traditional medicine, this book provides a reassuring picture of both profession and physician – who is steeped in medical training fiercely committed to his Hippocratic oath, and – as the book shows – one driven by a single devotion to heal. This book is a must read, especially for executive concerned with their health (after worrying about wealth) or when, at time, they contemplate their own mortality.

Have some quiet and know what really matters in life

2005-01-16T16:22:00.000-08:00

"In The Sphere of Silence"
By Vijay Eswaran
RYHM Publishing House, HK, 2004

We begin the New Year with a bang, but this book wants us to begin each new day of the year, not with a bang, but in silence.
Is this one of those books meant for cloistered life, or one that nurtures the soul of the recluse? No, it is written for CEOs, other executive and consultants in the midst of a dizzying workaday life.
Is this one of those contemplative or escapist books addressed to those who want to get away permanently from the workaday world, run to the sanctuary of the monastery – and yes, miles away from the arena where the action is? No. this book is, in fact, written by a top global executive presiding over a conglomerate that is into large-scale online marketing, aggressive distribution, unrelenting innovation and strategic entry into new business.
“The sphere of silence,” says author Vijay Eswaran, “is a rest for the tongue, the single most worked-out organ in the whole body.” The Scriptures call this “taming the tongue.” Mother Teresa, quoted in the book says: “In the silence of the heart, God speaks.”
Actually, the book recommends to managers and other people with bias for action to begin the day with a one-hour quiet time. A time for quietude opens the heart – and the mind – to what is essential.
That brings to mind another slim book – now a classic – “The Little Prince,” where one quote has become unforgettable: “What is essential is invisible to the eye.”
Herein lies the reason why this book by Eswaran is a real find. It brings us back to what is truly fundamental (not in a political or religious sense) – or essential. In a world of too many words – and thus noise – a book comes like a whiff of fresh wind.
In this nicely designed book – less rhetoric, elegant interplay of fonts and white space – the form truly captures the substance. The author’s sayings are pithy, and have a ring of the elemental to them. Perhaps, that really happens when you have an hour of silence each day. Consider this powerful metaphor:
“Thought, word, deed. The thought is the arrow; the word which carries your thoughts, the bow; the action which releases the arrow, the pull of the string.” The syntax captures the measured cadence of a guru speaking – where pauses and silences are part of the message.
It’s true that when you shut out the world – turn off the radio, switch off the ubiquitous TV, ask the housemaid to keep quiet for a change, and then close the door – there are only two begins left to deal with in silence: yourself and the Divine. Then, it’s reflection time.
“Know thyself,” says the Greek philosopher. Eswaran is more contemporary with this pithy sentences: “Take your life back. Dedicate one hour out of 24 and you get 23 back in your control.” Spoken like an executive – with a difference. He has the gift of brevity and clarity.
The handy book, running into 120 pages, is an easy read. The author’s saying, edited and transcribed by Gemma Luz Corotan, deals with practical issues like anger, war, learning, courage, doing your job, and a host of other daily concerns. And yet he speaks of them in their simplest form whence comes principles.
As they say, when you teach principles, your students will take care of the techniques. It begins with the principle of silence, and from such center of quiet will emerge the power of focus, clarity and, yes, wisdom. Many leaders of whatever creed and persuasion, when led to silence, came upon a central truth that first changed their lives – and then transformed a nation.
Of late, books have come into the scene and continues to change or enrich lives. The bestseller, “Purpose Driven Life,” has crossed religious boundaries to be a handy practical guide to people.
This book – which draws wisdom from the wellspring of a variety of philosophical and religious thought – may yet quench the thirst for something that touches the heart, or the desire for essential principles that make sense or create order in this topsy-turvy world. For that alone, this book deserves to be at your bedside at night, or at your desk by day.

New words for new uses To stir a nation’s soul

2004-06-27T23:56:00.000-07:00

“Words that Changed America”
By Alex Barnett
The Lyons, Press, 2003

“…LET us strive to finish the work we are in, to bind up the wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle … to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

Is this paragraph part of the inaugural speech of a President who was proclaimed only a few days ago – issuing a call for healing, forgiveness and unity? No, this is the second inaugural address on March 4, 1865 by Abraham Lincoln.

“There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free ... if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained – we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight!

Is this a call from the opposition leaders, despite a defeat in the polls, to continue a vigorous campaign against the proclaimed winner? No, this was a call to arms by Patrick Henry on October 2, 1765 against the English Empire.

“Thus I consent, sir, to this Constitution, because I expect no better, and because I am not sure that it is not the best. The opinions I have had of its errors I sacrifice to the public good. I have never whispered a syllable of them abroad. Within these walls they were born, and here they shall die.”

Is this a Senator expressing his reservations over our Constitution? No, this was Benjamin Franklin, aged 81, endorsing the American Constitution, at the heart of which was a compromise where the smaller states retained their single vote power in the upper house of Congress, while the more populous states had proportionately more power in a lower house.

The three quotable paragraphs are lifted from the speeches of American leaders whose words have already been immortalized in the history of the United States and in the chronicles of speeches around the world.

A handy book, titled “Words that Changed America,” contains 79 speeches, official proclamations and declarations, prefaces to the Constitution and other laws, core paragraphs in debates, statements before Congress, memoirs, damaging papers, radio messages in times of war, and testimonies before the Legislature.

So, this is not only about formal, pre-written speeches. These are “words” that, according to the book, “inspired, challenged, healed and enlightened” a nation. They have changed America.

Only recently, the Philippines had less inspired words – but words anyway that challenged, exasperated and infuriated people.

“Shut up!” is one phrase in a note written by a feisty lady, expressing impatience over the habit of one Congressman whose peroration was delaying the canvassing of votes in the Philippine Congress. It was the same phrase that was echoed and reechoed by a visibly irate legislator, momentarily forgetting parliamentary decorum.

The other word is “noted,” a word attributed to the co-chairman of the Canvassing Committee – which came to mean: “You have been heard, your argument has been recorded – but we will proceed with the business at hand. It is polite – but effective – antidote to filibustering, to long-winded statements and to a legislator’s perverse desire to listen to his own voice.

Calls have been made to elevate the quality of speeches in public forums – including Congress. This book comes forward to show a collection of rhetorical pieces that capture the noble, lofty and well-reasoned thoughts of heroes, anti-heroes and ordinary people who somehow graduated into statesmen.

When leaders need to heal the wounds of a divided nation, Lincoln’s heart and mind could prove to be useful. When leaders want to preserve our adherence to democratic principles, especially with a spreading sentiment in favor of “an iron hand,” Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s concluding part in a speech, “The Four Freedoms,” would set them on the right pitch and mood:

“This nation has placed its destiny in the hands and heads and hearts of its millions of free men and women; and its faith in freedom under the guidance of God. Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights or keep them, our strength is our unity of purpose.”

After the elections – business groups, investment analysts, foreign chambers of commerce, foreign diplomats, academicians and, yes politicians/statesmen are calling for the rebirth of hope in the Philippines.

Economists are asking our government even to challenge the fundamental premises of our economic policies. Talks of amending the constitution and reorganizing the bureaucracy abound.

And yet there us one things that must be done by our President and her officials, our economic and business leaders, and even the opposition: They must find new words for new uses to reflect a new reality. But these words must emanate from minds that have gone through transformation and hearts that have gone through a necessary renewal.

Reading this book – as well as noting a era where these epoch-making speeches or statements were delivered – would be a good beginning. Readers would be transported to a time and place where patriotism was at its best and eloquence at its finest. We need words that can inspire our people, uplift – or even ignite – the national soul.

If our leaders have nary a desire for a measure of eloquence – and there are many of them – the written advice from the feisty lady would once again acquire urgency and importance: “Shut up.”

PR builds a brand, advertising nurtures it

2004-06-13T09:49:00.000-07:00

“The Fall of Advertising
& the Rise of PR”
By Al Ries and Laura Ries
Harper Business, 2003

The debate is endless. Which has the pre-eminent role: public relations or advertising?

But, this debate is fairly recent. In the not so distant past, the advertising function – here and worldwide – has had pre-eminence over public relations. The budget for advertising was usually much bigger, while public relations would settle for the crumbs.

In the organizational chart, the advertising manager draws a higher salary, rides a company car with a larger engine displacement, and is blessed with a bigger manpower complement. The subordinate role of public relations is even more pronounced in a marketing communications company itself (translated: advertising agency), where the public relations director runs a small department doing “product publicity support”.

In presenting an advertising plan, publicity (not even public relations) means putting little captions on photos, courtesy of the advertising (or hired) photographer, or writing stories that are a rehash of “great advertising copy”. The budgets say it all: PR is in the league of another item: “below-the-line advertising.”

Advertising is supposed to be well-entrenched as the undisputed king of communications that builds brands (whether products or institutions). But here comes this book with a shocking title: “The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR.”

You ask: Is this one of those outrageous, unfounded claims of a clearly biased PR man or a disillusioned advertising executive? No. It is written by Al Ries, co-author of the bestselling “Positioning” book, generously illustrated by great advertising visuals and copy. Authors do change their minds. In the same way, author Tom Peters changed his mind about companies whom he earlier identified as “models of excellence” only to collapse from their own bureaucratic weight.

Now, Al Ries dishes out something subversive: “Advertising is not brand building. That’s the role and function of PR.” So, what’s left for Advertising? “Advertising is brand maintenance,” he adds. Ever in the mood to argue his case, Ries asks: “Supposed you were offered a choice: You can run an advertisement in our newspaper or magazine or we’ll run your story as an article. How many companies would prefer an ad to an article?”

The 295-page book is a well-reasoned point that public relations (Ries interchanges it with publicity) “is the argument, while advertising is the reminder.” The Ries book is made up of five parts – but the tension is in the first two parts: “The Fall of Advertising” where he traced the decline of the ad function as a credibility vehicle, and “The Rise of PR,” where he underscores the “power of the third party” endorsement.

The book provides, not only contrast but perspective about the functions of PR and advertising – which should be complementary, not mutually exclusive. Using a fable by Aesop, he points out: “Advertising is the wind, PR is the sun.” Part of the fable runs thus:

The sun and the wind wanted to find out who was stronger of the two. Seeing a traveler down the road, they decided to settle the issue – Who can make the traveler take off his coat. The wind blew, and the traveler wrapped his coat around him. The harder the wind blew, the tighter the traveler held on to his coat. It was the sun’s turn. It began to shine. Soon the traveler felt the sun’s warmth – and took off his coat.

Ries’s object lesson: “You can’t force your way into the prospect’s mind … the harder the sell, the harder the wind blows, the harder the prospect resists.”

In this book, Ries recounts several sad stories of multi-million dollar advertising campaigns that did not result in increased sales for companies—in the United States mostly. He also has a list of success stories on account of good public relations – Microsoft, Starbucks, Viagra, Amazon.com, etc. It is interesting to find out some local stories in the Philippines.

Near the book’s concluding part, Ries argues a new role for advertising – maintaining the brand, keeping on course, and firing on all cylinders. There are engaging stories on products that had gone off course – including Coke’s abandonment of a winning slogan: “The Real Thing.” For these accounts alone, this book is a treasure.

Meanwhile, back to a question asked earlier: If you are given a choice between free advertisement or a full length story in a broadsheet or magazine, what’s your choice? If you go for that story, you have just affirmed the big role of PR. Does that end all debates? No. The passionate debate has just begun.

Manage transition well, and you’re home free

2004-05-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

“The First 90 Days”
By Michael Watkins
Harvard Business School Press, 2003

As the dust of battle settles after bruising bouts in the just concluded national and local elections, the neophyte winners are confronted with the question: How do I deliver on my campaign premises, and thus fulfill the people’s mandate (again, that overused word)?

As for the President-to-be (is it the incumbent?), she is given 100 days – not 90 -- to prove that she was the right choice – and she really should be “hitting the ground running,” the fighting phrase of former President Fidel V. Ramos. It’s also a featured phrase in this book, “The First 90 Days,” sub-titled “Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels.”

This book is actually addressed to a CEO – and, yes, any other leader at any significant level. He (she) has just been hired for, or promoted to, a new position – and he is expected to show results in the next three months.

“The First 90 Days” is actually a sequel to an earlier book, “Right from the Start,” featured in February 4, 2001 in Sunday Biz -- right after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo GMA) took over as President from Joseph Estrada. It is quite uncanny that this new book came to our attention virtually on the eve of her proclamation (?) as President to serve for a full year term of six years.

Thus, the new book dwells on familiar themes of “building coalitions,” and “securing early wins.” And yet, author Michael Watkins has many new things to offer with this book. The book has been structured to deal with promoting yourself, accelerating your learning, securing early wins, negotiating success, achieving alignment – and keeping your balance.

It has a lot to say about how one should “manage the transition” between the past (when the post was held by someone else) and the present (when it is you “on the saddle”). The book offers many heartbreaking stories too --of failure and missteps – only to use such tales to draw lessons.

One executive, wrongly diagnosing the problem, brought in new machines and installed new systems – only to bring down productivity to unprecedented low levels. Another executive, eager to show success quickly, rode roughshod over others -- causing widespread demoralization.

This book is strong in table and charts – which effectively reinforce points raised in a not-so-heavy text. A good example is the chart on “Key Transition Milestones,” which can be any leader’s guide in planning his first 90-day stewardship of his new job.

Another fine model is a table on the “Challenges and Opportunities of Transition Types.” The author devoted lengthier analysis to these transition types – which are “Start-up,” “Turnaround,” Realignment,” and “Sustaining Success” (with STaRS as acronym).

He explains: “In a Start-up, you are charged with assembling the capabilities to get a new business or project off the ground.” You are starting fresh with a virgin “land,” and you have a free hand with a tabula rasa (a blank sheet). In a Turnaround transition, the author says, you take on a unit or group that is recognized to be in trouble and “work to get it back on track.” You are a turnaround artist (remember, don’t mistake this with “turnabout” – when the board members who hired you would change their minds oh so suddenly).

The third transition type is Realignment, says the author, and your immediate challenge is “to revitalize a unit, product, process or project that is drifting into trouble.” In a sustaining-success situation, you are supposed to have the responsibility for preserving the vitality of a successful organization and taking it to the next level. The last is a “tough act to follow,” if your predecessor is topnotch.

The STaRS model is any newcomer’s guide to pinpoint what he should do first in the next 90 days. And the book walks you through a mix of initiatives so that you can successfully navigate the transition. And thus keep your job.

Yes, it isn’t easy to be placed in position of great responsibility – but this book is saying that there is method in fail-safe preparation and successful tour of duty in 90 days – and beyond.

Another useful tip in this book is the chapter titled “Negotiate Success.” Does it mean that you want the board or your boss to so lower your targets that you can easily achieve them hands-down? Far from it. It is saying this: “Negotiating success means proactively engaging with your new boss to shape the game so you have a fighting chance of achieving desired goals.”

“Designing organizational architecture,” a section title in the book, is not just a fancy phrase; it is one of the key functions of a CEO or a top leader. It means that you should design a new organization that fits your strategy. You are not advised to overhaul the entire organizational bureaucracy. But you can use some “elbow room” to create “project management teams,” have access to new advice from a “pool of consultants,” and get results from highly mobile groups to introduce changes.

The book wants you not to miss this advice: Build coalitions. And it introduces the “coalition-building cycle” to make sure you don’t rush headlong into making changes in a landscape that could be full of landmines – without getting support from people of influence within your organization. The policy is simple: Manage the 90-day transition well – and you are home free.

Burned-out sales people: Learn from a garden

2004-03-14T23:52:00.000-08:00

“Sprout!”
By Alan Vengel & Greg Wright
Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc., 2004

I was just talking shop with someone who retired from one of the big Filipino firms. The friend said: “Back then, middle of last year, I was weary of work and I wanted to play golf everyday… Today, I badly want to go back to work.” When you work, I told him, you miss the world of “play.” And then, when all you do is play – or do nothing – you miss “work.”

The book “Sprout!” began with a story of Marsha Malloy, a topnotch medical supply sales representative who – as the first two lines of the book’s chapter one put it – is: Tired. Flat-out, bone-weary tired.” We instantly what that means: she is experiencing that phenomenon in the field of “work”: Burn-out!

This book, subtitled, “Everything I Need to Know about Sales I Learned from My Garden,” is an engaging narrative to 154 pages, in the tradition of the handy classic “The Little Prince” and the more recent “Who Moved My Cheese.”

It is actually a book on “4 Steps to Sales Success,” written as a story, with characters thrown in, chance encounters in the mythic Garden Store, and an abundance of quotes to deliver selling principles and home-grown insight and folk wisdom. The metaphor is a garden – and it is extended to cover four sales principles: Planning a Sales Garden, Persistent Seeding, Nurturing, and Harvesting & Renewing.

Using a garden as a figure speech to dish out tried and tested principles assures readers of a refreshing time, aside from giving them enough room to decide for themselves the techniques.

For example, Gardener Rawlings, the guru in the story, defines “vision” thus: “A strong vision has details that are so real you can see it, taste it, and smell it.”

So Marsha shares her vision of a garden: “I see a gorgeous panorama of color on a calm July morning. There are rows of deep green plants, tomatoes, carrots, and peppers. The soil is dark and rich. There are also fire-engine red roses. The aroma is wonderful as I stroll through my garden.” As expected, the book equates the garden with “sales territory.”

So, what does one do to grow a garden? The book says it simply: “Plant a seed.” “Seeding,” the book says, is a very important part of sales. Remember the Parable of the Sower, where seeds are thrown into fertile soil, dry ground and soil of thorns and thistles? All the same, the seeding principle is delivered beautifully.

Nurturing, the other part of gardening, is amply discussed. Brenda strides into the Garden Store and tells Marsha what she learned from the Gardener: “He taught me to make sure that the bigger plants don’t overshadow the smaller ones.” That’s true for what are initially smaller customers: someday they will be big customers. I remember a client who told me: “Dante, I’m a small firm now. So quote a modest fee. When I grow big, you grow with me.” His firm did.

Persistence is a word sacred to salesmen, so this book on sales is not complete without it. The Gardener thus enunciates a principle: “Persistence is a constant, dynamic process. Right from the start, you’re seeding in a persistent and determined way, and then when you are nurturing, you’re listening deeper to what your customers are asking for – even reading between the lines.”

There are don’ts that you could pick up from the dialogue of the characters in the narrative. Marsha shares her mistake in forgetting an original customer to pay attention to a new prospect. Alas, the old customer bought a product from a competitor, and prospective customer remained that: a prospect.

Ted, another Garden habitué confesses a grievous error: “I thought I knew everything. I didn’t listen to my customers. I told them what I had in my inventory and tried to sell them what we had, not what they needed… Some customers thought that they were just a commission check to me.” Surely, this book by renowned sales consultants is hitting home.

Warming up to the garden metaphor, Marsha speaks about “doing little extras” for the customers, as she does for her plants in the garden.

What about harvesting? Is it a simple case of getting the checks as payments for products delivered? No. The book has a happy story of Marsha who is tempted to ask a customer to pay $30,000 so she could reach her quota. But, she is due to receive only $10,000. Will she force a “harvest”? No. She decides to get the $20,000 from another customer.

Lesson? The guru explains the metaphor: “Just like in a garden, some customers may be ready before others, all things being equal…Beans, beets, and carrots are best taken sooner rather than later. They are the ones that pass their prime quickly. The same is true for some customers.” What about big accounts? “They’re like big oak trees. We must wait for them to develop and grow.”

Managers have been asked to learn Rainforests. This narrative asks you and me (aren’t we all salespersons?) to develop a “green thumb” for gardening. Rare lessons in seeding, nurturing, harvesting – and an exhilarating feeling awaits us all.

Eloquence, more than skill, must come from the heart

2004-02-29T23:51:00.000-08:00

“The Dream”
By Drew D. Hansen
Harper Colllins Publishers, 2003

Is this the autumn of discontent in our political life as nation? Or, is there a sense of a joyous spring of hope that, one day, the Philippines will see a daybreak of redemption from its never-ending bout with crisis upon crisis?

If you sense something lyrical in the first paragraph (some would insist it is prosaic poetry), it is because some lyricism has rubbed off on me after reading “The Dream” – subtitled “Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation.”

Yes, an entire book of 293 pages has been devoted solely to one speech that lasted for less than 30 minutes only, before a crowd of 250,000 who converged at Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. The speech, delivered in 1963, was simply titled “I Have A Dream.” The dreamer was already felled by an assassin’s bullet, but the dream energized an entire community of blacks, joined by whites – and then consequently changed forever the destiny of African Americans in the “land of the free”: America.

I had read the speech long before I got hold of an audio-cassette tape that preserved the voice of the speaker – Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. There is really no substitute for listening to – not reading – a speech. All public speaking coaches or homiletic professors agree that a speech – or a sermon – must be delivered to really capture the passion and intensity it intends to convey.

This book, unlike other books on public speaking or speech writing, has combined the illuminating study of speech content and its strategy, on one hand, and a riveting account on how the speech is delivered or subsequently altered to suit “the moment,” on the other. From an academic standpoint, this is a “case study.”

A bonus is a retelling of a heartwarming history up close: black men, women and children taking the bus from various states; and then bursting into singing stirring negro spirituals; and finally puncturing the serene sky with a 250,000-voice unison crying for freedom!

The book begins with capturing the unfolding drama, including minor speakers that preceded the “main event.” Thankfully, not killing us with suspense, the book brings Martin Luther King to speak on page 51, with this line: “King grasped the podium with both hands, waited a moment, and then opened his mouth to speak.”

And, may I add, that from the “opened mouth” came forth one of the most glorious speeches delivered in all of human history. The book adds a sidelight: Former President John F. Kennedy, watching and listening to King on television a short distance away at the White House turned to one of his aides and said: “That guy is really good.” Coming from JFK, also known for speeches that have become memorable, that compliment spoke volumes of King’s talent.

This book demonstrates in action a lot of speech making theories. A chapter, for example, is devoted to “Composition.” A personal touch is volunteered that King began working on the draft four days before delivering it – and then when the moment came, half of the draft was not used, giving way to a stirring, very eloquent speech.

An instructive portion is an analysis showing the “prepared speech” in one column and the “delivered speech” in another column. Visually, it shows that King was improvising even while speaking – changing words, skipping whole phrases and omitting whole paragraphs and replacing them with words that simply came forth like torrents from a mighty stream.

A couple of speech writers helped him with the first draft, but the book reveals that King was the “sole authority on his speech’s content and language.” When an aide insisted on a phrase, King just smiled and said: “I don’t mind your criticizing my ideas. But I don’t like your criticizing my words, because I’m better at words than you are.” Try that on your speech writers – that is, if you really are better at words.

The speech, however, is not mere words strung together magnificently. It was a penultimate speech that communicated what King felt so deeply in his heart, fighting for equal rights for the black. It was delivered with great courage, but issuing from a fear for his wife and children – and for the entire nation. There is no doubt that every word came from a heart “seared by the flames of injustice.”

The rest of the book is a series of analyses that would be useful to speech writers, language teachers and speakers – who must know some rhetorical devices for impact and “effect.” As many books on public speaking are saying, however, there is no substitute for the authentic voice in the speaker. A speech that one does not believe in will not hold.

This is a timely thought as the political season has begun. Some commercials have already parodied the empty promises of politicians. Some are recycling movie scripts and are keeping people under the spell of myths and fiction. People have also lamented that even those who benefited from the destruction of our freedoms are seeking to benefit from the restored liberties they themselves systematically destroyed.

And yet there are new voices in the political scene. A kindred soul of Martin Luther King, himself trained in the passion and cadence of the Scriptures, is sending a message of hope “hewed from the mountain of despair” (King’s words). Maybe it’s time all our Presidentiables delivered a speech entitled “I Have a Dream.” And the people will listen – and find out who, indeed, speaks from heart and soul like Martin Luther King.

Meanwhile, we continue to dream, too, that our present crop of leaders speak once again like Martin Luther King. My father talked to me about the likes of Camilo Osias, Soc Rodrigo, et al. Of course, there was a Filipino hero in 1983 (assassinated too), Benigno Ninoy Aquino, who fired the imagination and rekindled the courage of the nation. It’s 2002, however, and the question is: Who is the next hero – one who has both vision and the eloquence to speak of the nation’s wounded heart? One who can hold more than a million listeners in rapt attention to what he says.

Whoever will be our next hero, alive preferably, he must draw inspiration from the closing statement of this book: “King’s legacy is the gift of prophecy: a vision of what a redeemed America might look like … The arc of the moral universe is indeed long, but it bends toward justice. This dream can sustain us yet.”

Speakers: Appeal to loftier goals beyond self-interest

2004-02-01T11:50:00.000-08:00

“Working the Room”
By Nick Morgan
Harvard Busienss School Press, 2004

The political season has begun. The May elections are only three months away. On television, you listen to previously low profile executives, administrators and even police chiefs being transformed from sedate characters to high profile firebrand speakers, trying the tricks of orators and introducing “fire and brimstone” in their speeches. That’s one side of the world we live in.

At the other side is the world of business, government bureaucracy and civil society. You attend a conference, a seminar or symposia – and what do you see and hear? You are ushered into a dark room, heads (hopefully, eyes too) transfixed on a giant screen, while the speaker intones a speech or what passes for it. You look around, and many eyes in the audience are heavy. Is there interaction between speaker and audience? Hardly. You sit down, and – soon enough – you join most of the audience in dreamland.

We have lost the art of great speech! “Our speaking styles have indeed become more conversational, but speakers in public spaces haven’t learned to deliver the physical closeness that mirrors the linguistic closeness on television.” Thus observed Nick Morgan, author of “Working the Room.”

He added that even in the relatively intimate setting of a small conference room, the typical speaker is disconnected. The author asks: “How can we change this sorry dynamic? His answer: “By developing the audience-centered rhetoric needed for the twenty first century.” At first glance, there seems to be nothing new with that statement.

When you read the book, you will understand why the author uses “rhetoric” (something absent in many business and other speeches) that goes all the way back to Greek and Macedonian orators, and “21st century” (which makes us instantly aware of combining rhetoric with “soundbites” on television).

Something got lost along the way, the book says. Speeches that moved great crowds of people in a face-to-face encounter between speaker and audience have given way to the television phenomenon where the speaker uses the “hot medium” (according to Marshall McLuhan) with a conversational style. On TV, the speaker “connects” to an audience, not in the same space where he is, but in some distant place.

Then, the same speaker is featured in a conference room, he brings the “tv style” -- which somehow “disconnects” him from an audience that expects more than sound bites. They expect to actively participate, to be looked in the eye, to be told that this speaker cares about them as listeners, their need to be moved to action.

The author shocks us with a speaker’s'; return true;" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;">speaker’s ambitious goal. He declares: “The only reason to give a speech is to change the world. If you are going to take all the trouble to prepare and deliver a speech, make it worthwhile.”

“Give your speech to members of the audience,” he points out, keeping us wondering – until he adds, “by allowing them, to be active.” He explains that many speakers refuse to “give” the speech.

The book has an understandable bias for a speech that “moves people.” So, the author stresses this central truth: “Ultimately, great public speaking comes from passion. Communicate enthusiasm… even if the topic is serious, underneath that emotion lies a real enthusiasm.”

This public speaking proverb is unforgettable – and useful: “If you are having a good time, the audience will, too.”

And how do you get listeners interested? The author devotes a section to the “elevator speech.” He actually means this. You meet someone at the elevator on your way to your public speaking event. He asks you: “I am supposed to enjoy a game of golf, but I have to listen to you. Tell me, what can I gain from your speech?” You are in the same elevator. You need to give the gist of your speech in one sentence. That “elevator speech” is a test whether you can get – then hold – your audience.

This book is one that gives insights, enumerates how to’s, and gives at least three great speeches to illustrate the finer points of public speaking. You will listen once again to John F. Kennedy’s speech at Berlin (which I heard on tape, where Kennedy’s pauses were filled by deafening applause and shouts), Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” (the world’s best), and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” (that used powerful Biblical phrases and moving national hymns).

The book also brings listeners to the loftier goals of speaking. The author advises: “Appeal to something larger than self-interest.” Thankfully, he elaborates: “The tendency to pander is what makes most political speeches today so forgettable. You have to show them how self-interest and larger principles coincide – so personal sacrifice is worth it if it becomes necessary!”

“If you develop the content around your heartfelt passion, rehearse the presentation to find the moments of connection with your audience, and then deliver it with energy and a respect and concern for the audience, you will bring the audience to its feet and to action. Yes, you will change the world.

Beyond good sound bites, you must be in control

2004-01-18T23:47:00.000-08:00

“How to Make the Most of Every Media Appearance”
By George Merlis
McGraw Hill, 2004

If you think appearing before media is kid stuff, think again. When I was with one of the giant beverage companies, we went through a crisis communication workshop in Hong Kong. Participants included a handful CEOs and communication directors.

It was supposed to be a series of simulation exercises. And yet the interviewing media were real tri-media journalists. And we were “real people” too with real threats or problems in our respective home countries.

I didn’t realize how unprepared many of our CEOs were in facing media – or at least having a fruitful or successful encounter with them. The exercises were recorded on television – and the guys saw themselves squirming, making faces, drumming their tables, shifting their eyes, being coolly detached or hotly involved!

Then I knew there was truth to the oft-repeated statement that facing media is one of the worst fears of executives – whether they admit it or not.

On the other hand, some executives are worried about fellow executives who are too confident for their own good – because they go through interviews revealing facts too soon, boring their interviewers, or simply be a disaster in full view of millions of viewers or their disastrous statements all over the front pages because they are afflicted with the all-too-common ailment: FMD (for foot-in-mouth disease).

Global communication companies have come up with media training exercises equipped with videos and thick manuals – but very few can afford such programs. The good news is we have this book -- “How to Make the Most of Every Media Appearance” – which is more than you can expect from a workshop. The other good news is this is written by a veteran journalist – who, therefore, knows the tricks – and, may I add, trials -- on both sides of the fence.

The thought that is central in this book is this: When you are interviewed, you must have a clear idea of your own agenda. In other words, the author is saying that you should not be drawn into the agenda of the reporter.

Mr. Merlis introduces “The Five Commandments” – and they are so common you may think he is telling nothing new: thou shalt be prepared, thou shalt know to whom you art speaking, thou shalt be quoteworthy, thou shalt practice, practice, practice -- and thou shalt not lie, evade, nor cop an attitude.

And yet, Merlis fascinates us with his mastery of details, born of experience in many media encounters – mostly as journalist, other times as interviewee. From these, he comes up with valuable to-dos – like: “Approach media encounters with a sense of purpose, a positive – even eager – attitude, and an enthusiasm for their subject.”

He suggests preparing intentional message statements (IMS) – points you feel must be made during the interview. He cites many examples of people who went through the interviews chatting or shooting the breeze – and end up having a bad press or being exposed for what they are – all talk and no substance. Remember when a former First Lady’s statements were reprinted verbatim, including verbal slips, incredible thoughts, etc.? That mobilized an entire Presidential palace to stop its publication to no avail!

One other tip that proves this author knows whereof he speaks. He advises: “You are not only talking to but through an interviewer.” You are talking to a vast audience out there. Others mistake the talk as an intimate encounter, never knowing that the entire world was transformed into a giant society of “eavesdroppers.”

He spoke about sound bites, that staple on television that can make you “world-famous for fifteen minutes,” in the words of Andy Warhol, said 1968 when television was not as powerful.

In fact, sound bites are not only for television, the author says. “Soundbites predate television news,” he notes, and he cites memorable lines such as these: “Give me liberty or give me death”; “Here I stand; I can do no other”; “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”; and “I shall return.” Or what about this in a country of unemployment or under-employment: “It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose yours.”

Aside from sound bites, use a metaphor or simile. And example: “This proposal is the Titanic of economic planning – big, ambitious, and doomed to sink!” Just don’t try this on the Boss.

Merlis says it’s all right to ask a reporter the following questions: What is the direction and thrust of the story? Who else are you interviewing? How much of my time will you need? How long will your article or broadcast story be? A treasure is a section on “The Interviewer’s Top Seven Dirty Tricks” -- one of which is what he calls the “pregnant pause.” It’s the pause that’s used “as an invitation for you to expand on answers you’ve already given.” When you are uneasy with silence, don’t.

Yes, he has some advice on how to look good on television, how to avoid being positioned as “a bad guy” juxtaposed with the “good guys” – and so forth. Many more principles and tips are featured in this book, spiced up with illustrations. When you read it, think of your past or forthcoming interviews. You can re-run them with newfound insights from the book. Amidst all the techniques, however, the book has delivered one point clearly: “You are in control.”

One who mastered fiction in film used truth as the best weapon

2003-12-21T23:40:00.000-08:00

“When Character Was King”
By Peggy Noonan
Penguin Books, 2001

Understandably, most people of this country struggle over one question: Who should be the next President of this not-so-strong Republic? The choices, until recently, were among the incumbent President who is rating low, a former Senator and Education Secretary who is concededly intelligent and seasoned on the political stage, and a Senator whose reputation, however, is stuck with his tour duty as a controversial chief of the national police.

All three have great issues attached to their aspirations: experience for the incumbent, education for the former Secretary, and peace and order for the top policeman. Is that all?

One doesn’t think so. An aspirant to the vice presidency, Senator Loren Legarda, after noting that aspirants can casually and conveniently address issues that endear themselves to the electorate, reduced the choice to one fundamental: the candidate’s character. The ultimate test is the character of the individual – his or her integrity, courage and demonstrated capability to do what is right, not what is expedient or popular.

What about competence, educational attainment, and preparedness for the job? These points have assumed larger significance with the entry of one of the most popular action stars joining the political fray – and some people were advancing arguments that were used to elect a former President who ended up in jail; the same argument that tries to establish affinity with the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger and, in the early eighties, the assumption to the U.S. Presidency of Ronald Reagan.

Our view of Ronald Reagan was too simplistic compared to the many-sided personality of this Great Communicator. The book, “When Character Was King,” a story of Reagan by one of his finest speech writers, reveals a lot about this highly successful and much-loved President the Americans ever had.

He controlled inflation, perked up the American economy, raised individual incomes, reduced taxes, and made the U.S. the pre-eminent player in the geo-political war where the antagonist, Soviet Russia, turned out to be a non-power at all.

What began the making of Reagan the communicative leader? Noonan is insightful: “As president of the Screen Actors Guild, Reagan learned how to negotiate, play tough and get tough, how to feint, stall and vamp for time, how to wait them out, how to smoke out the real reason for an impasse. He learned that it was not personal, it’s business. It’s politics.”

Reagan was generally a nice guy. One time, he lost his temper because his reserved room was given to someone else. He berated the man, was rude and impatient – and he left. Asked if the counter person saw Reagan again: “Oh sure, the next morning when he came to apologize.”

Soon enough, Reagan has perfected his way with words, and dished out his version of reality masterfully. On switching parties – from Democrat to Republican, Reagan said: “We didn’t change… they changed.”

From actor, Reagan increasingly was involved in talking about governance, about issues that citizens wanted to hear – from his denunciations of big government to criticisms of a heavy tax burden. As related by Noonan, the turning point of Reagan’s life was when he spoke for half an hour on NBC. That was the moment. Noonan says: “He stepped into national politics, became a presence in the nation’s political life. He stepped into history.”

He was fifty four when he ran for governor. The opponent, Pat Brown, dismissed Reagan as an actor, and implied “he was a phony, mouthing words as an actor does from a script he hasn’t written.” But Reagan was a good writer, had ear for music and employed cadence in his written and spoken words – in plays and his stories. As history would have it, Reagan won by a landslide over Brown.

After the governorship, the Presidency was not far behind. After the primaries, the Republican bet had to face the Democratic incumbent: Jimmy Carter. The high point of his campaign was at the “Reagan-Carter Debate” in 1980 when Reagan took command of television, and left these words ringing: “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”

In a book that is full of insights about the man in private and the President in public, author Noonan observes: “Nothing internal, within him, changed. His character seemed to be an unbroken line that didn’t waver or soar too high or low. He was not given to conceit, didn’t play with people when he had the chance, didn’t show up places late because he’s the most important and interesting man invited, so the fun will have to start when he gets there.”

Reagan’s dealing with issues at home and abroad has been characterized by candor and devotion to truth, according to the author. Noonan says: “He loved the truth… He thought the truth is the only foundation on which can be built something strong and good and lasting – because only truth endures. Lies die. He wanted to crowd out the false with the true.”

When politicians in the past sidestepped the issue of attacking the Soviet Union, Reagan called it the “The Evil Empire.” In one speech, he told Soviet Union Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev, “Tear down this wall!” referring to the Berlin Wall.

The author adds an insight: “He didn’t know how very soon the wall would fall, and literally a six-ton piece of it would be shipped to America to be installed at the Reagan Library.”

To many of us engrossed in comparisons and in our search for parallels, Reagan’s portrait can be used and misused by candidates. Surely, many of these aspirants pale in comparison with this President who happens to have been a university graduate, has ample gray matter between his ears, has the skills of a master negotiator, the courage to do what is right – and one who has found the truth as the best weapon to craft great policies, take resolute action, and gain victory.

Survive the dangers of leading

2003-12-07T23:38:00.000-08:00

“Leadership on the Line”
By Ronald A. Heifetz & Marty Linsky
Harvard Business School Press, 2002

In a lunch with former Senate President Jovito Salonga, a friend made an obvious comment that “politics is dirty.” The venerable leader took a pause from taking his lunch and said: “You know, politics can be a noble calling.” And he narrated to us what obsessed him to run for political office – to achieve real freedom for the country – and to secure justice. His role in leading the Senate “that said No!” to the American military bases was one of the goals that gave him passion and intensity.

But there are risks involved in leadership. Senator Salonga almost did not survive the Plaza Miranda bombing. Still, this calling called leadership continues to beckon, and young and old, men and women respond, ignoring the dangers. This book is for such leaders – so they can master – if not survive – the perils of leading.

In politics, in the business world and in civil society circles – the same question resounds: Shall one take a leadership role, leave the peace and quiet of a low-profile job, and place your “leadership on the line”? It is actually putting your head on the chopping black, if you please pardon the shocking metaphor.

That is the title of this book, authored by professors of the Center for Public Leadership of the John F. Kennedy School of Government – where a number of our leaders had some training – with visible or invisible benefits!

The authors, showing intimate familiarity with the multifarious hazards of leaders, put it squarely: “To lead is to live dangerously …when you lead people through difficult change, you challenge what people hold dear – their daily habits, tools, loyalties and ways of thinking – with nothing more to offer perhaps than a possibility.”

And yet even if the dangers abound, some leaders – like Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho – chose to leave the ordered life of a highly successful investment banker and join the “snake pit” in the Palace. The book says that there are indeed those who are driven by a genuine desire to serve.

The first part of the book does not mince words about the dangers. The authors warn: “When exercising leadership, you risk getting marginalized, diverted, attacked, or seduced. When people resist adaptive work, their goal is to shoot down those who exercise leadership in order to preserve what they have.”

If you are a leader, you can identify with many of the hazards of leadership – from being placed in a freezer to being led to lose focus; from being attacked (verbally -- and even physically) to being seduced to take up a cause for its fleeting appeal.

After amply warning the reader about land mines and traps along the way, the authors discuss at length the suitable responses to the dangers – or challenges. One of the more useful advice is to “get on the balcony.” The book explains:
“Any military officer knows the importance of maintaining the capacity for reflection, even in the ‘fog of war’. Great athletes can at once play the game and observe it as a whole – as Walt Whitman described it, ‘being both in and out of the game.’ … We call this skill ‘getting off the dance floor and going to the balcony… We all get swept into action when it becomes intense or personal and we need most to pause.”

The book is also instructive to people who, when a business plan has been written, look at it as one “cast in granite.” “Leadership is an improvisational art,” the book says. And it goes on to narrate the story of General Dwight Eisenhower.

After leading the successful D-Day invasion on the beaches of Normandy, the first thing former American President Eisenhower did was “to throw out the plan.” The authors enshrine two leadership qualities: discipline and flexibility. You take action, step back and assess the results of the action, reassess the plan, then go to the dance floor and make the next move.

“Think politically,” is another valuable advice, not for the practitioners of the art – the politicians – but for business executives who are so focused on results that they forget the need to have some political savvy. Many sad and happy stories are documented in the book.

More strategies -- orchestrating the conflict and letting the issue -- ripen will serve the leader in good stead after he places himself on the line. On anchoring yourself, the book tells the engaging story of two good looking American presidential aspirants – one lost, the other won.

The press accused both Gary Hart and Bill Clinton of philandering. They responded in very different ways. Hart counterattacked and got defensive. Bill Clinton took a very different road. He went on 60 Minutes right after the Super Bowl, sat before the cameras holding hands with his wife, and essentially admitted that he had strayed. Hart responded personally; Clinton, strategically and more honestly.

The book’s aphorism is packed with meaning: “Your management of an attack, more than the substance of the accusation, determines your fate.” The perils of leadership are like landmines in a political landscape. This book shows you how to gingerly – and confidently – side step or master the terrain.

Change accounting rules to match new ball game

2003-11-09T23:36:00.000-08:00

“Rethinking the Rules of Financial Accounting”
By Robert N. Anthony
McGraw Hill, 2004

You walk down the streets of the country’s financial district, Ayala Avenue, and you would note impressive high rise buildings. The same is true when – immobilized by the intractable traffic re-routing within the Ortigas Center – you are awed by rows and rows of edifices challenging the heights.

And you wonder: Are the companies which own or have naming rights to these buildings really viable. But, you quickly remember an old adage not to “judge the book by its cover” (or a recent one from the sister of a lovelorn mayor: “Don’t judge him; he is not a book”).

So, speaking of buildings, don’t judge a company by its façade or its giant signboard. After all, there is always “a small company with a big sign” in every square meter of Ayala, Ortigas, Alabang and Filinvest business districts.

So, if facades won’t do it, how do you know the company you are talking to or investing in is well worth its image? Thank God, there are accountants who make sure you can see the innards of the company – with its balance sheet of assets, liabilities and equity. In the past, we could truly say we trust the financial statement as a sacrosanct document, its integrity beyond question. And, so we always said: “Look at the figures.”

And yet after the debacle of Enron (which initially impressed me when top Enron executives Ken Lay and Rebecca Mark flew into town by private jet some years ago) and after the wholesale accounting fraud by WorldCom, the sacred balance sheet has fallen out of grace. Not only that. With the advent of companies whose assets are not, strictly speaking, “physical,” how can one now reduce these assets to pesos and centavos?

Thus, you have “creative accounting” on one side where you need new investigative tools to spot any shenanigan, and you have hi-tech firms whose assets while purely intangible are inestimably valuable. This backdrop encouraged accounting guru Robert Anthony to write the book, “Rethinking the Rules of Financial Accounting.”

Anthony lays his premises well, drawing from the rigors of sciences. He points out: “Most disciplines – physics, chemistry, economics, medicine, engineering, and mathematics – have a conceptual framework for reporting measurements and a set of rules consistent with that framework. Those frameworks and rules have to be examined from time to time as the world changes. Inconsistencies in the rules creep in over time, and the rules do not incorporate new measurement techniques.”

This book is meant for accountants, with technical terms that may be abstruse to the layperson. But, if you are an executive, who went through Accounting for Non-Accountants or have gone through the rigors of MBA training, the fundamental issues raised by the book yield to some, if not easy, understanding.

Thus Anthony begins with a basic truth, “Accounting rules are rules for measurement” – and proceeds to define measurement as ‘the process of associating numbers with physical quantities and phenomena.’ Financial accounting rules measure ‘physical quantities’ in three categories – assets, liabilities and equity – at one moment in time.”

Arriving at a company’s net worth or true value is the crux of the problem confronted by the author. And yet, at the end of every chapter or section, he wrestles with the same old question: How do you reduce to numbers the operating performance of the company – and then how do you “photograph” its financial condition in a balance sheet?

The author begins with the first hurdle: terminology. He points out that even the Federal Accounting Advisory Board of the U.S. showed in a 1998 study that companies have two names for the same item. “Operating income” was used 356 times and “operating profit” was used 146 times.

He moves on to discuss the “Financial Position Statement.” After he volunteers a historical tidbit that the balance sheet has already been used for 500 years, he makes a shocking statement: The balance sheet “does not report an entity’s financial position.”

He explains: “The asset side does not, and cannot, report all the resources that an entity owns or controls.” He cites as examples the value of brands, new products, and the quality of a firm’s management. He also notes the increasing importance of these “intangibles” as knowledge-based assets.

An interesting “did-you-know” info tip is in this book. Accounting’s “dual aspect concept,” according to Anthony, was first used in Italy in the early 15th century by Luca Pacioli’s Summa (1494) who stated that accounting should measure two equal aspects of every transaction. He labeled one aspect “debit” and the other “credit”. It was widely used by companies sending a fleet of ships at the end of the voyage.

In more chapters covering statements on income and cash flow, Anthony argues for the use of the same terminology, no-nonsense recognition of income, and takes to task many creative financial maneuvers of companies which “window dress” their financial statements or are “dressing up the bride” prior to a sale.

He also draws similar and different problems confronting accounting rules for non-profit firms and government institutions.

From talking about rethinking the rules, the author also takes up ethical behavior among auditors and accountants. He says: “If professionals steal money, lie, produce an inferior product, or commit other sins, their conduct is illegal and they can be punished in the courts.” However, some conduct may be legal, but it can be unethical, he points out.

Doubtless, financial accounting is a serious matter. An executive can be thrown to jail for accounting fraud. Or, on the basis of an auditor’s report, a Chief Justice may be impeached. The author has a word for auditors: They must exercise “due diligence.” And that simply means: They must do enough work with the satisfaction that their financial statements report what they are supposed to report.

But, first of all, change the rules, because the 21st century corporate world is an entirely different ball game.

Industry titans of the ‘20s Dish out ‘modern’ thoughts

2003-08-24T23:35:00.000-07:00

“Wisdom from the Robber Barons”
By George David Smith & Frederick Dalzell
Castle Books, 2002

The book’s title is attractive enough – “Wisdom from the Robber Barons.” (I picked it out from a cozy bookstore called Libris Books.)

Mixing robbers and barons is intriguing. (I recall a text message, which says: Little thieves go to prison, while big thieves are elected to public office!)

Are we talking about the same thing in the case of this breed of barons? The authors give an explanation to this two-phrase appellation:

“Robbers – some of them anyway – became ‘Barons.’ Men like Henry Ford were not necessarily bent on getting rich – but they did.

As they build up business empires, harddriving industrialists acquired vast personal wealth. They became so rich that their holdings dwarfed those of the country’s traditional elite.”

But this book is much more than detailing the ways these robber barons got rich, as if money was there for picking.

Set in the period from 1970 to 1929, the historical accounts in this book prove the truism that “history repeats – and renews (if I may add) itself.”

We have been told about – and thus accustomed to – the idea that the rich and famous in a past as distant as the roaring twenties used crude and antiquated methods while on the way to making vast fortunes (and earning fame in the process).

But, if you read this lively history if the titans of industry – like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, Alfred Sloan and J.P. Morgan – you will be surprised that they were ahead of their time.

We held the view, for example, the “customer-driven company” was a new thing.

But, Henry Ford said it sometime in 1908: “We start with the customer, work back through the design, and finally arrive at manufacturing.”

Theodore Levitt in the nineties went on to criticize “marketing myopia,” and batted for a “market-driven, not production-dictated strategy.”

We thought that relying heavily on advertising to sell products is a modern concept, but listen to Atlanta chemist John Pemberton, who concocted a dark sugar water: “If I could get $25,000, I would spend $24,000 for advertising, the remainder in making Coca Cola. Then we would all be rich.”

As business history would have it, a marketing wizard, Asa Candler, gained control of this giant soda firm.

And this century which we prefer to view as dominated by the “knowledge society,” we say that “thought capital” is a new thing, and coming up with crazy ideas is a newfangled reality.

But, what would you make of this quote from Mark Twain: “The man with a new idea is a Crank until the idea succeeds.” (I recall a quote that follows the same logic: “Coup plotters, when they fail, are terrorists; when they succeed, they are liberators.”)

On to saner matters… Were the robber barons thinking only of money? Harvey Firestone, who became the largest supplier of tires to Ford, said otherwise. “Thought, not money, is the real business capital,” he said.

On competing strategies, the book gives accounts of varying styles. Carnegie hated pirating managers.

In contrast, Rockfeller bought out rival oil refiners and pirated competitors’ business managers.

An interesting discussion on “creativity” and “bureaucracy” is instructive to us in this so-called modern business world where a “bureaucrat” is a bad name.

And yet, the pioneers confessed their need for a system-driven bureaucracy. The authors said: “Creators had to become, or give way to, bureaucrats.”

Were the robber barons aware of their social responsibilities? Much has been said about William Vanderbilt who was quoted as saying that, “The public be dammed”; and J.P. Morgan barking, “I owe the public nothing.”

The book explains this outburst: “Morgan’s response was actually more neutral. But it betrayed a deep public uneasiness with power that people like Morgan were accumulating”

Ford said something that underscores the social function of companies beyond profit. When asked by his shareholders, “What do you mean by “doing as much good as possible?” Ford’s answer was: “Give employment and sent out the car where the people can use it.” The shareholders countered: “Is that all?” Ford’s answers might as well be the reply of the devotees of corporate social responsibility:

“I suppose … incidentally, we make money.”

From the looks of it, the strategies and mindsets of these barons prove to be as timely and as relevant today as when they conquered territories in the past.

The difference is, their ideas come more fresh, simpler and more direct – shorn of complex theories and models.

Harking back to the creators would surely be useful for our “modern thinkers who would realize their ideas are not so modern after all.

Presidential agenda and style At its best and most intimate

2003-06-01T23:33:00.000-07:00

“John F. Kennedy: The Presidential Portfolio”
By Charles Kenney
Public Affairs (Perseus Nooks), 2000

A sense of nostalgia grips us every time we read a well-written speech that was actually delivered by a head of state.

In Nelson Mandela, you sense the fire and passion of one who went through a crucible of human struggle. In Tony Blair, you are moved by a stirring eloquence – marked by a steely resolve – in the middle of contrary opinion worldwide (like invasion of Iraq).

And in John F. Kennedy, you happily note an easy style and flawless rhetoric that justifies the observation that Kennedy truly brought back elegance to the Presidential office – and have given Presidential speeches the quality that comes close to literature – if they are not literature itself.

The nostalgia persists because the present crop of leaders around the world – and at home – no longer bother about style, as if rhetoric is luxury, not necessity. They are wrong.

If the medium is the message, as Marchall Macluhan said many years ago, then crafting a statement of a speech is both science and art that requires the preoccupation of Presidents or their handlers.

Here is why: As someone put it, a leader may fail in other areas, but he or she should not fails to inspire. A thoughtfully crafted statement that “connects” with the people, or touch of poetry in policy that goes to the heart of the problem (and them to the “hearts” of one’s countrymen) becomes unforgettable – because it touches the core of their fierce hopes.

But, it is only in public that a head of state moves a nation. It is also in his private movements – “away from the maddening crown” – where he or she communicates a substance and style that makes one loved, at best, and credible, at least.

The problem is how do we know how these very public figures speak in the privacy of their living rooms or chat in the warmth of their fireplace?

Thankfully, there is a coffee table book, a rare find from Powerbooks, that makes
Eavesdroppers of us all.

The book, “John F. Kennedy: Presidential Portfolio,” brings the reader intimately closer to how this President made difficult decisions “in an hour of maximum danger” like the Cuban Crisis in 1962: You actually eavesdrop on his critical conversation with former President Dwight Eisenhower – and appreciate the complexity of the options to be taken, calibrated to avoid a nuclear war.

This book has the best of worlds of printed text and sound in compact disc. The printed text is divided into chapters that zero in on interesting highlights in the life of this President who continues to fascinate people.

A description of the enigmatic Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy is both apt and well informed, as when the author says: “From the beginning, there was something about her, something that set her apart.”

In the chapter, “The Power of Symbols,” the book identifies two favorite projects of Kennedy; the Peace Corps and the Space Race. The book says: “While Peace Corps volunteers labored on the ground, a much larger cold war competition was taking place far above the earth in the newest of all frontiers, outer space.”

When Yuri Gagarin orbited around the world, the Soviets outraced America. And so Kennedy asked: “Is there any place we can catch them?” So the President authorized a costly space program that landed the first man on the moon.

More intimate takes of Kennedy’s decision making, subdued temper, easy going style and unorthodox campaigning are in this book. This is one book that proves to be a fitting sequel to a much earlier book by Theodore White, entitled, “The Making of a President.”

And yet, since this is the 21st century, this portfolio has outdone White, since this one comes with a CD.

One intimate talk is with brother Robert Kennedy where they discuss how to deal with Harry Luce of Time. The third is a revealing exchange between Kennedy and White House spokesperson Lincoln White.

Kennedy chided (not scolded) White because of an unauthorized extension of the President’s statement.

“You’ve got to be goddam careful!” says Kennedy, with subdued temper. (His lesson for holding Presidential tantrums!)

The CD has about 14 tracks. A riveting voice track is the exchange between Kennedy and Eisenhower where, according to the commentator. Eisenhower is “treating Kennedy like a kid,” but in the end agrees with him and calls him respectfully as President.

In this discussion, Kennedy speaks about “increasing number of steps” on the Cuban blockade. Then he asks the General : “If we attack, could it trigger a nuclear war?” The General, with a voice of experience, replies: “I don’t think they fill fire the missles.”

In a century bereft of substance and style, where speeches sound like inter-office memoranda; in an age where a head of state loses his/her temper – and we’ll call it “forthright” – and berates his/her subordinates – and we call it “strong” – we need his kind of book to remind the top leaders that they owe such office some breeding and style – and so inspire our countrymen.

Gaining the upper hand anytime, anywhere

2003-05-18T23:32:00.000-07:00

“Victory”
Brian Tracy
American Management Association
(AMACOM), 2002

When it comes to self-help books, those who present general principles instead of detailed how-tos are preferable. Why? Because they manifest the respect the author places on his readers.

Here comes a refreshing exception to the hot-to-mode – Brian Tracy with his latest book, “Victory,” subtitled, “Applying the Proven Principles of Military Strategy to Achieve Greater Success in Your Business and Personal Life.” It contains 12 basic principles needed to attain victory at work and in one’s personal life.

The book may sound intimidating to some at first blush, conjuring as it does images of stern officers shouting obscenities at hapless foot solders of even razing a city to the ground. Fortunately, Tracy sees “generalship” in the mold of “officers and gentlemen.” In fact, Tracy says in his introduction, “Victory” is for the ambitious, energetic, determined, success-oriented individual. As for ordinary mortals, the author assured us that “each of the principles of military strategy can be learned.”

Having trained more than two million people, written 26 books and turned around 22 different businesses in diverse industries, the author easily convinces us when he says that we are moving into the “Golden Age” of mankind, an age when more people will accomplish or dreamed of in all the history of humanity. And we eagerly anticipate winning our personal battle and “being all that we can be.”

The author dedicates one chapter each to the 12 tried and tested principles of strategy that have been used by top military leaders for more than 20 centuries and by business executives, too. He helpfully subdivides these into “business” and “personal life.” Each of the 12 principles, the author declares, has by itself been responsible for victories or defeats. What’s more, each of them works as well in the concrete/corporate jungles as well as in the battlefield.

The Principle of Maneuver (“Remain flexible at all times”), for example, is applied by the author to the “Hail Mary” attack during the Gulf War: “After eliminating the ability of the Iraqi army to get accurate information on the movement of his army, General Norman Schwarzkopf moved what appeared to be a large force up to the Kuwaiti border. The enemy moved forward to meet the attack.

“Meanwhile, under the cover of night, Schwarzkopf had moved 250,000 troops 50 miles to the west. Then they launched a sweeping flank attack around the Iraqi forces, cutting them off at Basra and effectively ending the Gulf War. By destroying the enemy’s ability t get accurate intelligence, Schwarzkopf was able to end the way quickly and effectively. He concentrated on reducing the time necessary to win the war and came up with the single most effective maneuver.”

The chapters deal with fundamental strategies – like “clarity,” for example. A leader of a manager cannot hope to lead his men if his goal is not clear to him and if his strategy is fuzzy.

The author deftly weaves his considerable experience in personal and professional development into his interest in military history. For that he might well take his place among the strategists he so knowledgeably expounds on.

Tracy makes sure he drives home the point of devoting the 13th and last chapter to a review of the 12 strategies. That’s putting the Principle of the Mass (“Focus single-mindedly on one thing, the most important thing, and stay with it until it is done”) to practice.

Contemporary books may not agree to out usual bent of using the metaphors of war and the similes of the battlefield. Some authors are now saying we are “marching to a different drum” – not of battle but of peace. And yet, the compelling truths about winning the war are durable in a world of conflict of contest. Thus, the book remains relevant and certainly useful.

Going with the current, and controlling the flow

2003-02-16T23:30:00.000-08:00

“Shaping the Adaptive Organization”
By William E. Fulmer
American Management Association, 2002

This book on rapid change began with the subject of “land speed.”

The author points out that Craig Breedlove broke the land speed record with 600 mph on land. How did he do it? “I broke the rules,” Breedlove said. But later in 1983, Breedlove was dislodged from that distinction as the fastest man-machine alive when Richard Noble of England broke the record with a land speed of 650 mph. Noble said of his feat: “It was both exhilarating and frightening.”

Thus the author, Mr. Fulmer interestingly describes the times we – and our businesses – are in. “Due to the speed of change, companies are coping with a new reality – it is an increasingly uncertain and chaotic world.” And so you must be prepared to “break the rules.” The prospects, however, are frightening.

With that Fulmer points out that an organization can only survive rapid change if it is an “adaptive organization.” How can one adapt? The author volunteers three foundations for such a flexible enterprise – Landscape, Learning and Leadership.

Fulmer devotes the most space to Landscape. He refers to what we traditionally call the “environment.” But, since he sticks to the analogy of Life, the author calls the world within which the enterprise exists or moves as Landscape.

The reading of this section of the book is slow, difficult and complex. He quotes evolutionists, biologists, and many other scientists to prove that such a landscape is as complex and as unpredictable as an organism. He uses words as “equilibrium” and “dis-equilibrium” to demonstrate that a business, like an organism, is in a constant state of dis-equilibrium – yes, flux.

Actually, it is a scholar’s way of saying a central truth that we knew much earlier: “You can only be certain about a human being when he is dead. If he is alive, he is unpredictable.”

So, where is the author bringing us? He actually builds a case so tight that he has to give up what he learned in his MBA class in the sixties which believed the dictum – “Structure should follow strategy.” What that means is: You can only build an organizational or project structure once the strategy has been formulated.

That didn’t work, the author says.

So, he now says that “structure follows landscape.” Then, he makes this revision: “It is more accurate to say: “Both structure and strategy must adapt to the landscape.”

This Landscape has “hills and valleys, with smooth and rugged surfaces” – metaphors for lows and peaks in business, the turbulence, on one hand, and the smooth predictability of the marketplace, on the other.

The author is saying that the enterprise must adapt to the landscape. That is not new, of course. What’s new is the extended metaphor between biological life and economic life. Since life is complex enough, business must be, too, he proves. This is not actually a reassuring thought. But, the life of simplicity is over. It will never be the same.

So, he also underscores the importance of a learning organization. That’s not new, too, except that business nowadays must continually learn and re-learn strategies and competitive moves in more frequent intervals.

The author mercifully comes to a crystal clear conclusion that businesses can use. He says: “Life exists at the edge of chaos. It is near the edge that life is best able to coordinate complex activities and evolve.” This sounds familiar. Years ago, Tom Peters said in his “Liberation Management” book, that revolutionaries do not come from the center: they come from the fringes of society.

But, we must credit the author for not using mixed metaphors. He has stuck to Life’s analogies. Underscoring an enterprise’s preparedness for rapid change, he uses the “water” metaphor. “Systems too deep into the frozen ordered regime (like solid ice) are too rigid to coordinate the complex sequences of genetic activities necessary for development. If they are too far into the gaseous chaotic regime, they will not be orderly enough.” And here’s the illuminating statement: “It is the nearly melted state that corresponds to the edge of chaos.”

He is telling companies to sit at the edge of their seats, ever prepared for change. So, while the author makes much of evolution and uncontrollable forces, it is a relief that he gives credit to Leadership, the most important (I think) foundation for the adaptive organization. The innovative leader “must prevail,” to paraphrase the author’s namesake, William Faulkner, in his speech when he accepted the Nobel Prize.

This central truth boils downs to leadership. He proves his point with this statement:
“The guy who invented the first wheel was an idiot. The guy who invented the other three – he was a genius.” Bill Gates did not develop the first computer operating system. He made his system widely available.

How to shape an “adaptive organization”? Read and comprehend this slow-read, but well-written book. Somehow, if you miss some technical points, look up Bill Gates and other leaders who serve as role models to leaders who ride “the crest of change.” In the final analysis, the leader does not always adapt. In defining moments, he is in command.

Do something wonderful – And simple – in your life

2002-12-22T23:29:00.000-08:00

“Focal Point”
Brian Tracy
American Management Association, 2002

When you were starting your career, you heard this, not only once, but many times: “You don’t have a focus!” And you are jolted to your senses – looking for ways to “organize” or “prioritize.” And you somehow, intuitively so, succeed.

In the business of discussion – or in life – we have always been told that “to have a focus” will surely make us accomplish more. The problem with discussion is there are many issues, and the problem with life is there are many priorities crying for attention.

In a game of chess, from an amateur’s standpoint, there are two kinds of players: One player goes for an early checkmate gingerly steering clear of a phalanx of pawns, penetrating lines of bishops, and the omnipotence of the queen; the other player forces a “simplification process” toward the end game, pushes for mutual “sacrifice” of pieces – so battleground is run of complexity – and deliver the coup de grace.

One player thrives on complexity, the other had the edge in simplicity. In either case, you need a high level of focus. As in a game of chess, so in a game called life.

“Focal Point,” new book by Brian Tracy, America’s favorite motivational speaker and mentor/coach, is one of many books geared to one objective: Enable us to sharpen our focus – and therefore increase our chance for success. The sub-title actually summarizes it well: “a proven system to simplify your life, doubles your productivity, and achieve all your goals.”

The author begins with the story of a consultant. There was a major technical problem at a nuclear power plant, a malfunction that was slowing every generation. So the nation’s top consultant was brought in – who wasted not time looking for the problem. For the next two days, the consultant walked around, studied and gauges in the control room, took notes and made calculations.

At the end of second day, he took a black felt marker, climbed up the ladder, and out a large black “X” on one of the gauges. “This is the problem,” he said. Shortly, the defect was repaired.

A week later, the plant manager received a bill for $10,000 from the consultant for “services rendered.” The plant manager of this multi-billion dollar facility protested the exorbitant bill, and thus asked for itemized expenses.

The consultant obliged. He sent a new invoice: “For placing ‘X’ on a single gauge, $1. For knowing which gauge to place ‘X’ on: $9,999.”

This “X” is your focal point, said author Tracy – “the one thing you can do to get the best result.”

The book discusses what the author calls the “Focal Point Process” – namely, Values, Vision, Goals, Knowledge and Skills, Habits, Daily Activities and Actions. Each part of the process is discussed in the style of this engaging speaker and author.

The book has an abundance of quotes and principles. One is applying the “80/20 Rule” – we call it “Pareto Law” them. It foes like this: Identify 20 percent of the value of everything you do. Many of our readers might have tried this with success. The author this joins those who have remarkably prospered because of this one simple rule.

The author brings us to self-evaluation, and hold us by the hand toward new ways to succeed. Whether you are a CEO on top of them heap, or a fledging management trainee below, you would find his advice relevant. There are times that he sounds more like motivational speaker and not an author, but that’s pardonable considering the gems of advice he freely throws our way.

Listen: “There are four ways to change: You can do more of some things, you can do less of other things, you can start doing something that you have not done before, and you can stop doing something that is not helpful to you or to achieving your goals.”

That is a mouthful to begin with, and then you journey on with the author in this book.

You can’t help but be inspired by the desire of the speaker to bring you to heights yet unscaled: “Most people settle for far less than they are truly capable of … They settle for a mediocre existence rather than committing themselves to breaking their own mental shackles and escaping from their own mental prisons.”

You get the impression that the author is telling you that you can truly dramatically succeed – that you can do almost anything. Minus the hyperbole, really, he could be right.

And he also knows the requirements for success. He underscores the need for Discipline, and quotes Elbert Hubbard for the purpose: “The ability to make yourself do what you should, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.”

The author throws in many more tips – including the “1,000 percent formula,” which promises us to achieve a thousand percent improvement on your productivity in ten years. He has calculations, too, to convince you. But somewhere in the book, he gives a very encouraging quote that should make your day and mine. He says: “You were born to do something wonderful with your life.”

Everyday wisdom: An oasis in a desert

2002-12-08T23:26:00.000-08:00

“Expect the Unexpected”
Roger Von Oech
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2002

Have you met someone who is bursting with information – current events, statistics, encyclopedic knowledge, every item in the Guinness Book, and every detail about science and business? But, you aren’t impressed – because the same guy – for the many years you’ve associated with him – has not said anything original. Or he hasn’t come up with any idea that comes close to brilliance – or even and insight,

It’s true then, it’s truer not – and Heraclitus said it 2, 500 years ago: “Knowing many things does not teach insight.”

If one is too purified up with information – and is proud of it – he has not time to distill such knowledge. “Practice forgetting,” said Roger Von Oech, and you are on your way to gaining insight. Who is Von Oech? He is the author of a bestselling creativity classic, “A Whack on the Side of the Head,” who came up with a freshly minted book – “Expect the Unexpected,” the subject of this review.

You must learn the value of forgetting. Von Oech relates this story: A creativity teacher once invited his student for afternoon tea. The teacher poured some tea into the student’s cup. Even after the cup was full, he continued to pour, and the tea over-flowed into the floor.

The student exclaimed: “You must stop pouring … the tea is not going into the cup.” The teacher replied: “The same is true with you. If you’re to receive any of my teachings, you must first empty out the contents of your mental cup.” We also heard id said that if your soul is full mundane concerns, the Divine cannot fill you with His power.

This Executive Read could have been titled “Heraclitus Re-visited,” because this book under review is a collection of 30 epigrams culled by the author from some 125 epigrams compiled by the 19th century compiler Hermann Diels. Heraclitus’ style, according to Von Oech, is similar to a Zen teacher’s paradoxical koan or a Delphic Oracle’s ambiguous prophecy. In my opinion, it partakes of the parable of Jesus of Nazareth.

His epigrams – whether oracle, koan or parable – provide insight into life. And you stumble into them like oases in an endless stretch of desert sand.

Consider this astonishing thought: “Expect the unexpected, or you won’t find it.” The author paraphrases it, saying “If we open our minds, we’ll discover wondrous array of ideas to help us solve the problems inevitably fall into out path.” I summarize this with a statement: “e prepared for a surprise!” In fact, many of our readers who have come upon a brilliant idea experienced such “surprising” or unexpected blessing.

“Drop an assumption,” the author says, and relates an anecdote about celebrated inventor Thomas Edison, who had a simplest to measure the “unexpectedness quotient” of prospective employees. He would invite a candidate to lunch and serve him a bowl of soup. He would then watch whether the person salted his soup before tasting it. If he did, he wouldn’t be offered the job. Edison felt that people are more open to possibilities if they don’t salt their experience of life before tasting it.

One epigram has a word of caution to the powerful and the mighty who have ascended to their “thrones”: “The way up and the way down are one and the same.” He who lives by the sword will die by the sword, the Scriptures say. He who wrests power by guns, goons and gold will also lose such power by the same three G’s. Recent history bears us out.

We are always told to look at the “big picture.” Or, we will miss the forest for the trees, as they often say. Heraclitus contributes this epigram: “The cosmos speaks in patterns.” We find patterns all around us.

We see similarities: stellar galaxies and water emptying out of a bathtub both spiral in the same way. We see relationships: The tighter a government’s restrictions on its press, the less prosperous that society’s economy is likely to be. We truly hope the last statement would soon ring true.

Have you marveled at the wisdom of your venerable dad or mom, when he or she links what are otherwise unconnected – and then come up with something astonishingly new? Heraclotus again has a gem of wisdom: “A wonderful harmony is created when we join together the seemingly unconnected.” Guttenberg joined the wine press and the coin punch to create moveable type and the printing press. Greek metallurgists alloyed soft copper with even softer tin to produce hard bronze.

When there is not sun, we can see the evening stars. You discover something new when a dominant feature is removed. The executive bosses should try getting out of their offices and thus enable their subordinates to shine.

“The doctor inflicts pain to cure suffering.” If a part causes the whole to suffer, cut it. An editor removes a favorite paragraph in order to save the manuscript. This article has said enough about this refreshing book. Before any sentence is cut, this piece must end. Let Heraclitus speak.

Fundraising’s soul: Touching the donor’s heart with a vision

2002-10-20T23:25:00.000-07:00

“The Fund Raiser’s Guide to fund Raising”
By Mayan G. Quebral
Venture for Fund Raising, 2002

Have you received news from the mail lately that Unicef cards are being readied for the Christmas Season and asking you to firm up your orders now?

You open a bulky envelope one morning, and you find a handcrafted card from children of Tuloy sa Don Bosco. You recall that Tuloy is a highly successful center for streetchildren.

You get two tickets to play golf in the Aoki Golf Course in the Eagle Ridge, with the added request that you please be a “hole sponsor,” so you can support mission work.

If you still have those cards or tickets – outdated they may be – hold on to them, as we tell you about fundraising – and about this book that has expressed the “soul” behind philanthropy..

Question: Is philanthropic giving alive and well in this country of 7,600 islands, mired in poverty, shaken by pockets of violence and marked by a lackluster economy?

Aren’t donor funds being re-channeled to new independent states freed from the Soviet monolith, to Latin America and to most of Africa. Earlier on, non-profit organizations – global, regional or national – knew what this meant: They must now rely more and more on local philanthropy.

Is the future for non-profits, starved for funds, bleak? Or is there a sunny side to this seeming darkness?

The book, “The Fundraiser’s Guide to Fund Raising,” is just the shaft of sunlight non-profits need – not only to brighten hope once again, but to light their way to labyrinthine ways leading to the donor’s heart.

Don’t expect just a quick reading of a “nuts-and-bolts” manual on fundraising in this book. While it has tips in abundance in every chapter, you may miss the soul of such a worthy human enterprise. Striking just the right note for the book, author Mayan Quebral speaks in the imperative: “Realize that fundraising is NOT about money.”

She adds: “ Fundraising is about a human need that has to be met. It is about the ability of your organization to make a contribution to the alleviation of that need.” She is actually saying that, if you are just interested in money, this book is not for you. She wants to address those non-profit organizations which have latched on their efforts to higher goals “money cannot buy.”

She volunteers “seven success seeds for growing your non-profit organization” – beginning with the very first seed: “Believe.” She says: “Believing establishes the credibility of your cause … Now tell us, would you buy insurance from a salesman who is not insured, a Ford car dealer who drives a Honda, or a lung cancer foundation fundraiser who smokes?” Touche, Mayan!

The next six “success seeds” guide the reader through concepts, principles, success stories, tables and, yes, generous quotes from the Scriptures and renowned thinkers. Heartwarming stories abound in this book – which gives you the feeling you are in the midst of a seminar listening to every motivation speaker whose “cup runneth over” narrating one successful campaign after the other.

Is this book comprehensive? Reading from first page to the last, one gets the impression that the author and contributors did not hold back any “trade secrets”. Isn’t this self-defeating? If they have given their all, no one would approach them anymore. Their desire to share a “good thing” seems to be greater than the anxiety over outliving their usefulness. They are what they stand for: generous. Look, at the end every chapter is a treasure trove of website addresses for current and would-be fundraisers.

A parallel thought builds up while one moves on to more complex subjects on targeting small and big donors, planning for myriad events, creating an efficient organization, selecting a working board, building a data base – and it is this: The book is telling the organization leader to revisit his reason for existence.

The last chapter asks the reader/leader to “face the mirror.” While the author intends it to remind the fundraiser to evaluate his/her fundraising plan, the sense to this reader is for the NGO leader to go back to the fundamentals: What moves your organization?

The book overflows with quotes, but the one used by the book captures the central message of the book telling organizations to have, first and foremost, a vision. The statement comes from a famous blind person, Helen Keller: “The only thing worse than having no sight is to have sight but no vision.” That, dear readers, is the soul of fundraising. And that keeps this worthwhile effort aflame in the hearts of donors – big and small.

21st Century e-Leadership: new wineskins for new wine

2002-10-06T23:11:00.000-07:00

“E-Leader”
By Robert Hargrove
Perseus Publishing, 2001

You hear contradictory phrases these days. For example, you have “chaordic organization,” meaning a combination of “chaos and order,” an oxymoron at first glance: Isn’t an organization supposed to install order? This was coined by Dee Hock, founder and CEO emeritus of Visa International, the same firm that grew phenomenally. Of course, he was antedated by Alfred North Whitehead who defined progress as “the art of creating chaos in the midst of order, and preserving order in the midst of chaos.”

“Lateral leadership” is another phrase that assaults our time-tested concept of leaders who preside from the top over everyone else below him. This phrase talks about a leader who steps down from his elevated position and deals with his people as his “equals.” The latter, in turn, leave a slight concession to their leader by accepting him as primus inter pares (first among equals).

Another phrase, “spontaneous CEO,” unsettles our widely held view that a CEO is steeped in strategic planning and thus hardly acts on impulse at the spur of the moment.

The above three are only part of a wide range of new vocabulary that now punctuates third millenium leadership books. It delivers an earthshaking message: We have really such a deeply altered world that the old leadership formula longer works, and leaders, if they have to thrive -- if not merely survive --must change.

This is the startling message of the book “E-Leader: Reinventing Leadership in a Connected Economy.” It is rightly called a “brilliant flash of light on the new emerging leadership paradigm of the 21st century.”

Author Robert Hargrove, leadership coach of many CEOs, declared at the outset that CEOs in this century must move quickly from being stewards “conserving what has been built” to being revolutionaries engaged in a balancing act of “maintaining equilibrium and creative destruction.”

Is this the domain of young emergent leaders, ruling out retirable fiftyish and sixtyish CEOs? Not necessarily. Mr. Hargrove was generously quoting Dee Hock of Visa, Jack Welch of GE, Lou Gerstner of IBM, Carly Fiorina, all of whom preached – then practiced – re-branding their companies thus propelled them to new growth platforms and unheard of efficiency and profitability.

“People’s horizon of possibilities,” he points out, “is limited.” What he is saying is that the connected economy presents possibilities that are so infinite but traditional leaders’ visions are so finite. The profoundly transformed environment demands a deeplly-altered CEO mindset.

This truth is actually both timely and timeless. One ever timeless advice actually came from “Jesus the CEO” who said: “For new wine, you need new wineskins.” New ideas require new strategies and structures.

The book thus recommends Triple-Loop Learning” which asks three fundamental questions dealing with three verbs: to be, think, and do.

First question: How do I need to be different? (Begin seeing yourself differently.) Second: How do I need to think differently? (Start to question what you take for granted.) The third question: What do I need to do differently? (Jump into action – the eEconomy waits for no one.) The book templates on exercises that involve the transition from … to, with the useful insight that these have worked in many coaching tasks by the author.

Does this mean that the old reliable leadership and management concepts are passe? Not really. The author still quotes Peter Drucker’s “classic question” (his words): “What is our business and what should it be?” You still have to ask the question: What is the logic of our business? But logic, according to Asian Institute of Management Associate Dean Sonny Coloma, has given way to the fashionable question: “What is your business model?”

Actually, the book offers four steps by which CEOs can build a super-successful “business Internet model”. First, start with some customer reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. Second, create a strategy of pre-eminence, assuming the mantle of leadership. Third, choose partners wisely so as to leverage your strategy. Fourth, enable your business design with relationship technology.

One message stands out in this book: Even in the midst of rapid changes in technology requiring leadership style transformation, some things remain constant – that the logic of business – listening to and reaching the customer (improved version: anticipating the customer) remains the most important function of business.

The difference is technology. The book cites the “clickable corporation,” a phrase popularized in a book of that title, which enumerates in a table eight success strategies to successful customer relationship. Get the book and click away.

The book is not only one’s road map to look yourself and your company over for needed transformation. It is wondrously keyed to liberating the CEO from the strictures of the past. The leadership coach concludes with, perhaps, his favorite theme – which could be the conclusion of the reader when he is through with the book: “Release the human spirit.”

Balancing life and work well is an everyday hero’s journey

2002-09-22T23:10:00.000-07:00

“Downshifting”
By John D. Drakes
Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc., 2000

For the past two weeks, conversations with friends and associates began with work and ended with something loftier and longer than work: Life.

You say, it may be the company I keep. But, no. One was born before World War II, and the other when it just began. Two of them are “baby boomers” (born after the war). The last is a Martial Law baby, born in 1972 when the country was placed under martial rule.

The pre-WW II baby just retired — and he is producing a book containing speeches delivered over a ten-year period, if he is not busy at the golf course in Malarayat or fishing near a vacation house facing the Batangas Bay.

The WW II baby is concluding a dizzying — and very rewarding career in the corporate world as CEO of a number of firms — who began with three private planes and decided to retain just one, as part of his “downshifting” strategies. (Mortals like us settle for earthbound and land-based vehicles, while the rich and famous simply downscale their options for airborne “toys”.)

A baby boomer has limited his consultancy jobs to a few favorite clients and decided to lay the foundation for becoming an “arm chair” professor and, possibly, an author – after earning a doctoral degree in a year or two.

The youngish manager, armed with an MBA, decided to put up an outlet for a specialty coffee shop with his bride-to-be, and relishes the prospects of a slowed down life over coffee and cookie.

That’s the theme of “Downshifting,” a book whose sub-title says it all — almost: “How to work less and enjoy life more.” The author is John D. Drake, who was himself a workaholic CEO who, one day, decided to drop everything — and start a simpler and satisfying life.

Mr. Drake says the decision to “downshift” has become more attractive to some – but at the same much more difficult — because of the demands of the internet age. He quotes a consultant from McKinsey & Company:

“The fast pace and pressure to be plugged-in at all times, made by the omnipresent cell phones, voicemail, e-mail, laptops and faxes, fueled the expectation that employees quite literally be available to deal with work issues 24 hours a day —wherever they are whatever they are doing.”

He tells of a boast from a co-employee on time spent in the office: I work half-days —12 hours!”

The book -- written in an easy, warm style — leads the executive through the process of considering shorter hours at work for the bosses and longer hours for life at home with loved ones and friends — from staring the “work trap” in the eye to egging you to act with the question: “What’s stopping you?”

From considering “low-risk downshifting options” to strategizing how to persuade your boss or your organization to buy your idea of a less stressful job, reduced hours, or working at home half of the time. Finally, the book gives you insights on how to deal with your “newfound free time” as semi-retired. Locally, others call this “retire-ded” (derisively taking off from “retarded).

The author opens up a long discussion on “work that consumes our lives” — even the justification that it is only in the workplace where you get fulfillment, recognition and the means to buy the finer things in life. That’s quite true, the author admits. An interesting chapter is his juxtaposition of what “one would miss” with options that begin with the phrase, “on the other hand.”

For example on the issue: “Will I have enough money?” the author adds: “On the other hand, you may not need as much.” Read happy stories of lives enhanced with altered work habits. The author, who once was CEO of the world’s largest human resources consulting firm, shares insights on the liberating effect of a decision to downshift. By no means is he advising that the executive bid goodbye to work; only changing his work mindset.

His discussion on Type A personalities — the driven, perfectionist ones — is enlightening, and we see ourselves. “We make our own crises,” he declares, and we can only agree — because we make such high demands on ourselves.

He advises: “Avoid business travel on weekends,” and we know he is pointing his finger at you and me. He gives a quote: “Control your destiny or someone else will.” It’s from Jack Welch, celebrated CEO of General Electric, now enjoying his retirement.

His parting shot could be our shot in the arm as humans first, workers second: “Your quest for success defined by simplicity, love, and meaningfulness, in a world that defines success as material gain, is truly a hero’s journey. Go for it!

Learn to see the world thru other people’s eyes

2002-09-08T23:08:00.000-07:00

“Developing Global Executives”
By Morgan W. McCall Jr. and George P. Hollenbeck
Harvard Business School Press, 2002

You have bumped into some of them on several occasions — at work, cocktail parties, meetings of chambers of commerce and, yes, at the golf course.

They come in different stereotypes — multinational or transnational executives, officials of international organizations like the United Nations or USAID, overseas mission managers, country directors of funding agencies and executives of global enterprises.

In fact, dear reader, you may be one — an expatriate — or about to be one: You are about to leave the Philippines for Singapore, Thailand or Indonesia — and be an expat there with an expat’s compensation package.

Actually, this is no longer new to many local executives. Since some businesses here are run by expats, we know many of them, some of whom have become friends. We also are aware that, somehow, they have been acculturized (a shortcut to saying they have adapted to our culture).

Many of these expats here not only survive; they thrive. But, some of them fail, too. You hear one global executive saying he replaced someone who “bungled the job.”

What about Filipinos being global executives? That’s nothing new too. Multinationals (more in to say “global firms,” taking off from the concept of a “borderless world”) operating here have, in fact, sent outstanding Filipino managers to run refineries, begin a distribution network, complete a project or lead an audit team in many parts of the world.

Yes, Filipinos are not only OFWs; they are expats. It’s not a case of brain-drain. Our brains are a gift to the world. Viewed from another country’s standpoint, it would be similarly proud of its “contribution” to businesses around the globe.

Whether you are a global executive, if not sending or even receiving one, you will find the book “Developing Global Executives” an insightful road map to understanding a globe-trotting manager.

“What’s happening out there,” we ask — and this book tells us. The authors sent 300,000 questionnaires and made an in-depth study of 101 global leaders. The book also answers the question, “What’s happening in there” — meaning, within the mind of the expat himself — from developing a “global mindset” to finally internalizing it like second nature.

After 259 pages and many interviews plus tables, the book concludes: “The whats remain the same, but the hows are different.” It means that the logic of business is true anywhere around the world from Sarawak to Paris, but the cultures are different.

Many executives interviewed concluded: “Business is business wherever you are.” So, if the executive is already well-equipped with the right mix of business strategies, all he needs is to adapt to the host country’s culture.

One of the key conclusions made by the book is this: “The executives learned to focus on the similarities offered by business purpose, and, when possible, to exploit the cultural differences to create business advantages.”

The authors have also identified universal factors in any business. They point out:

“Strategic consistency across cultures, they learned, could be achieved if they focused on the customer, leveraged scope and scale, tapped shared business values, benchmarked against world class processes, and thought about how to make money on a global (rather than local) basis.”

One chapter is devoted to the “dynamics of derailment” — unhappy cases of global executives who didn’t make the grade. The reasons for failure were varied — from someone who was arrogant to another who focused on the wrong thing, from someone who was made a scapegoat to another who was the unwitting victim of an altered global strategy.

Speaking of risks, this chapter amply prepares global executives for some factored-in uncertainties. Simply titled, “When Things Go Wrong,” this chapter is just one of 10 chapters. It’s the book’s reassurance that things normally go well, and thus devote nine chapters to such cases.

You will better understand the expats running our companies here or helping us with a new technology, with this book detailing to us how these global executives really struggle with language. When you are the expat, back here in furlough or preparing for a great adventure away from home, this book is a great companion.

It’s like listening to 101 global leaders telling you how they soared with success and how some fell crashing down. Invariably, they leave one valuable advice:

“You must learn to see the world through other people’s eyes.”

Corporate history in a tapestry of a nation’s checkered story

2002-08-25T23:05:00.000-07:00

“Firebringer”
By Raul Rodrigo
Eugenio Lopez Foundation, 2001

The engine of socio-economic growth, private industry, is hardly mentioned in a nation’s — or world — history. Our historians preoccupy themselves with political events and people that make them, if not political movements and leaders that drive them.

Review history books — and these are filled with the sounds of the drums of war, the voices in parliament, the screams of gunfire and of street parliamentarians, and the deadly cadence of soldiers on the march. History, in general, does not pay attention to industrial breakthroughs or corporate revolutions: these are left to corporate biographers and industry chroniclers — tidily apart from the “real” history of humankind.

On hindsight, however, you know that much of the advancement of the human community as we know it is due to the discoveries and innovations driven by industrialists — or inventors funded or employed by industries. General Electric gave us the incandescent lamp, Ford gave us the car assembly line, Kodak popularized the camera, Xerox triggered the paper revolution through copiers, etc.

Once you take a long considered look at the impact of these inventions, you know that they are more powerful than army tanks, mightier than foot soldiers, and more eloquent than the most stirring speeches in parliaments around the world. Corporate histories, in fact, become even more interesting, if they are interwoven into the larger epic of global or national life.

This is the case of “Firebringer” — subtitled “Forty Years of First Philippine Holdings” – an epic story of the Lopez Family’s role in the business and corporate world. Whether they wanted it or not, the Family’s corporate involvements, were intertwined into the tapestry of the Philippines’ socio-political history — marked by political turbulence, corporate upheavals, unceremonious exiles and dramatic comebacks.

It is rare enough that a corporate giant like the Lopez Group was, at times, embroiled in the political upheavals of the time, principal of which was the takeover of the Meralco Securities by a once powerful man in the Marcos regime. It is rarer that its top heirs and executives were taken prisoners, and then staged a dramatic escape — then lived to tell the story on television, print media — and in a blockbuster movie.

This is the narrative stuff of “Firebringer,” whose book jacket explains it as “another name for Prometheus, the Titan who brought fire down from heaven as boon to mankind.” It is actually a takeoff from a Greek myth where once man lived without fire — and thus was consigned to coping with darkness at night and surviving, yes, without cooked food by day — to say the least.

This book tells the story of First Philippine Holdings — with huge ventures in power generation and distribution, property development, electric utilities, agribusiness, manufacturing — and, yes, broadcast media. Firebringer is also the story of the patriarch of the Lopez family, Don Eugenio Lopez, who founded First Holding’s forerunner, the Meralco Securities Corporation (MSC), and his sons and heirs.

As corporate history would have it, MSC was actually the holding company formed in 1961 by Don Eugenio, who, as the book says, declared his faith that Filipinos could run a power company like the Meralco “at a time when most Filipinos didn’t think they had what it took to acquire and run a world-class company.” His son, Oscar Lopez says that it was his father’s “vision, audacity and competence” that completed the Filipinization of Meralco acquired from its American owners.

The book is both history and biography, proving a sage’s view that history is actually biography. Firebringer is history punctuated with riveting accounts of hostile takeovers, buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, ambitious financing packages, backroom negotiations, and grand projects with epic proportions. It also presents a cast of characters (young then) who initiated and forged agreements and who implemented ambitious projects like laying pipelines cutting across provinces and less than friendly communities.

Firebringer is also a story of many more “firebringers” — young men schooled in the leadership style of the Lopez patriarch — and who became leaders of this country or who now occupy the helm of top corporations in the country as “captains of industry.” Stories are told of how Don Eugenio recruited promising young men to work for the company when they were yet in their early 20s and who fulfilled their potential by rising to become CEOs of some of the country’s top 100.

Don Eugenio wrote years before taking over Meralco “that human values are superior to material values… that our success should be measured not by the wealth we can accumulate,” but by the amount of happiness we can spread to our employees.” Heartwarming accounts about the patriarch pepper the pages of this book — handing a check as bonus or a letter of promotion.

He also had a knack for people’s names. The book narrates that, when Filemon T. Berba, Jr., a very new employee at MSC, and other MSC executives were at the airport to meet Don Eugenio. “There was no reason he should remember me. But when he passed by me, he held out his hand and said: ‘O Berba, how are you?’” Jun Berba cannot forget that in his lifetime. He muses now: “If that doesn’t grab your loyalty, nothing will.” Berba, now with Ayala Corporation, is now dubbed the CEO’s CEO.

As bringer of fire, the Lopez Group has been positioned as one being a channel of man’s greatest blessings like “fire.” After all, fire represents the benefits of modern civilization like electricity, information via broadcasting, and telecommunications. More than these, it has gifted our country with corporate leaders who knew how to survive and thrive in times of peace and conflict, in eras of certainty and discontinuity.

The Will of a General, The Tact of a Diplomat

2002-08-04T23:04:00.000-07:00

“The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell”
By Oren Harari
McGraw-Hill, 2002

The professions have their own stereotypes – fair or unfair. Doctors “act” like God over life and health of their patients. Lawyers “lie” for their clients. Generals motivate their men with tongue-lashing. Diplomats are a paragon of tact and, yes, diplomacy.

So when generals become Presidents and “chew” their men and cigar – or both – we forgive them for a hard-to-break habit. On the other hand, when ambassadors lose their cool, we don’t forgive them – because that’s “out of character.”

Is a “tactful general,” therefore, a contradiction in terms, a paradox?

Consider the world’s current interest -- one trained in soldiery, but who can shame the finest smooth-talking diplomat: Colin Powell, American Secretary of State.

What makes this charismatic African-American tick, one considered by two U.S. Presidents to be a “presidential timber”? Has he become a sensation simply because he is a blend of contradictory qualities?

The book, “The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell,” zeroes in on the qualities of this man who again took center stage right after the September 11 tragedy that “forever changed Americans’ view of themselves.” The author, Oren Harari, is quick to say that this is not a biography but a “battle-tested leadership book.”

True enough, we are introduced to the paradoxes of leadership, a phenomenon that continues to drive scholars to enumerate in tidy terms what a leader should be – especially in the 21st century. But human qualities cannot actually be placed in neat formulas.

That’s true – even truer – for Powell. With Jamaican parentage, schooled in America, and navigating the corridors of power, Powell is a living paradox. The book, with its three sections, calls Powell a “provocateur” in one breath, and then cites him for his “strategy and execution” than next. Of course, the juxtaposition is not contradictory; just intriguing.

Behind the cool façade, for example, is a gadfly. Powell does not retreat from ruffling other people’s feelings, if it’s unavoidable. “Colin Powell is perfectly prepared to make people angry, even really angry, in pursuit of organizational excellence,” Harari reveals.

Still on this startling subject, the book reveals more about Powell: “Making people mad was part of being a leader.” What! Powell continues: “As I had learned long ago … an individual’s hurt feelings run a distant second to the good of the service. Trying not to offend anyone … will set you on the road to mediocrity.” That explains Powell, the tough leader.

“Good leaders don’t evade or cover up anger; they lead it,” annotates the author. “Powell will tell you that when leaders press for new directions, new behaviors, and new performance expectations, peoples’ comfort zones will be invaded, and they’ll get angry. And that’s precisely what’s supposed to happen.”

As a leader you can be forceful but not blunt. The book tells of an anecdote when, looking out the window from an aircraft, Powell thought he noticed an unfamiliar terrain below. No, said the pilot, he knew exactly where they were.

Powell immediately challenged him. In polite and forceful language, he ordered the pilot to turn the plane around and get them out of there. As it turned out, the plane had been flying over enemy territory!

Powell was instrumental in building a global coalition to support the inexorable move of the U.S. to bomb Afghanistan. He pursued his strategy over the objections of the “hawks” in the White House. Surely, he turned on his charm and his used his diplomatic skills to the hilt.

It doesn’t mean, however, that he vacillates. The book has ample stories to paint a decisive no-nonsense leader of Powell. One story is Powell’s urgent call to the headman of Pakistan who was initially ambivalent about whether to back the U.S. or to be neutral. That was within 48 hours of the September 11 attack. Powell’s message was terse: “General, you have got to make a choice.”

He always wants to get to the bottom of things. He once told his people: “This particular emperor expects to be told when he is naked.” (A story was told that an Emperor had no clothes, but no one was brave enough to tell him – until a child came along – to reveal such “naked truth.”) On another occasion, Powell said: “Untidy truth is better than smooth lies that unravel in the end anyway.” Many executives can identify with Powell’s “must” that even “bad news” is welcome. He has no use for fiction.

A three-word statement captures the crucial role of a leader like Powell. He said once: “Command is lonely.”

The author, equally eloquent, says that leaders do go through their “midnight moment of loneliness – that long moment of self-doubt, second-guessing and deep anxiety that is reserved for leaders” on the brink of a crucial decision. Dear readers: You don’t have to be the Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary to able to be up close and personal with Colin Powell. This book is the next best thing – if not better.

‘Positioning’ re-visited: The potion has not lost its magic

2002-07-21T23:02:00.000-07:00

“Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind
-- 20th Anniversary Edition”
By Al Ries and Jack Trout
McGraw-Hill, 2001

There are books that acquire the status of a “classic”. And once a book is conferred such an honor, it occupies a special place in your bookshelf. There are actually two sides to a timeless classic:

One, it preserves yesterday’s occurrence so major or an idea so earthshaking then, and serves as an interesting study on how people lived or thought then. We look back and say, wistfully even, “O, that’s how it was.” It’s history for the scholar and the curious.

Two, it keeps a watershed event or a groundbreaking idea all happening in the past that somehow, as representative of a period, can be retrieved later – today or tomorrow -- to shed light on current happenings. It is history explaining contemporary or future events or ideas.

The book, “Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind – Twentieth Anniversary Edition,” published 20 years ago, is a classic belonging to the second category. The book was an event that revolutionized advertising and marketing strategic thought. It was also an idea whose “time had come” two decades ago, to paraphrase Victor Hugo.

It’s the same idea -- “positioning” -- that “is even more important today,” say the publishers. Is it a case of “retrieving” a relic from the dusty shelf, refurbish it, and thus pass it off as fresh as it was 20 years ago?

Or is it a case of a “formula” that continues to work wonders, a potion that hasn’t lost its magic, a time-tested (not time-worn) strategy that gets results, or an idea that always comes as “fresh from the oven.”

Re-reading is normally a chore – if not a bore. You feel you are short-changing yourself. I was prepared for the worst when I took hold of this book – after I was attracted by its 20th anniversary edition cover. It turns out that the book offers more than just a re-run of what I have read, yes, about 12 years ago.

It has come fresh for two reasons: One, the authors give a running commentary on what they wrote much earlier – thus illuminating the past with the present and vice versa. Two, the commentaries are easy to spot since they are placed on wide margins, with (many times) matching illustrations, to boot.

On media explosion, for example. The old version spoke only of television, print, and radio. At the margin is the familiar logo of “America Online” with the note: “Add the internet to the media list. The Internet, in our opinion, will become the greatest of all media with the most impact on our lives.” This is the book updating itself!

In the old version, the authors said that line extension for General Motors (makers of Cadillac) was ill- advised. In this newly-minted book, the same authors – much wiser – admitted: “We were wrong about the Cadillac Seville. It’s still with us.” This is the book correcting itself.

While Ries and Trout were wrong about the Cadillac, they took an “I-told-you-so” posture on the Volkswagen. They said then that it was a “terrible strategy” for Volkswagen to extend its product lines beyond the Beetle – despite the cute headline: “Different Volks for different folks.” “In 1993,” the new book says, “their (Volkswagen’s) share was less than three percent. Recently, of course, they brought back the Beetle and sales soared.”

There are many things that change. There are a few things that are unchanging. The authors did not revise their definition of “positioning”: “Positioning is not what you do to a product. Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect. That is, you position the product in the mind of the prospect.” And the entire book, with 22 chapters, guide you once again to becoming successful with “positioning.”

When you do decide to revisit the “Positioning” idea, especially when you are interested to position a company, not a product, page 159 narrates how Monsanto came up with a positioning idea that gave it pre-eminence as an industry leader in chemicals.

Revisiting a book – like a place – sometimes gives you a new eye for details that you missed the first time. I overlooked some interesting points when I read the old book – in the section titled “Make Sure Your Name Is Right.” Who is Leonard Slye? Who was Marion Morrison? Who was Issur Danielovitch? They are, in that order, Roy Rogers, John Wayne and Kirk Douglas! The message was clear then and clear now. Change your product or corporate name if they are forgettable – or are tongue twisters.

Reading the book the second time around, if only for the marginal notes, illuminates both the present and the past. “Positioning” as a marketing and creative approach remains effective today – alongside David Ogilvy’s “unique selling proposition” and “The Big Idea.”

If you haven’t read the book you have the advantage of knowing what works and what hasn’t work in a two-decade stretch. If you’ve read the 20-years-ago edition, this latest one is “Positioning Revisited.” It’s viewing this durable concept with a new lens.

Kotler, et al, help marketers sense, thrive in new economy

2002-07-14T23:00:00.000-07:00

“Marketing Moves”
By Philip Kotler, Dipak Jain & Suvit Maesingee
Harvard Business School Press, 2002

When mindset-altering changes hit us — scientific, business or mathematical — we, like a groggy boxer hit by a whammy, ask: “Wha’ happened?”

When Copernicus declared that the sun is the center of the universe, not the earth, that revolutionary statement rocked the scientific and theological foundations of the leaders of his time. When, after circumnavigating the world, the voyager said that the earth is round, not flat, everyone was confused and scholars went back to their drawing boards and threw away all studies that proceeded from a false premise.

When many scholars and businessmen declared that the “new economy” is upon us — driven by the information revolution — many wondered what happened, others wandered around in the “new wilderness” confused as ever, still many others unable to cope with dramatic changes went bankrupt — and the majority of us ask: “What is really happening?”

Many books have been written on the “new” economy, on “customer-driven” firms, on the meteorically rising and falling dot-coms, and on the baffling digital world. Many of these have been useful, giving us as they do, an understanding of one facet of such economy, or one astonishing aspect of such phenomenon. Thus, we sigh that, somehow, we can make sense out of this “new thing.”

But, it takes Philip Kotler, the marketing guru and principal author of “Marketing Moves” to make the “new economy” in its variegated forms understandable to many of us. Trust Kotler to spot previous concepts and say that they no longer hold true. For example, he juxtaposes two contrasting laws:

“Company growth in the industrial age was limited by the operation of the law of diminishing returns… (but) growth in the new economy is governed by self-reinforcing cycles. Consider Metcalfe’s law: The cost of the network expands linearly with increase in network size, but the value of the network increases exponentially.”

The above is just one of the nine “major shifts toward the digital economy,” which are discussed at length with a lot of insights in the book. You will be shocked to know that the phrases we used just yesterday have been thrown out of the window by Kotler and his team. For example, one other major movement is the shift “from corporate governance to market governance.” Just the other day, a seminar on corporate governance was held as if it was a newfound concept. Talking of keeping abreast of what is “in” and what is “out,” this book gives you a leading edge.

The book will not only make you fashionable and ahead of the rest. In fact, the more important contribution of this book is the way it has organized the new manifestations of the “digital economy” into bite-size clusters, making you able to relate otherwise separate developments.

The book says that marketing should not be the function of the marketing department alone — and that’s not new. What’s groundbreaking, though, is the authors’ construction of the “Holistic Marketing Framework” — which combines three important concerns — Customer Focus, Core Competencies and Collaborative Network.

At first glance, that doesn’t seem new either, until the authors show how market offerings, marketing activities, business architecture, and operational system all work together to drive corporate and business strategies that lead to profitability and shareholder value. Well, that’s a mouthful – but it is such because it delivers in a capsule how a company thrives in the digital economy.

Gird up for studying every “competitive platform” as prescribed by the guru himself. This book is not as thick as “Marketing Management,” authored by Kotler also and published two decades ago. (That’s our textbook at Asia’s premier graduate business school in the early eighties.) Has Kotler reinvented himself? Is he now saying that the concepts he introduced no longer hold?

Listen to him: “New business strategies call for new marketing strategies and practices. We no longer believe that the marketer’s job is limited to managing the four P’s or to determining segmentation, targeting, and positioning.” Yes, Kotler is acknowledging major changes — and he has revised his theories.

And yet, Kotler always manages to be at the crest of the wave of these changes — and, from that perch, he sees major patterns and thus composes the big picture. He points out: “The old economy is based on the model of manufacturing that came out of the industrial revolution… The new economy, by contrast, emerges from the information revolution, with its advances in computerization, digitization, and telecommunications.”

Again, trust Kotler to illuminate history and current events. And trust him, too, to make fine distinctions: “Unfortunately, many people confuse the new economy with the high-flying dot-coms that burst on the scene … But the new economy is not only about dot-coms. It is about something more fundamental: the emergence of a network economy.”

There lies the central truth in this book. Businesses are much more networked — and firms that use such “connectedness” to the hilt will not only survive — but thrive in this century. The last word of the book’s title — “MarketingMoves” — was set in italics to underscore a point: Everything is dynamic. What we know as truth now may change overnight. Kotler, the marketing guru, made sure that point sinks. He changed his mind on many concepts and strategies. It’s time we changed ours.

A movement must change Its ‘theory’ or be marginalized

2002-07-07T22:58:00.000-07:00

“The Communist Party
of the Philippines”
by Kathleen Weekley
University of the Philippines Press,
2001

We begin with a paraphrase of a saying that went the rounds among former or reluctant activists at age 30 or below, you have no heart; but if you are still an activist at 31 and above, you have no mind.”

Obviously, this quote downgrades activism as a passing interest. Which is not necessarily true. We have, for example, an activist Supreme Court, inhabited by justices already pushing 70!

But, a grain of truth is inescapable. Otherwise, how do you explain firebrand activists that figured in the First Quarter Storm in the early ‘70s – who now occupy comfortable sinecures in government or are top strategist in corporate boardrooms?

How do you make sense of leftists editors, who wrote editorials in college campus papers ringing with Marxist – Leninist rhetoric, who are now resident intellectuals in the highest rung of public policy makers.

Also, they have become gurus of propaganda and advocacy efforts of civil society. Or, they remained “ideologically pure” as academicians waxing nostalgic over a glorious past.

Where have all the revolutionaries gone? Quo vadis, “Revolution”?

What has happened to the revolutionary movement in the Philippines – a highly visible force in the ‘70s and ‘80s? Is it now a faint memory, a spent force? Or, is it lying low and quiet preceding a dramatic comeback?

“The Communist Party of the Philippines – 1968 – 1993,” written by Kathleen Weekley, a research fellow from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, is an interesting study of a movement that was very close to coming to power – or, at the very least, to sharing power with the country’s traditional rulers.

In 1985, according to this book, “the national revolutionary movement was a serious threat to the state” with around 30,000 members, 59 guerilla fronts and 24,000 regulars and part-timers.

This book is interesting on two counts. First, it is an instructive study of a national movement, driven by a revolutionary theory, swelled by “believers,” and strengthened by a show of force.

Second, it is a movement of “discovery” or “rediscovery” – as if a think layer of our social fabric is peeled off to reveal a world largely hidden from the public eye, whose underground activities occasionally shook the foundations of “visible society.”

We know much about recent history from the Marcosian dictatorship to the Ninoy Aquino assassination; from the first Edsa revolt to the ascendancy of two post Edsa Presidents Cory Quino and Fidel Ramos.

This book gives us a parallel – albeit largely hidden – history of a movement inspired by Karl Marx and indoctrinated by Mao Tse Tung, which infused energy to the left leaning labor movement and surfaced as a broad-based socialist coalition named the “National Democratic Front.”

As a doctoral dissertation, the study was actually interested in finding out the “place of theory” in revolutionary practice – with a disturbing conclusion that the “25 years of revolutionary practice indicated a problem with formulae.”

In layman’s terms, the author is saying that the movement could not have petered out if, midstream, it reassessed its assumptions and changed strategy to suit deep changes in political and social conditions.

The Communist Party’s mistake, the author concludes, is that it “ignored the relationship between the ‘objective and subjective reality.’” The view of the masses must be part of reality, and “not a convenient feature of a democratic struggle.”

The account is given a human face, especially when it discusses Jose Maria Sison’s intellectual treatises and Bernabe Buscayno’s folk heroism. It also provides us an insight into the previous appeal of the globalized “revolution” that has placed Mao and Che Guevarra on a pedestal.

The author is incisive when she discusses the deep split within the ranks of the Party, especially addressing the question whether the movement will continue the “armed struggle”.

She quotes a weary armed insurgent: “The argument for war is lost when the light of peace – however dim – shines through.”

This organizational “wedge” cut more deeply when the Party was divided over whether to boycott the 1986 elections or not. The Party finally decided to stay away from the electoral exercise – which led, according to Ms Weekley, to its “political marginalization.”

A section, titled “From Vanguard to Rearguard,” captures the decline (from the author’s viewpoint) of movement.

Actually, one discerns a sympathetic treatment from an author whose passion and interest are on issues of national identity, citizenship and human rights. She rues the fact that the movement even during its “rectification campaign, “ still wanted to “return to a world that no longer exists.”

So you ask: What’s the value of a study that analyzes the decline of a movement?

First (if you just change the ideological bent), this becomes an excellent guide to driving a new movement toward achieving a goal. Second, you will realize once again, especially in this century, that theory must change when times are deeply altered. And third, know that a socialist opposition – this time wearing the garb of non-violence – may still provide the necessary counterweight to the extreme right. And thus, make real democracy possible.

A Backroom Operator Can Still Be an Inspiring Leader Tomorrow

2002-06-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

“The Rumsfeld Way”
By Jeffrey A. Krames
McGraw-Hill, 2002

This review could have been titled “Leaders are a work-in-progress.” It stresses an important point: We must not put a label on someone or someone’s leadership style and leave it at that. But, that sounds very academic.

So, I chose the above title because it zeroes in on an important point: We just don’t dismiss someone over sixty as a “has-been” because there must be a 9/11 event (remember September 11?) that may yet bring out the finest in him.

A philosophy professor once told our class that you can’t describe a person with finality until he is, well, permanently rested. Otherwise, anyone alive is forever in the “process of becoming,” he said, in a classic Heraclitus-style pronouncement.

Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense, will turn 70 on July 9. He has just evolved from a backroom operator into a leader whose words are treated as quotable quotes by America’s respected media. And his thinking suddenly acquires a certain strategic edge befitting a 21st century leader confronted with 21st century challenges.

The book, “The Rumsfeld Way,” is sub-titled “Leadership Wisdom of a Battle-Hardened Maverick.” But, after reading the book – and, yes, picking up some tips on strategy and execution along the way – you come away with something that warms the heart of people who are sixty and above: Hindi pa sila laos (closest translation: They are not yet has-beens).

And when you are a cocky thirtyish manager or a sober-minded forty-something executive, you would realize that every experience that adds a line to your curriculum vitae (CV), even those failures you omit in the same CV, count. Later, you will summon these all up to inspire your organization with a strategic direction refined to perfection. Or with a word of wisdom which provides room for all-important nuances and calibrated responses that escape brash young professionals.

Rumsfeld was not a mediocre leader at all. A Princeton University scholar, he went on to become staff assistant, congressman, White House bureaucrat, ambassador to NATO, chief of staff, corporate CEO a couple of times, Secretary of Defense a few times, special envoy of various American Presidents and one-time seeker of the U.S. Presidential nomination. Inspite of all these, media categorized him as a “backroom operator” and master of the labyrinthine power corridors of the White House and the Capitol. Hardly a flattering reputation.

The book quotes Henry Kissinger to stress this point: “I think we are dealing with Rumsfeld now at a different stage of his life. In the 70s he was at the beginning of his political career. Now he is beyond further ambition. But I thought he was a formidable man then, and he’s an outstanding leader now.”

Was there a new Rumsfeld, following a dramatic conversion? Or did the quintessential Rumsfeld, winnowed through years of slow but steady achievement, emerge at that defining moment on September 11 when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center? How did he respond?

The book lifts a quote from The Economist: “He (Rumsfeld) had done what soldiers have to do: stand fasty when the world explodes around you. He had led by example.”

Rumsfeld, like maybe a quiet bureaucrat across your cubicle, might have been grossly underestimated. We know better now. He was being prepared for something greater. And when that time came, he was ready.

Listen to the once cold warrior who spoke (after February 11) with words that warm the heart: “The strength that matters most is not the strength of arms, but the strength of character; character expressed in service to something larger than ourselves.” He was standing in the midst of the ash and ruins in New York.

Interesting are the assessments on Rumsfeld by his fellow leaders. Robert Hartmann, chief of staff for then Vice President Gerald Ford, said of the Defense Secretary:

“Fortune often favors those that have the rare gift of being in the right place at the right time. Even rarer, however, is the knack of being somewhere else. Donald Rumsfeld possessed both.” The story has it that when the Watergate Scandal rocked the Nixon Administration, Rumsfeld was conveniently in Brussels with an assignment in Pentagon.

Rumsfeld is not your idea of Everyman, the guy next door. He is our idea of a leader, taking positions we didn’t agree on and distrusting him for his ideology. Suddenly, he takes a position we do embrace, and we welcome him as the leader of this century. And then, when you review his record, steer clear of ideological differences – you note a dedication to a mission at hand and you see valuable gems on leadership.

This book, while giving us a glimpse of a newly-minted leader who is now the darling of the American press, is also a rich trove of, yes, leadership wisdom. Either way, you are not short-changed. As for Mr. Rumsfeld, we won’t dare make assessments with finality. It is enough to say that he is America’s man of the hour.

‘Hand-me-down’ ideas on crisis handling not enough

2002-06-16T22:52:00.000-07:00

“Risk Issues and Crisis Management”
By Michael Regester and Judy Larkin
Kogan Page Limited, 2002 (Second Edition)

What is the price of a ruined reputation? For an individual, where reputation equals honor, a tarnished reputation is a “forever thing.” For a corporation, it means the end of “forever” – meaning, cutting short a corporate existence keyed toward perpetuity.

More to the point, damage to corporate image due to a failure in risk management or a mishandling of a crisis runs into hundreds of millions and billions of pesos or dollars. Exxon lost $13 billion due to the oil spill of Exxon Valdez. Union Carbide’s “reputational damage” was estimated at $527 billion due to the Bhopal incident in India. The collapse of the Barings Bank due to a failure in issues management cost $900 million.

These figures represent clean up costs, days of lost production, product boycotts, product recalls, falling markets and share prices, escalating compensation and brand reputational damage.

“There is a growing litany of corporate and government mismanagement of issues which pose a threat to that most important of all assets – reputation.” Thus point out the authors of the book “Risk Issues and Crisis Management.” Are the authors exaggerating? No. They cite a survey made by the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers in 2000 -- among the top 250 companies in the United Kingdom – and thus conclude that “damage to reputation was the biggest business risk they faced.”

The book looks at the organization in the 21st century and tells us that it is vulnerable to many pressures. It must, therefore, “understand and respond to our rapidly shifting values, rising expectations, demands for public consultation and an increasingly intrusive news media.”

What the authors say are not alien to us here in this country. The issue of purchased power adjustment (PPA), for example, has presented a “risk issue” to both the state power firm and the largest electric power distributor in the country.

Have their respective reputations been hurt? For one, there is a brewing boycott of their services. Second, embedded resentment has re-surfaced. And news media have picked it up due to its populist appeal, getting a little help from a “populist” President earning brownie points from the “masa.”

Years before, a multinational softdrink company was plunged into widespread protests because of a failed numbers promo. After arrests, prolonged bad publicity, organized protest actions and numerous courts cases – the company suffered a shrinking market share due to reputational damage.

Companies do not have to be helpless when crisis strikes or a controversial issue against them hogs the headlines. There are strategies for “preparedness.”

This book provides analysis and advice in two main parts: Risk Issues Management and Crisis Management. Sounds simple enough?

Yes, but not simplistic. The authors, drawing from a rich experience in these fields begin with definitions (to make sure authors and readers are on the same wave length), bring us in major parts of the world for up-to-date cases, and provide analysis. The last part is the most valuable contribution of this book.

Since this book is written by English public relations and advocacy practitioners, it somehow introduces us to European thinking – and thus makes for a refreshing change. It also results in greater confidence among practitioners that they are in touch with the world’s best practices.

This one does not read like a textbook. It sounds like practitioners “talking shop” over a cup of steaming coffee – exchanging ideas, trading experiences, sharing statistics. Then you come away wiser – and readier to tackle issue-related and crisis-in-the-making problems.

The discussion on the “issue lifecycle” is instructive. American experts call it the “path of a controversial issue.” Reality-based tips on handling a crisis – from sparing the CEO to avoiding legal pitfalls; from expressing regrets to making “ex-gratia payments”; and avoiding blind faith in lawyers to having a gut-feel – are generously given in the book.

In these parts, issues management and crisis handling tactics and strategies have been cut-and-dried and tired (not tried) and tested. But the diversity of problems and the complexity of 21st century society require from practitioners – and clients – a larger or newer “frame” that enable them to identify potential or real problems – and come up with new – because target-specific – strategies.

Hand-me-down ideas from older hands don’t suffice. The old experts lived in a different era. You need books like this one – which is equivalent to attending a refresher course on preserving and expanding your “reputational capital” in Europe. Then, after reading it, test it in the real world – with a newfound confidence.

Know how to deregulate an Industry, privatize state firm

2002-05-26T22:42:00.000-07:00

“The Evolving Bargain”
By Willis Emmons
Harvard Business School Press, 2002

There is public ambivalence about industry deregulation and privatization. On the positive side, people welcome that they can gas up in many more gas stations sporting names beyond Petron, Caltex and Shell. They have a choice among Globe, Smart, PLDT, Bayantel, Islacom, Digitel and Eastern Telecoms for mobile and landline communications.

However, they are disappointed that water rates are rising, even adter privatizing the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System – giving birth to Manila Water of Ayala and Maynilad of the Lopez Group. Of course, they fail to note that water supply has greatly improved in many areas. Labor and transport sectors complain that prices of petroleum products keep rising, inspite of deregulation. But, they gloss over the fact that production cutbacks by oil producers worldwide push these prices up.

Policy makers cannot make up their minds about the wisdom of privatizing stateowned National Power Corporation. Is it safe to unbundled such a monolith into small privately owned power companies? Consumers want to know: Will it result in lower power rates and stable supply of electricity? While the debate rages on the purchased power adjustment (PPA), the fate of privatizing Napocor hangs.

The issue and concerns regarding deregulation and privatization have been confined to so called experts – or newly converted specialists after a month of training. The rest of us are expected to take their word for it, because we don’t know any better.

Take heart. There is a book to make you literate (at least) about these buzz words – “The Evolving Bargain.” Sub-titled “Strategic Implications of Deregulation and Privatization,” the author has decided, first, to set you on a higher mood as he takes you on a world tour where governments are deregulating industries and state firms are handed over to private hands.

A witty quote on privatization from a cartoon in the New Yorker does the job: “In a move secure to attract the attention of regulators, the private sector made a bid to acquire the public sector!”

This was prefaced by the author’s observation that “everything heretofore state-owned or regulated us now for sale – from postal systems (the Netherlands) to social security systems (Chile) to stock exchanges (the United States),"

Like the scholar that he is, Emmons made a distinction between two terms that sometimes are lumped together. “Deregulation,” he points out, “refers to an increasing reliance on markets, not governments, to guide economic activity…Privatization refers to an increasing reliance on private firms, not government enterprises, for the provision of goods and services.”

Think of the dynamism that took over the telecommunications industry after it was deregulated, and these points will aptly describe “easing or eliminating” of government restrictions in three major areas: a firms freedom of entry into a market, its freedom of action within a market, and its profitability (maximum or minimum) within a market.

But, why the disillusionment on what is supposed to be a shot in the arm for economy? The book addresses this with three “paradoxes”. In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires rising budgets, expanding manpower and increasing rules. That must also be the case for the Philippines’ telecommunications sector, with the National Telecommunications Commission becoming more active than in the past when PLDT rules the roost.

The second paradox states that free markets in a deregulated environment are actually possible government requires “mandatory access” to critical infrastructure. This would happen when Napocor’s transmission grid, serving as a power superhighway, is required to open itself to independent power producers. This was also the case of PLDT when it was required to share its gateway to the new entrants.

The third paradox is that deregulation does not necessarily mean greated competition. The author cites the case of the U.S. airline industry, deregulated in the seventies. In the nineties, the industry was still concentrated in the hands of a small number of players.” Observers of the Philippine economy say that this is also true for the oil industry still controlled by the “Big Three,” inspite of the entry of new players.

The book is a slow read, not because it uses convoluted language, but because the subject itself requires time for analysis and the instinctive impulse to relate successful and failed efforts in various countries to our own national experience. You come away understanding what has been happening to our own liberalization efforts, noting uncanny similarities in other economies.

Whether you are a policy maker, an industry observer, a leader of an employers’ group or a labor leader – you will find this book giving you an informed perspective of a movement in economies that seems inexorable. In short, we might as well be familiar with the “wave of the future.” We might as well swim, not sink.

Resonant leadership touches the heart first

2002-05-05T22:38:00.000-07:00

“Primal Leadership”
Daniel Golman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee
Harvard Business School Press, 2002

When popularity ratings of leaders (including Presidents) fall, analysts focus on issues they failed to address – the economy, unemployment, peace and order and wrangling political factions.

Inspite of so much analysis, these political observers don’t go to the heart of the problem — which (pardon the pun) is the collective heart of the Filipino. This should be more than an emotional appeal on television, for example, that only succeeds in stimulating our lachrymal glands.

According to this book, this certainly is not a leader who is “clueless” — “who try to resonate in a positive tone, but who is actually out of touch and out of tune.” The book, “Primal Leadership,” makes important and eye-opening distinctions: There are resonant and dissonant leaders.

Emotions can, of course, be manipulated. The book describes leadership situations that are uncannily familiar to us.

In a boxed item on “demagogues,” the book’s description is close to home:

“Demagogues elicit negative emotions, particularly a mix of fear and anger: the threat to ‘us’ from ‘them,’ and the dread that ‘they’ will take what ‘we’ have.”

The book continues: “Their message polarizes people rather than unites them in a common cause. They “fan the flames” of ethnic hatred or a class war.

So, what is resonant leadership? This is one which is “attuned to people’s feelings and move them in a positive emotional direction,” the book points out.

Thus, a resonant leader is he who, “speaking authentically from his own values and resonating with the emotions of those around him, hits just the right chords with his message.” When a leader triggers resonance, you can read it in people’s eyes: They are engaged and they light up.”

You ask: Did a President’s “Ina ng Bayan” series trigger resonance? Did it so touch people’s hearts that they now say: Let’s follow our leader!

But, there must be some dissonance somewhere. Is there a gap between what is said and what is preached? These questions are actually meant to bring the President’s handlers closer to evaluating the campaign accurately so that a program of projecting the President truly delivers the authentic person in her. And thus “connect” with the people.

The book, based on leadership and organizational studies, suggests a way in evaluating one’s leadership style — and then go for the needed change. The authors prescribe the “five discoveries.”

The book could just have titled the process simply, but it has chosen to use “discovery” — for a reason. The introspecting leader goes through the process of “discovering or re-discovering” himself. Such “discoveries” cover the leader’s “ideal self,” then his “real self,” followed by his “learning agenda” and subsequent “experimentations on new behaviors and thoughts” – and finally, developing supporting and trusting relationships.

These may sound simple enough, but the authors have scientific discoveries, case studies and a successful track record with CEOs to make you believe them. There was this CEO, a hotshot in R & D as scientist, who was promoted to his “level of incompetence (according to time-tested Peter Principle) as R & D division head. His new job required from him leadership qualities, not technical expertise, that he was not prepared for. He failed initially. Until he went through the journey of five discoveries.

Many books have discussed this many times enough, but did not identify what these leaders lack except to generalize that they are not meant to be managers or leaders. It turns out — that all they need is to develop “resonant leadership” – one that touches the heart of people, and then the mind. Understandably, the authors believe that “leaders are made, not born.” That “nurture” can alter “nature.”

This is not your usual motivational book on leadership. It has scientific moorings, including a “neuroanatomy of leadership.” The authors go somehow technical when they discuss parts of the brain that respond to resonant leaders. This is a slow analytical read when you reach this part.

Leadership styles go by various names and titles depending on theories being advanced. Early on, we were taught about Theory X and Theory Y, the latter being the more enlightened approach. Parallel to this is the debate between what style is effective – one of a task master or a “process person.” These have been sufficient to persuade us to go for Theory Y or for the process.

Until this book came. This well-thought out study, coming from a school that has been producing hot shot MBAs that run “Corporate America,” brings you inside the brain – and there discover that the key to inspiring people in organizations, in armies or an entire country is lodged in the human heart.

The Rainforest: Business Icon for this Century?

2002-04-21T22:34:00.000-07:00

“What We Learned in the Rainforest”
By Tachi Kiuchi & Bill Shireman
Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc., 2002

Alvin Toffler (“The Third Wave”) said it a few years ago – that we were then at the threshold of a post-industrial age about to step into the “information society.” Many more social and economic prophets forewarned us to brace up for the expanded role — and rule — of information processing and distribution offices, while they announced the greatly reduced influence of the factory floor.

Side by side, however, with the exciting prospects of super abundant information being delivered with the speed of light through fiber optics, we of the third millennium are also facing the prospects of diminishing resources and increasing wastes.

While the promise of a higher quality of life is within the grasp of the 21st century individual, the specter of extinction hangs over everyone. We are optimistic in one breath, and we are overwhelmed with pessimism the next. Is this the destiny of human life on earth? What about business whose view is to exploit our natural resources so it can grow, as if nature and business cannot pro-exist? More philosophically, we ask: Is there a future for mankind – and for its preoccupations like business?

There is a book, just off the press, titled “What We Learned in the Rainforest,” which provides us a metaphor that illuminates what is actually happening and the lights the way for some definitive steps. That way, we can have the best of both worlds: businesses can continue to grow while Mother Nature remains rich, diverse and plays its role to feed and sustain us all.

“If instead of controlling nature we listen to and learn from it, we can find our way with minimal pain and maximal gain,” say Tachi Kiuchi and Bill Shireman, the authors. These people know whereof they speak. Mr. Kiuchi is chairman and CEO emeritus of Misubishi Electric America, while Mr. Shireman is chairman and CEO of Global Futures.

While this is an easy-to-read book, the concepts are neither simplistic nor shallow — because they actually go against the grain — introducing new mindsets that are short of revolutionary. They start us off with a fundamental point: Business is part of nature, and so it must work like nature with its diversity, collaborative/competitive processes, death and rebirth.

The authors — who have visited a Costa Rican rainforest and who have tried skydiving in order to use two illuminating metaphors — offer seven lessons that must be clear enough to executives like you and me.

The first lesson: Use limit to create value — close the loop. Setting off with the premise that even the rainforest has limits, the authors noted that nature has a way of preserving itself in a give and take universe (a loop). Business, they say, must also find ways to close the loop — meaning, a recovery system, where wastes are re-used in a self-nuturing cycle. The book cites the case of Coors, makers of beer, who gave birth to many other businesses because it learned from the rainforest.

The second lesson: Replace physical resources with information — and learn to do more with less. “Information has a curious quality,” the authors say. “If I give you a physical resource, then you have it, and I don’t. But if I give you information, then you have it, and so do I.” (Actually, Hilarion Henares said basically the same thing when he criticized the Philippines’ export policy almost a decade ago. He said, if I may recall, that the reason we lose in the international trade game is we confine our exports to something physical like bananas and sugar, while the Japanese and other advanced countries export technology. He pointed out that if we sell bananas, we lose the bananas; but if the Japanese sell technology, they don’t lose such knowhow!)

An article in Fortune magazine many issues ago compared the cost of producing a Ford automobile prototype and a Microsoft software — saying that the profit from software is far far heftier than that from a car. The book is illuminating: “Information can be expensive to create, but it is cheap to reproduce and distribute.” The errors of Xerox and Apple are also discussed here, principally for basing their business models “on the illusion that the value was in the hardware rather than the software.”

Five more lessons from nature are offered by the book — from creating a whole new way to profit to inventing an entirely new economy consistent with the ways of nature; from creating diversity of products to knowing the “four seasons of business” — namely innovation, growth, improvement and release. The book recommends that we must also be sensitive to signals when a certain enterprise is at its death’s throes and must, therefore, “release.” Because, they are quick to add, release will be followed by a “rebirth.”

Are these authors offering unrealistic policies, born of their rich imagination? Certainly not. Their observations are rooted in a study of the world’s 20 leading companies who have discovered that they could maximize their business performance “as they become like nature, a complex and dynamic living system.”

The assembly line was once the icon of the industrial age. We thought the microchip is the apt trademark of the information age. Read this book when it reaches the book stores — and you will conclude that the verdant, lush rainforest is the better icon for the first century. After all, we have already gone full circle. We are all going back to nature!

Recruit top guns, then shoot for No. 1

2002-04-07T22:47:00.000-07:00

“The War for Talent”
Ed Michaels, Helen Handfield-Jones
And Beth Axelrod
Harvard Business School Press, 2001

On the need to prevent another Enron-like collapse, my friend Glendon Rowell of Boyden Global Executive Search pointed out that “more professionalism in recruitment is more important than tighter regulation and governance.”

(Enron, erstwhile much-admired corporation in Maerica, suddenly collapsed, throwing thousands out of a job, sending shock waves to markets around the world, and prompting government regulators to look for other organizations or practice to blame.)

What Mr. Rowell is saying is that executive talent is a very important factor in defining and directing an organization’s future, and in making it adhere to ethical principles.

An organization’s executive pool also influences a firm’s competitiveness – and therefore, viability.

The book, “The War for Talent,” declares: “Talent is now a critical driver of corporate performance.”

Based on extensive research and case studies from 1997 to 2001, the authors – all from McKinsey & Company – summarizes their findings thus: “What distinguished the high-performing companies from the average-performing was not better HR, but the fundamental belief in the importance of talent.”

Are there leadership gaps in your organization that adversely affect its performance? Are you constrained by the policy of “promoting from within,” giving more premium to seniority than outstanding performance?

Read about an overworked executive who witnessed the plunge of his company from a glorious history – because he settled for mediocre executives. And then follow him, after he heeded the advice of Jack Welch of General Electric and Wayne Callaway (then of Pepsi Co) – including Stephen Spielberg. What gospel truth did he stumble on?

They told him that they spend half of their time on people: recruiting new talent, picking the right people for particular positions, grooming young stars, developing global managers, dealing with underperformers and reviewing the entire talent pool.

The guy is Les Wexner, CEO of The Limited who built a retailing and marketing marvel which included “Victoria’s Secret,” Bath and Body Works, et al. In 1990, his stocks plunged.

But after three years hiring and using top guns, the company’s profits have grown from $285 million to $445 million, and his stock price has almost doubled.

A “new business reality” has entered the corporate scene, says the book. What happened? The authors observe that companies’ reliance on talent increased dramatically over the last century. In 1900, only 17 percent of all jobs required knowledge workers; not over 60 percent do.

The book quotes Cisco CEO John Chambers, who put it this way: “A world- class engineer with five peers can outproduce 200 regular engineers.”

What “business reality” is staring us in the face? For one, the book says, we had the belief in the past that “people need companies.” Today, “companies need people.”

Two structural forces are fueling the war, the book says. First, the power has shifted from the corporation to the individual. Second, excellent talent management has become a crucial source of competitive advantage.

In the past, executives looked at a 30-year horizon, good salary and retirement package. Now, their horizon is only five years, and retirement is remote possibility.

The old recruiting strategy of advertising for job hunters has given way to the aggressive effort to tap passive candidates. “We now reach people who are not looking.”

Something else is also happening in companies in more developed economies. They are now breaking away form the traditional “hire-from-within policy.” Even if the failure rates of senior external hires hover around 30 percent, companies still think it’s well worth the risk.

“The War for Talent” is a useful resource book, not only for CEOs needing to infuse new blood – and, perhaps, new energy in their firms – but also for all leaders who want to keep the best, train those with great potential – and deal with mediocre performers “with an iron hand and a velvet glove.”

The book also reveals the emergence of a new profession. It’s public knowledge that today’s intermediaries for recruitment are executive search professionals. Now enter “talent agents” – who are not any different from agents of superstars.

Close on the heels of the collapse of Enron (which, curiously is featured glowingly in the book – probably to the regret of the authors), Boyden’s Rowell volunteers that – aside from vision and superior strategy – organizations need leaders of integrity.

The headhunter’s comment enriches, not contradicts, the book’s thesis that the right (from ethical and precision standpoint) executives talent truly drives organization well into the future.

Don’t Just Survive, go and dominate

2002-03-10T22:32:00.000-08:00

“The Agenda”
By Michael Hammer
Crown Business, 2001

Reflecting — after reading this new book of Michael Hammer, author of the famous “Reengineering the Corporation” — I recall this announcement rendered into a poetic line by Matthew Arnold in his famous poem Dover Beach: “The world is different now,” a lament that the old world of sure cures and “balm for pain” was passing, and his generation must, therefore, be “true to one another.”

What Matthew Arnold did in his generation, after a traumatic and bruising world war - and seeing a new world emerging - is what Hammer is telling executives that the entire business world has also changed dramatically – and the old bag of tricks no longer suffice. He thus issues a call to consider new formulas for “dominating,” not surviving, the market – principal of which is to trust one another (addressed to suppliers and other partners) as collaborators for success.

The author of “reengineering” – that has now become a buzzword even among those who barely knows its implications – is now saying that reengineering is not a cure-all after all.

His new book, “The Agenda,” is his way of making up for the unintended effect when people viewed reengineering as a simple recipe for success. “While I did not claim that reengineering was all that companies needed to do to defeat their competitors, the success of the concept led some to see it as panacea, which in turn encouraged others to promote their favorite silver bullets” (the surefire weapon of the Lone Ranger). “Perhaps,” he says, “part of my atonement for this unintentional transgression has been to write The Agenda.”

As it turned out, The Agenda, is an eye-opener. To those of us who approach running business as a chancy game, Hammer – noting the fall of many famous firms (and he had no inkling yet about the collapse of giant Enron) – gives us a reality check: “Get serious about business again.”

His argument is forceful – and breathless: “If managing were simple, why do even companies that become successful stay that way for such short periods of time? Why did Pan Am go out of business, why is Xerox near bankruptcy, why did Digital Equipment fall victim to acquisition? Why have such former industry titans as Lucent and General Motors, Levi Strauss and Rubbermaid, become mere shadows of their former selves?”

Hammer thus proceeds to bring back the basics – and then astonish us with whole new insights. The next chapter, “Run Your Business for Your Customers,” seems old hat at first until Hammer discusses his six-letter formula: ETDBW, meaning, “easy-to-do-business-with.” And then he exposes companies who have succeeded in making it most difficult for customers to deal with – throwing every obstacle and every bureaucratic scheme to leave the customer bothered, bewildered and frustrated.

The author goes on advising us to give MVA – yes, more value added – to our customers. Is this now? It is now in this sense: “You give the customer more, perhaps much more, than you ever have before.” Take the viewpoint of the customer” is an advice that isn’t also new. But this story dramatizes it: He quoted a chairman who shocked his shareholders in a company that controls 90 percent of the drill market: “I have some bad news for you. Nobody wants our drills (!) What they want is holes.”

What Michael Hammer achieves is to make sound business fundamentals more pronounced, more insightful and – more urgent. For example, he stresses the need to put processes first. He rues the fact that many companies are not really inclined to perfect a process to satisfy a customer. His definition drives the point home: “Process is an organized group of related activities that together create a result of value to customers.”

His chapter on “Create Order Where Chaos Reigns” first acknowledges that chaos indeed is in even the best organizations. Then, he says, “product champions” emerge as heroes in these companies to get a product produced and sold. And then he concludes that a company cannot long survive relying on champions who use wizardry and persuasion to get things done.

He points out: “Both heroic sales rep and the product champion try to compensate for organizational disorder by personally harnessing uncoordinated activities into a purposeful whole. They are substitutes for discipline and process, but in the long run, they can’t succeed.”

His prescription: Discipline. “Discipline does not eliminate the need for creativity. On the contrary, it actually encourages them by providing a frame for individual work. Structure ensures that the parts come together as a whole.”

Hammer has more to offer in this book. He criticizes measurement as purely a financial report after the fact. Using these measures, he says, it “like trying to manage a baseball game today by using last year’s win-loss record to tell you whether to call a hit or a bunt.”

In effect, Hammer wants the company liberated from suffocating procedures and structures so that it can concentrate on the most important factor in business: the customer. Of course, that is easier said than done, and a facile interpretation may mislead us to wrong conclusions. All he wants to say, though, is couched in his own inimitable style: “Pierce the veil that separates you from your customers.”

This requires leadership resolve to make changes, even fire people who don’t believe in your initiatives. You’ve got a choice: make your company dominant or be extinct. He has made it so clear what your choice should be.

Are You Programmed To Lick Adversity?

2002-02-24T22:31:00.000-08:00

“Adversity Quotient @ Work”
By Paul G. Stoltz, Ph.D.
Harper Collins Publishers, 2000

Intelligence quotient is something we have known since many years back. Emotional quotient is relatively recent, presenting a type of intelligence that puts premium on emotional maturity over intellectual superiority. Now comes “Adversity Quotient.” It is a measure of how well you or your team currently responds to adversity.

Adversity is definitely on the rise. The book, “Adversity Quotient @ Work,” reveals that individuals face an average of 23 adversities each day. In a fast-paced world, the individual is faced with many hurdles – deal with complexity and deliver in speed.

Here is a book that illuminates what we have been observing so far among our colleagues or friends.

You have dealt with basically two types of people. We simplistically call the positive-minded type as an optimist. It is he, as been said many times, who sees that the glass is “half-full.” So, too, we simplistically enough call the negative minded a pessimist, who sees the glass as “half empty.”

We have seen them at work and at play. One individual receives news of a problem, and he responds: “This comes with the territory; so we might as well face up to it.” Another would exclaim: “Woe to me; this problem will grow so big that I won’t be able to handle it.”

The book says that the first individual has a high AQ, and the second one has a low AQ. But the author is not only putting some labels. He has expanded his theory into a book with scientific findings. And he uses a language that appeals to computer literate people like most of us.

For example, he underscores the need to be re-trained to deal with adversity better, and so he says: “You must upgrade your human operating system to remain viable and strong.”

One enlightening part of the book is his discussion of the CORE dimensions of your Adversity Quotient – which include Control, Ownership, Reach and Endurance. What makes the discussion interesting is his addition of new goals, for example, for training. He adds to the skills of problem solving and decision-making the goal of “team resilience.”

Prof. Stoltz draws from his varied experience with many companies as he explains why “most people communicate and behave poorly when adversity strikes.” A person loses clarity, focus, direction and perspective, he says. Many people have been given to “unproductive outbursts,” he points out.

We need to be “rewired,” he suggests, theorizing that we have been “hardwired” when we were younger. The way we respond is influenced by the way people we saw in our early years responded to adversity – and “we somehow acquired a pattern.”

The appeal of using Adversity Quotient as a motivator and a liberating system stems from many findings that AQ is a good “predictor of sales performance,” Stoltz says.

The entire human body responds as one brain to adversity. The author demolishes the “myth of the human machine.” We are a “highly networked system,” he declares. “The brain does not exist just in our head. Ever have a gut feeling or butterflies in your stomach? Dr. Michael Gershon states that we have 100 billion neurons in the gut (the same number as in the brain) that signal stress and influence health.”

The book has chapters and sections for individuals and for team leaders who wish to lead their teams toward having better “response-ability,” meaning better control of their responses.

The discussion on AQ’s CORE dimensions will prove most helpful.

For instance, in discussing the first dimension, Control, the author simply asks the questions: “To what extent are you able to positively influence a situation? To what extent can you control your own response to a situation.” He debunks viewpoints that “control” is exploitative. On the contrary, he says, “Control is a very precise and powerful source of freedom, not oppression or constraint.”

The second dimension, Ownership, asks to what extent you take it upon yourself to improve the situation, regardless of its cause. He correctly points out that “blame-throwing” is unproductive. He elaborates: “Blame occurs when people get caught up in assigning fault rather than learning from the behavior and moving on.”

Reach, the third dimension, simply advises the individual to limit the impact of the problem or any situation. Stoltz cautions readers against the tendency to “catastrophize,” meaning exaggerating a problem to catastrophic proportions! Sounds familiar to many people?

The fourth dimension, Endurance, asks how long one perceives the adversity to endure. He advises that one should have a realistic grip of a problem. It is always useful to say that such a problem will “come to pass.”

The book, despite its forbidding title (to those who hate Math 101) about “quotients” has a surprise for the readers. It speaks to both heart and mind. To both individual and team leader. To the solitary entrepreneur and the CEO of a big corporation. One thing we all share: Adversity comes our way everyday. Therefore, make time for this book. It will liberate you from worries and imagined catastrophes.

Charismatic, Intelligent or Ethical Leadership?

2002-02-03T22:27:00.000-08:00

“Leadership: Enhancing
the Lessons of Experience”
By Richard Hughes, Robert Ginnett
& Gordon Curphy
Irwin McGraw-Hill, 1999

What would you rather have – a leader with charisma or a leader with “IQ”?

Someone has thus oversimplified the choice of the kind of leader we need in this country. The person speaking was no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo presenting herself as a leader gifted with intelligence. And the person alluded to as “charismatic” is ousted President and now aging actor Joseph Ejercito Estrada, with the obvious implication that he is wanting in gray matter.

“Are we limited to such choices?” someone asked with obvious disillusionment. Friend Perfecto Yasay Jr. – known for charisma and intelligence -- told a gathering: “It is not enough to have charisma or IQ; we need one governed by high ethical principles to lead this country.”

“Should the President even have to emphasize that she has high IQ? Isn’t it proper to simply show such intelligence in her decision making, rather than talk about it?”

Obviously, much dust has flown due to this Presidential remark, and the idea of leadership has again invaded our coffee shops and cocktail bars – and solicited and unsolicited interpretations have been exchanged.

There is a book, “Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience,” which asks questions, provides answers from scholars and practitioners – and ends up with the thought that, indeed, “leadership is a complex phenomenon.”

This is supposed to be a textbook on leadership for graduate management students, but it doesn’t read like one. It wastes no time driving headlong into controversial topics. Part I, for example deals with the topic: “Leadership Is a Process, Not a Position.” This immediately opens hot subjects on “interaction” and on the need for “education.”

“Focus on the Leader,” the main topic of Part II, dwells on power and influence, ethics and values, intelligence and creativity, leadership behavior and – lo and behold! – “charisma and transformational leadership.”

On Charisma, the book says: “The basis of authority in the charismatic authority system comes from society’s belief in the exemplary characteristics of the leader. Charismatic leaders are thought to possess superhuman qualities or powers of divine origin which set them apart from ordinary mortals.”

Charismatic leaders become bigger than life, amplified by television and, as applied to our local story, exaggerated by action movies! Thus was born the Erap myth of invincibility and charm.

The book cited as examples Ayatollah Khomeini and Mahatma Gandhi. “These individuals wielded a considerable amount of power in Iran and India because of who they were, not because they were the first-born sons or had occupied a position that allowed them to wield power,” the authors say.

But the book also underscores the need for intelligence: “Virtually every institution in our society today faces dynamic and complex challenges. It is no wonder then, that organizations of all sorts are placing an ever greater premium on hiring smart and innovative leaders. It is certainly easy to think of particular leaders who are known for their superior intellect.”

To illustrate the intellectual leader, the book cites former Senator Bill Bradley and President Bill Clinton who were Rhodes Scholars, “one indication of high intelligence.” What about a doctorate in economics from the University of the Philippines?

Charisma, or our limited view of it, has led us to elect a President who would subsequently be ousted because of a failure to govern. Intelligence was possessed by a bar topnotcher who later plunged the country to its darkest days under martial law.

Perhaps, we need a moral leader, a friend of mine volunteers.

The book has something to say about that too. “Leaders face ethical dilemmas at all levels, and the best leaders recognize and face them with a commitment to doing what is right, not just what is expedient.” This is equivalent to saying we need statesmen as leaders, not politicians.

Is politics bad? During lunch with former Senate President Jovito Salonga, he overheard one saying that politics is bad. His rejoinder was both illuminating and edifying. He said: “Politics can be ennobling.” And he recalled that momentous day when he decided he would work quietly but resolutely for the dismantling the U.S. military bases, using the ways of politics. The rest is history. We thus concluded that politics can actually be redeemed from its dirty manifestations and machinations.

“Doing what is right sounds deceptively simple,” the book points out. “Sometimes it will take great moral courage to do what is right, even when the right action seems clear. At other times, though, leaders face ethically complex issues that lack simple black-and-white answers.”

The book brings you, the reader, to a world of leaders – and managers – subjecting them to analysis and allowing space for the “x” factor. It is also a book that offers personality sketches of leaders, quotable quotes about leadership, psychological analyses on what makes leaders tick, and a great number of case studies to illuminate theories and observations.

This book will serve as a much-needed prism by which we view national and global leaders. Through such many-sided prism, we can identify attributes, place leaders in context, and conclude that with such a combination we will have one great leader!

Leaders do not easily fit into neat formulas or tidy frameworks of analysis. There is much room for that indescribable factor and that unexpected heroic moment. The book also recognizes that. Nonetheless, we will come away more prepared to view our leaders with trained, not moist, eyes.

A strong case is here presented that leaders driven by high ethical standards have what it takes for “greatness.”

The book stresses: “Leaders set a moral example to others that becomes the model for an entire group or organization, for good or bad. Leaders who themselves do not honor truth do not inspire it in others. Leaders mostly concerned with their own advancement do not inspire selflessness in others. Leaders should internalize a strong set of ethics, principles of right conduct or a system of moral values.”

Charisma or IQ? Judging by the book, not one of them figures. This book is highly recommended to believers and non-believers in moral leadership. It is, after all, the way to go.

Breathless prose, stories about people nurturing trees

2002-01-20T22:26:00.000-08:00

“Mountains of Triumph”
By Roy Iglesias
PNOC–EDC, 2001

You drive up north toward Subic and you see, from afar, mountains colored brown and gold. Nothing sentimental there, because that shows the mountains are rid of forest cover and are, to put it plainly, bald.

Your plane hovers over Mindanao, and as you look through the window, you note land blocks of brown, gold and yellow on mountains and you conclude – these two are bald. But, then your eye catches patches of green – a refreshing sight with a refreshing thought: Some parts of the mountain are going through reforestation!

What’s going on inside those forests? When a multitude of trees grow, whose hands nurture them? When they are cut down or burned, what form do these malevolent forces take – kaingineros, illegal loggers … and their murderous ilk?

What does it mean to see evil face to face when you want to save the trees while armed insurgents are ready to shoot you. Despite well-rehearsed possible reaction when death or bloodletting comes, what do you really do when the passenger beside you suddenly slumps, after receiving a hail of bullets from the underbrush?

When day breaks, you wake up to see a multitude of community folks breaking the good news that they now also “own” the idea of taking care of the forest – said with the brightest toothy smiles you have ever seen in your life. Are you emotionally prepared for such a magical moment?

The book “Mountains of Triumph” – to paraphrase a familiar saying – brings you closer to the trees you usually miss because all you have seen are forests. Actually, the book brings the reader where the action is and where dreams begin – right in the midst of community folk working hand in hand with well-meaning organizations to save and nurture their sole salvation: the perpetuation of forests.

One could simply summarize this book as a story book on the social forestry project of both the PNOC Energy Development Corporation and the New Zealand Government – with a forestry manual thrown in – and would rest in the thought that he/she has captured the spirit of the book. Not so. That’s oversimplifying it as a one-dimensional coffee table book that has postcard perfect pictures and elegant prose fit for an award winning brochure. Actually, it is a coffee table book -- and much much more.

What we have here is a gripping account of warm-blooded people, leaving the comforts of plush offices in the concrete junge, and penetrating deep into many forests all over the country to experience first hand what it means to share your dreams and your fears and strategies with the simple folk about how to secure a shared future and how to restore a vanishing forest.

And yet, the accounts are not the usual stuff you find in annual reports, rid of the real stuff and drama life is made of. Listen to this:

“The rifle was aimed at a bend of the empty, twisting road. An inocuous target, it seemed, until moments later when a pickup truck came into view. Then the sniper knew his vigil was finally going to pay off. In the truck, Emmie Ybanez was seated in front, between the driver and her officemate Mon Arong who, like her, was also an extension worker of PNOC EDC’s Environmental Management Department …

“Suddenly, a loud burst of gunfire by the crashing sound of broken glass from the windshield jolted Emmie out of her thoughts.” Read on through the breathless prose when you get hold of this book.

The book also connects the life of executives who shuttle from concrete to real jungles: “Agnes de Jesus is on her way to a conference in another building when she sees the earthworm twisting and twirling on the carpet of her office, moving toward the door. The little creature has ventured beyond its world, crawling out of the pot of tropical plant by the desk, crossing the unfamiliar terrain of the carpeted floor … to search for a fresh patch of earth to till.”

This books open a fresh new possibility in reporting the dream and drama, conflict and concord, the tremulous truce and the lasting peace inside our many forests. The book is shorn of slogan, and has steered clear of anemic prose that usually marked reports on the great work done by foresters and the community folk to protect every tree in the mountain.

When you read the book, you do not only sense the triumph of the human spirit, not only the victory of good storytelling over trite reportage – but you sense the soul of the community. And before you know it, you feel you are part of the same community, feel the sunlight in your soul, and acquire the communal hearthrob of the forest dwellers.

The epic of six brand leaders in magical, truth-full storytelling

2002-01-06T22:24:00.000-08:00

“Brand New”
By Nancy F. Koehn
Harvard Business School Press, 2001

Read this book for a change. It’s titled “Brand New,” just the right phrase for a brand new year (if we have to make a connection somehow).

But, there’s something more about this book being a refreshing change from a surfeit of books speaking of brand equity, brand loyalty, brand awareness and brand-what-have-you.

It’s an epic, not about “branding” as a concept (since that cannot qualify as a great story), but about brand leaders rising above their times and historical milieu — responding to epic movements but, much more so, creating institutions and movements themselves that have deeply changed — and continue to change — people’s lives, lifestyles and the way we all look at life, work and play — and the way we look, the way we are scented, and the way we dine.

Who says business promises only humdrum existence?

This book’s jacket says: “Until Josiah Wedgwood, Britons ate from wood and pewter plates. Until Henry Heinz, women toiled over pickled foods. Until Michael Dell, few people owned a personal computer, let alone dreamed of buying one ‘built to order’.” And, if I may add, until Estee Lauder, cosmetics were promoted the all-too-traditional way. And until Starbucks, coffee drinking had no romance.

What is Nancy F. Koehn, Ph.D. (corporate historian of Harvard Business School), talking about? She is talking about six companies with powerful brands: Starbucks, Estee Lauder, Dell Computers, Wedgwood china, Heinz ketchup, Marshall Field giant stores.

What’s so special about the six — since there are many more entrepreneurs that also built powerful brands — like Ford, IBM, Coke, Sony, BMW, etc.? Actually, I have no answer to this question, except to say, that herein lies the problem with inclusions: there are also exclusions. And, of course, I am just reviewing a book (a very good slow read throughout 469 pages) — and not arguing for the author.

But, the author somehow dishes out an explanation why she chose the six: “All of the brands I discuss were developed during periods when demand-side shifts were altering consumers’ priorities. This kind of thing happens in all historical epochs, of course, but in each of the six cases, social and economic changes were racing forward more rapidly than usual.”

Four of the entrepreneurs made things: Wedgwood’s earthenware, Heinz’s bottled pickles, Lauder’s cosmetics, and Dell’s personal computers. Ms. Koehn says the other two “created encounters” that proved appealing to customers — Fields’ department store environment and Schultz’s café experience.

How these entrepreneurs created a powerful brand goes beyond marketing. It was total involvement for the entrepreneur with the product he/she wholly believed in, investing money and time to perfect it, using a keen eye for any consumer shift, developing an “image” — not only at the marketing front, but more important, from the laboratory, plantation farm, production floor, distribution network, excellent showroom, and a workforce that perfectly reflect the image and vision of the entrepreneur.

The book’s sections are masterfully divided. First, there are two major divisions: “The Past” (for Wedgwood, Heinz and Field that spanned the 18th to early 20th century) and “The Present” (for Lauder, Schultz and Dell). The book says much about the author’s unflagging will to capture the dust, drift and direction of industries these entrepreneurs created.

She has woven together personages and has placed them on “the world’s stage” — providing local color, unfolding historic drama, increasingly interesting plots with every initial resistance and with every emergence of competition, and peppering her storytelling with revealing tales about royalty, the severely rich and the merely famous.

Josiah Wedgwood began the practice of sending gifts to royalty — and then quickly announced that the King or Queen had his china in their dining room. His message to members of the middle class who are palace watchers: “You can have the same china that the Queen has in her stately palace.” That brought prestige to Wedgwood products, drew non-royals to his stores — proving once again that the impulse of “keeping with the Joneses” has antedated us all. By the way, Wedgwood is the grandpa of Charles Darwin — one of the side stories that make this book really an interesting read.

H. J. Heinz, noting women’s shifting roles from the kitchen and into factories and offices, concluded that these women should be free from the cumbersome task of preparing pickles each time. Thus Heinz introduced preserved pickles. It meant more freedom for women — and to Heinz profits that last till now. Today, the Heinz empire has remained one of the world’s leading food processors. In 2000, the author notes, the flagship Heinz brand accounted for about one third of the company’s US$9 billion sales.

Marshall Field introduced a merchandizing strategy that made shopping elegant and enjoyable. As early as the 19th century, Field already decided that “female shoppers wanted an elegant atmosphere, the latest fashions and courteous service — preferably from other women.” That was way way back — before Rustans was born if we talk local.
And what about Estee Lauder, born Josephine Esther Mentzer in 1908? Her story is preceded by the sweet-scented story of cosmetics and perfumery dating back to the time when society frowned upon women painting their faces and sporting head-turning scents that make others crazy. This determined woman, as told by our master storyteller, tried new ways to promote her product — including “a gift for every purchase”.

As a sidelight, read about an interesting tale about Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden deliberately “obscuring their humble beginnings” to project an aristocratic heritage.

How Howard Schultz got inspiration about “specialty coffee” in Milan is an account to inspire entrepreneurs with the truth that you can actually re-invent an old product. Today Starbucks is everywhere. How Michael Dell defied tradition by going into direct marketing to sell his computers is another epic, especially that he took on IBM the giant.

Author Jack Beatty summarizes the book’s accomplishment thus: “Brand New felicitously blends biography, business history and conceptual analysis in a book that gives the vogue word branding a rich and surprising past.” At the beginning of the year, be enriched and be astonished. Begin then with this book.

Mavericks (or ‘poor fits’) in firms trigger change

2001-12-23T22:22:00.000-08:00

“Tempered Radicals”
By Debra E. Meyerson
Harvard Business School Press, 2001

We know some of them – occupying positions of responsibility among the top 1,000 corporations or wielding influence in the corridors of power. They are the “activists” in an organizational community, seeming “poor fits” that cannot somehow be assimilated in the dominant culture.

He could be an environmental activist in a power generation company. On one hand, management could not make heads or tails about him, but, on the other, management seeks his insight into the phenomenon of a protest group which has raised an issue that couldn’t seem to go away.

She could be a feminist advocate in an engineering firm whose culture is defined by “male chauvinists.” Would she be co-opted into the dominant behavior and thus give up her commitment to a larger cause, or would she be a necessary gadfly pricking the conscience and pride of self-satisfied males?

How many of these mavericks survive? And how many give up the fight and melt into the solvent of the majority, losing identity, swallowing their pride and being untrue to themselves?

This is doubtless a riveting subject. And this is the subject of “Tempered Radicals,” sub-titled “How People Use Difference to Inspire Change at Work.”

It deals with “poor fits” in the organization, whose values and interests are at odds with the dominant culture.

Are they useful at all to organizations, which must run like a well-oiled machine? Author Debra E. Meyerson, professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, points out: “By asserting the non-conforming aspects of oneself, the tempered radical can pave the way for learning and change by questioning current practice and expectations and providing an alternative.”

That is because this activist person brings an entirely new perspective, asks disturbing questions – and therefore paves the way for new ideas.

Remember the child who declared the truth that the “the emperor had no clothes on”? Everyone in the kingdom knew that the ruler did not have anything on, but there was one boy who had the courage to tell the truth.

This is typical in the corporate world. Conformists would rather play safe, especially when the boss is espousing a “great” idea. It takes a non-conformist to contest such an idea. It is always a risky proposition. But, it could also be rewarding.

Based on 15 years of research and observation, the book reveals that adaptive, diverse, family-friendly, and socially responsible workplaces are built not by revolutionaries but by those the author calls “tempered radicals” – “people who successfully walk the tightrope between conformity and rebellion.”

The individuals have varying styles at introducing change within their organizations. At times, when change is difficult, if not impossible, these peope – to be “true to themselves” – take on responsibilities outside their work that give them self-fulfillment.

The book speaks about a a lawyer who volunteered his servies in a legal rights center to follow his commitment to fight injustice. The book calls this “designing behind the scenes actions” in order to make a difference.

The book’s research reveals that those who were successful in being true to their own values did not go for big wins, or earthshaking steps that would revolutionize their organizations. That could have been a surefire formula for being fired. What they did was to “leverage small wins” over time.

A chapter is devoted to how these tempered radicals organize for collective action, a process that requires the “essential skills of leadership,” the author says.

The tension remains when you are a maverick in your own organization. It is “difficult to navigate between competing pulls and sustains selves at odds with one another.” The sad thing is some peope finally give up one side of their selves or the other.

The book offers a way to “to resist lures to conform.” She advises that tempered radicals can make ongoing deliberate efforts to maintain affiliations, to make explicit the connection between their local efforts and their broader significance.

Possibly the most fundamental thing to remember about successful tempered radicals is that they know who they are and what is important to their sense of self. It’s a decision one has to make, the book says. Above all, tempered radicals reserve the choice to be an agent rather than a victim of their circumstances, and with this stance comes a tremendous sense of freedom and power.

Tempered radicals inspire change. Yet their leadership resides equally in their capacity to inspire people. They do inspire by having the courage to tell the truth even when it’s difficult to do so.

If you somehow fit into this category, or you are awed by the success or survival of tempered radicals in your firm, this book gives you a deeper insight into these mavericks who ask disturbing questions but who, in the final analysis, have tremendous value to the long-term existence of your organization.

Consulting work in bite-size options

2001-12-09T22:21:00.000-08:00

“The Consultants Tool Kit”
Edited by Mel Silberman
McGraw-Hill, 2001

Consultants abound in the business world – and are, in the main, truly of help to organizations seeking the cutting edge in their strategy, managing change to cope with a profoundly altered environment, realizing new efficiencies in operations, making inroads into new markets – and a host of other solutions.

While most consultants, no doubt, have a place in the scheme of things in business, some are favorite targets of wit and jests – especially when they prove themselves superfluous in a world where the bottom line is non-negotiable.

A humorists, Jeanne Robertson, defines consultant as “someone who borrows your watch and charges to tell you the time” -- a definition that points to consulting work that, at best, overstates the obvious or, at worst, needlessly doubles the work.

Arnold Glasow points to consultants’ fees, saying: “A consultant is someone who saves his client almost enough to pay his fee.”

Be that as it may, consultants will be around for a long time. Their importance in the corporate mainstream is such that U.S. business spends over $3 billion annually on consultants. We don’t have the figures on consultants’ compensations in Philippine business, but the proliferation of auditing firms doubling up as consultants – aside from counselors in marketing drives, IT, change management, risk handling, corporate communications, etc. – proves that our consultants are also handsomely paid.

Which should really be the case, if you ask me, if such consultants prove to be corporate turnaround artists, marketing wizards and productive experts with positive impact on rising revenues and falling costs. The message, therefore, is for consultants to continually prove their worth – and thus continually sharpen their skills, expand their scope and deepen their knowledge of the business.

There is a book that will prove useful to consultants hereabouts – “The Consultant’s Tool Kit.” Veteran players in the game need it to assure them that not a single consultancy service is missed. New entrants in the consulting business will need it, not only to start right, but to know the full range of services they can offer.

For example, Part I alone, provides the reader 13 assessment questionnaires – from finding out if the firm’s business strategy makes sense” to establishing the “client’s leadership competencies.” Consultants are in the best position to make such assessments – first, because they have the advantage of detachment and objectivity; and second, management at times would not dare “rock the boat” themselves.

From evaluating the firm’s operations in various areas, the consultant is also treated to “hot-to-guides” for solving client’s problems. There! Consutlants are supposed to have a “bag of tricks” of a “panacea” to companies’ lingering problems.

You may not cure all, but at least your methodology creates the climate of an entire company geared for solutions. Before you know it, proving once again the theory of “self-fulfilling prophecy,” the company is well on its way to stumbling into the ultimate solution.

You have a menu of from “how to lead effective meetings” (do you think it’s ever easy?) to “how to move your client from training to performance improvement.” This proceeds from the established fact that “training alone is insufficient to bridge most performance gaps.” Editor Mel Silberman, Ph.D., points out that “trainers need to develop more comprehensive interventions that include incentive systems, communications technologies, environmental redesign,” etc.

Finally, Part III, offers 17 “intervention activities to increase your client’s effectiveness.” This is a section for facilitators for various group activities that enhance their skills and deepen their insights on quality, tem-building, organization change, dealing with resistance, etc. Who says business is not fun? These exercises lead them to solve puzzles, read people’s minds and hurdle many forms of resistance – ala- “Survivor Africa.”

This book of 354 pages is full of insights, suggestions, illustrations all the way into the 354th page. The editor, featuring 45 top professionals in their fields, wasted mo space in giving the veteran or start-up consultant needs to start with a strong beginning, sustain his consulting practice, and make him or her enjoy every engagement that follows.

Did you ever think consulting work is the refuge of the retiree, the unemployed, the “corporate isolate”? Think again. If you get hold of this tool kit, you will realize consulting work is a world of vast possibilities where you can try almost anything. But, first things first:

Make a persuasive pitch for your prospective client to try your “new idea.” And then, when you get the client’s green light, give the job you best shot, decide that you will enjoy the entire exercise, truly bring your client to a new level of success or growth. You will realize that the financial rewards are simple side benefits.

For small tasks, eat the frog; for huge work, eat the elephant (one bite at a time)

2001-12-02T22:19:00.000-08:00

“Eat That Frog!”
By Brian Tracy
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2001

Everyone is shocked and dismayed at the revelation that Justice Francis Garchitorena is sitting on 341 cases, some of them pending for more than ten years. For his procrastination – by habit or by design (e.g., the cases of Imelda Marcos, et al, are in his division) – the Supreme Court relieved him of his duties as administrative head of the graft court.

Wasn’t it Nortcotte Parkinson who said that “work expands to the time alloted to it”? If you have one week to finish work, you will finish it in one week. But, if you’re given only a day to complete it, you’ll have it over and done with in one day.

Justice Garchitorena has 90 days maximum, after submission for resolution, to promulgate the decision (source: Neal Cruz, “As I See it,” PDI, November 30), and so Garchitorena does not even fall under the Parkinson principle.

The Justice’s case is simply illustrative of many cases of procrastination that are happening everyday at home, in offices, in factories and in schools. Inspite of the fact that postponing one’s task has been a lesson we learned early in life (like, “Don’t postpone for tomorrow what you can do today”), tackling the day’s business is always the most difficult thing to do.

You come to your office, and your staffers are busy with the entertainment pages of your newspaper – and the staffers justify this by saying they are “setting themselves in the mood” for work! You check your manager’s work, and he is busy answering his emails, rationalizing that he is “doing away with little tasks” before he takes on a huge task staring him in the face.

Many pieces of advice have been offered, and thousands of books on “time management” have been published. It turns out, it’s not time we should be managing – it’s ourselves. That is if you believe Brian Tracy, author of the helpful book with a shocking title (yuck!): “Eat That Frog!”

Let me issue a warning crime reporters on television and radio with which they preface their gruesome reports: “Don’t read this while taking your breakfast,” especially when you get this unforgettable (because traumatic) line from Mr. Tracy: “If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first.” Let me quickly add: The author is talking about something else – a subject that’s more helpful than a frog. He says:
“Your ‘frog’ is your biggest, most important task, the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don’t do something about it now. It is also the one task that can have the greatest positive impact on your life and results at the moment.”

If there’s a book that should make it easy for you to procrastinate no longer, this book of 118 pages will do the job – with a bonus: you will be introduced to great thoughts from influential and powerful persons giving us tips on the principles of “focus,” “concentration,” “passion,” “achieving your single biggest mission.”

Subtitled “21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time,” the book has 21 brief sections dealing with one “great way” at a time. The first section speaks about deciding what task to tackle first. A helpful blurb goes: Here’s a great rule for success: “Think on paper.”

I remember an uncle whom I visited in the U.S., a super-salesman. He gets up early in the morning, goes to a corner with his notebook, and plans his sales calls for the day. It turns out that’s the secret of his being “super.” Mr. Tracy reveals an interesting fact: “Only about 3 percent of adults have clear written goals. These people accomplish five and ten times as much as people of equal or better education and ability but who, for whatever reason, have never taken the time to write out exactly what it is they want.”

“Take action on your plan immediately,” he advises. That’s easy. So, we ask: What about tasks that take some time to complete – like maybe a huge engineering project or writing a book? Mr. Tracy has the answer too: “Resolve to do something every single day that moves you toward your major goal.”

Now, you know why some people get more things done, while others seemingly equally busy, come up with much much less.

The few times I watched former Senate President Jovito Salonga work, I discovered how he accomplishes great tasks – not only for himself, but for the country: He writes his daily tasks on a notebook, makes his own calls when he should, visits his associates to get him to support his cause -- and then, before you know it, he is launching a book with a tour-de-force dimension or he is rallying his senators abrogating the American military bases. No mean accomplishments, if we may say so. How does he do it? He begins with the ugliest frog, if we must use Tracy’s extended metaphor.

Maybe, the more appropriate metaphor is the elephant! The author writes: “You have heard the old question, ‘How do you eat an elephant?’ The answer, of course, is ‘one bite at a time!’.” A lot of friends ask me: “How can you read one book a week?” My answer: For thin books, I eat the frog; for thick complicated books, I take on the elephant in bite-size chapters!

This book is witty, warm-hearted and helpful. Procrastinate no longer. Go to the nearest bookstore. You’ll never know when you need to speed up pending work. I don’t know about you, but some have become a sorry case of “a frog on the frying pan” – blissfully enjoying the warmth of the pan until it is fried alive.

A Second Look at Social Research: Detachment or Involvement?

2001-11-18T22:18:00.000-08:00

“Socially Shared Inquiry”
By Herminia Corazon Alfonso
Great Books, 2001

If there is any pronounced redeeming feature to capitalism, though driven by the engine of profit, it is this: It has industry players who believe in and are committed to be “responsible corporate citizens.”

Close to two decades ago, the idea that business can be a positive social force caught up with the country’s captains of industry. So, as a decisive step, these industrialists put up the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), an expression of their common desire to “return” to the community a portion of their earnings as their contribution to social development.

Corporations, big and small, also caught the vision of being “good neighbors” to the immediate communities where they operate. They have, in fact, gone even farther. They created the “community outreach department” or its equivalent to substantiate such “good-neighbor” policy.

An important part of this department’s work is to continue feeling the pulse of its “host community” – a term that describes not only the obvious fact that the company is located in its midst. It also underscores a not-so-obvious reality that such a firm is also genuinely interested in the life, culture and “soul” of such locale.

There is a book, “Socially Shared Inquiry,” subtitled “A Self-Reflexive, Emancipatory, Communication Approach to Social Research,” which should give the CEO or the community relations official – not only a closer look at social research, but an insight into the current debate among social researchers: Should the researcher be a detached agent extracting data from a community, or should he/she be one who is involved and who participates in the community’s life as well?

This is actually no different from the debate among journalists: Should the newsman be a detached observer of society, or should he be involved as a crusading agent, take an advocacy position – and thus would truly contribute to a more honest, freer and saner society?

The foreword to the book underscores the author’s stand: “Fundamental to her (Alfonso’s) work is the recognition that social research is not only inquiring into social phenomena; it is a social phenomenon in its own right, one where researchers enter the very social fabric they intend to study and partly cause what they observe.”

This contrasts sharply with the studied detachment of researchers, described by the book as “disembodied researchers” involving everyone except the “object of research” – the communities being observed, clarifies the author.

Author Alfonso developed the book entirely on this concept: “Socially Shared Inquiry is designed to be a method of investigation enacted by the members of a community who engage themselves in the process as both doers and subjects of inquiry.” The community must be involved in the research process.

The book is a take off from the dissertation of the author, so it still uses the language of the academician.

Actually, you should look beyond the debate on whether the researcher is involved or detached. The value of the book to people disinterested in academic debates is that the book has a wealth of methodologies in getting the community to discuss their goals and to empower themselves.

If you continue on, the author pictures to you the transaction going on in towns and barrios where change is happening.

Read about the author’s interesting account of Erin Brokovich (starring Julia Roberts), an involved researcher who changed the life of an entire community.

For corporate citizens, this book will make you better know the “soul” of the communities where you operate. For this alone, it is worth steering clear of the academician’s lingo.

A ‘roundtable discussion’ by CEOs on business ethics

2001-11-11T22:16:00.000-08:00

“Paragons”
By Alfred A. Yuson
FINEX, 2001

Corporate or business ethics – like ethics, in general – is a riveting subject. You confront an act, and decide whether that act is right, wrong – or indifferent. Of course, that ushers in a lively discussion on the gray areas – from white lies to situational ethics, when the end is supposed to justify the means.

For example, regarding telling a white lie, Dietrich Bonhoeffer – in a book simply titled “Ethics” -- advanced the theory that one should defer to the “higher truth.” He cited an instance when a child asks his teacher this pained question: “Teacher, is it true that my mother is a prostitute?” The teacher’s reply: “No, my child, your mother is a loving virtuous woman.” To this Bonhoeffer commented that the teacher is upholding the “higher truth” of the child’s young mind and his future.

Close to home and to something contemporary, the book, “Paragons” -- subtitled “23 CEOs on Corporate Ethics” – confronts ethics in the workplace, in CEO suites and wood-panelled boardrooms – but the issue remains as sharply elemental as “simply a matter of right or wrong,” according to Nicasio I. Alcantara, chairman of Petron Corporation, and one of the featured CEOs in the book.

Ric Pascua, president of Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation, steers clear of corporate lingo (“corporatese,” as they say), and pictures to us a dilemma: “A gun is put on your head and you are asked either to pay up or they would blow you away. You have two choices: both of them morally acceptable. You can decide to be a martyr if you are called to be one, but if it’s acceptable to you to get out of the danger by paying the fee, that’s okay too.” How would Bonhoeffer resolve that?

The beauty of ethics is it truly gives the decision-maker the “free moral space,” according to the authors of “Ties That Bind” (Executive Read, January 7, 2001), who introduced the social contracts approach to business ethics. They, in fact, used the word “hypernorms”. These are fundamental principles (like truth telling, freedom, respect for human dignity) to which “corporate norms” (company codes of conduct) must be subsumed.

Speaking of “free moral space,” that is exactly what you feel when you listen to CEOs speak about their decision to place upon themselves rules of conduct. And such freedom is best appreciated in a climate of free enterprise – or capitalism’s “engine”: profit.
In the author’s introduction of the author, he triggers an engaging discussion on profit, “Obsession with profit is a self-defeating proposition.” Then, elsewhere in the book, Fr. Bienvenido F. Nebres, S.J., and president of Ateneo de Manila University, gives an enlightened view of the profit motive:

“It is important for a company to be profitable, because if you are not profitable, if you are losing, there is not much you can do. You cannot pay your employees well. You cannot do anything for your community. You cannot be a good citizen. You cannot put in anti-pollution measures. You’re going to cut corners because you are losing.”

Management guru Peter Drucker has volumes to agree with Father Nebres on the social value of profit.

But what is the ultimate good for business? These academics have a way of distilling otherwise murky ideas. Listen to Fr. Tamerlane R. Lana, O.P., president of the University of Santo Tomas: “The ultimate standard that determines whether a conduct or behaviour is appropriate or not is the good of the human being… and the ultimate goal of all corporate endeavors is the good of the human person.”

When one talks ethics, one invariably raises the issue of integrity. The word has been so overused that what we need now is go back to the root of such word. Thankfully, the President of De La Salle University, Brother Rolando Dizon, has a ready answer:

“Integrity has at its root the notion of wholeness of self.. Being whole means that, at the center of one’s being, you have this core which gives you an identity, a knowledge of who you are.”

The book also treats you, readers, with illuminating one-liners. Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala is direct to the point: “It’s one thing to espouse principles, but another thing to live up to them. That’s when integrity comes in.”

It’s a “function of complete honesty in all your dealings,” points out Crescenciano Toledo, Johnson & Johnson general manager. Joselito D. Y. Campos, United Laboratories chairman and CEO, is laconic: “You have to be consistent. Basically, you do what you say, whether it’s personal or corporate.”

Does it make good business sense to be governed by a set of corporate ethical norms? The Ayala head gives a simple answer: “Success comes by sticking to principles.”

Petron’s Nick Alcantara draws from his experience: “If you are correct in your business practices, it may be difficult at the start, but eventually you get the winning edge in the competition.”

Procter & Gamble GM, Johnip Cua, stresses the long-term impact of sticking to one’s principles: “Without ethics, there can be no sustainable success… companies that do not have the basic ingredients of honesty and integrity do not last very long.”

The book is virtually a long but engaging “roundtable discussion” among CEOs on corporate ethics. It’s enough feat to bring them together in one glossy book, and FINEX should be commended for making it available to our readers. For starters, the book gives readers a rare chance to have a window into the ethical mindsets of the country’s captains of industry.

And for this reason, the book deserves a sequel – one where the author could probably further process the valuable thoughts of these CEOs under categories or thought clusters, for example, on “integrity,” “bribery,” “integrity in information,” etc., as additional value to readers.

The publishers have thought well to call public attention to this important subject, and it would be well if the sequel of this book would also tell our readers what they think – in the mode of Randy David, in his erstwhile talk show, giving his last word about the entire discussion.

Readers would stop and listen if this happens. Meanwhile, we have a roundtable discussion with the author facilitating – and annotating -- the entire exercise.

A CEO’s view: How to fight for your brand

2001-10-28T21:58:00.000-08:00

“Brand Warfare”
by David F. D’Alessandro
McGraw-Hill, 2001

Noontime comes, you are alone, and you decide it’s time to have a quick lunch. You mentally survey your myriad choices, then rule them out one by one – because you decide to go to your favorite restaurant across the street.

In my case, while searching for a suitable angle for this review, I thought of lunch with two divergent thoughts: one, do it quick and get it over and done with; or two, spend an hour in a familiar corner to collect my thoughts and give them sharp focus. My choice was Hunter’s Deli, a cozy restaurant with a European charm --designed to give one a touch of nature in the concrete jungle.

And since I was in the mood to get ideas on “branding,” I asked the owner-operator if the “ambience” was by design or by accident. What she revealed was a noontime lesson on branding. Hunter’s Deli was designed for the adventurous – those who want to try something new in European cuisine – with the feel of the woods to reinforce the message.

The constant inflow of expats, baby boomers and yuppies told me this is one “brand” that has succeeded in inspiring loyalty from its market segment.

That is precisely what the book, “Brand Warfare,” is saying: “The truth is that consumers need brands, both good and bad, to help them navigate a world in which their choices are almost infinite. The best thing that can happen to a brand is to become a kind of shorthand in consumers’ eyes for a host of great qualities that demand their loyalty and respect.”

The book is sub-titled “10 Rules for Building the Killer Brand,” and you would expect perhaps a ho-hum list of laws that simply summarize tried and tested strategies. This book is certainly a cut above the rest. It is written by a highly successful CEO who made an insurance firm, John Hancock, an exciting and audacious (not the cooly professional) company -- that soon led the New York Times to list is as one of the top 100 brands of the 20th century.

The book abounds with soundbites and quotable quotes – not because they bring to you the poetry and majesty of the English language – but because every statement is a wondrous vehicle for a rare insight from a successful CEO, who has made it clear that he tolerates no nonsense, but who extols superior ideas and does not withhold praises for fine business execution.

What makes listening to a CEO a rare treat is that you come face to face -- not with a marketing professional with all the predictable marketing jargon – but with a top honcho who shows the big picture. He “connects” politics with marketing. He unravels the distributors’ ploy to keep you hostage. He exposes some ad agencies’ agenda to keep you spending your advertising dollar (or peso, in our case).

“There’s a sucker born every 30 seconds,” he says of those selling sponsorhip ideas, paraphrasing American circus impresario P.T. Barnum who earlier gave the dictum: “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Don’t get him wrong. D’Alessandro has actually used sponsorships to the hilt – and with great impact on his market share.

D’Alessandro was a hotshot public relations man before he became CEO, and so he uses “brand” when he means “reputation.” In his mind, there is no distinction. A brand, he defines, is “whatever the consumer thinks of when he or she hears your company’s name.” Author Jack Trout would call this “positioning.”

The author minces no words when he declares: “The best brand equals the best product.”

He moves on to cover the ten rules. For example, the first rule, “It’s the Brand, Stupid,” is a take-off from the winning political slogan of Bill Clinton, which ran: “It’s the economy, stupid.” Later in the book, the author illustrates two important branding warfare strategies of, yes, Clinton.

He illustrates the first tactic, “It’s crucial to persuade people to think well of your company before you really need them to,” by citing the “insulated Clinton brand” that has survived the Monica Lewinsky misadventure. In other words, a company, like Clinton, should have a reservoir of goodwill from which to get support when the going gets rough.

The second advice, “Don’t allow your enemies to define you,” is a respected public relations tenet that, in the mind of D’Alessandro, has been elevated as a trusted marketing weapon. He cites the case of Michael Dukakis whose character has been defined for him by antagonist George Bush. The latter won the electoral contest.

Predictably, the author uses his experience as CEO of Hancock and how he made it such a successful brand – and we don’t begrudge him that. After all, reading him is like being with him at the board room – and seeing him tear apart mediocre ideas and hearing him bring out wisdom culled from the battlefield – with laconic lines like: “Brands cannot simply stand still” – and then enumerates for you brand names that have effectively become has-beens.

Readers, meet a consummate CEO, who has victories in the marketplace to earn for himself at least your valuable reading time.

Words capture the pulse and impulse of the times

2001-10-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

“20th Century Words”
By John Ayto
Oxford University Press, 1999

The sub-title of this Oxford book says it all: “The story of the new words in English over the last hundred years.” And the book delivers what it promises. This is not only an enumeration of words that have risen from the horizon at the dawning and conclusion of the 20th century. It is as much an epic of the world – from the viewpoint of the English-speaking world – giving us glimpses of cataclysmic, earthshaking and trendsetting events. In this book, every word coined or that has gained popularity, has its own story to tell.

It is not only a case of lexicographers catching up with reality, the book says, but it is a case of “genuine change in public usage.” Read an interesting account on the initial revulsion over a four-letter word, its usage by famous authors – and then its increasing recognition – if not respectability (?) – proven by its inclusion in dictionaries. In the 60s, a word is called “Standard English” if it was written. Those that remained spoken – at home or in the streets – if they were touched by neither linotype nor offset, were not “standard.”

“Words are a mirror of their times,” the book declares, which adds that the editors recognize that a word exists once it gets printed or published. The proliferation of English words is a concern of 500 million people around the world – 400 million of whom are native English-speaking individuals, while 100 million use English as their second language (that includes us, Filipinos).

The book also gives the reader interesting accounts on words that were taboo or euphemisms. “Fat,” for example was no social stigma in the 19th century; it was, on the contraty, the standard for pulchritude then. Then “fat” became a “monstrous insult” at the close of the 20th century. One euphemism is suggested for “fat”: “circumferentially challenged”!

This Oxford collection, like all other Oxford books, could be the most authoritative source of new words that saw the light in the last century. What adds to its credibility is the structure where every word is shown employed by famous authors — including the day it was born.

For example, “brassiere” came into being in 1909, when it was first used by Vogue magazine. It was abbreviated into “bra” in the 1930s. Then, later in the sixties, we heard the joke that the bra was poised to sue flat-chested Twiggy for “lack of support.”

Another interesting feature in this book is the “conversion” of words – meaning, a noun being used as a verb, citing “garage a car” as an illustration. We have our own “Sinclair it” and our local “Kodak-an taka!”

In 1912, the word “yes-man,” the “man who agrees from self-interest or fear with everything put to him,” came into being. And, we may add, the yes-man has been with us since then. Elevated to virtue, saying yes by yes-men employ this excuse: “You can’t say no to the President.” Then they authorize the transfer of billions of pesos in what was clearly a case of plunder. At least, in recent history, a man surnamed Yasay said no to a former President.

Check out the 1940s, and you will read about words like “pin-up,” first used for Dorothy Lamour by Life, describing her as the “No. 1 pin-up girl of the U.S. Army.” Many more pin-ups later, there was Marilyn Monroe and, locally, there is Joyce Jimenez.

“Fibre optics” emerged into the verbal scene in 1956 (and we thought it was much later!), written up by the Times, which said: “If one beam of light can be transmitted along a glass tube, why not transmit detailed images along the same path?” Robert Kennedy was right: Ask “why not?” – not “why?” That one question has become the mother of inventions many times over.

And do you know when “Pac-Man” intruded into our consciousness? It was 1981, courtesy of a proprietary name of a computer game featuring a voracious blob-shaped character. Well, at home, media have christened one industrialist “Pac-Man” for the same reason.

Finally, in 1994, a fitting parting shot for this review, where did “mwah” come from? The Independent, in 1998 used it with effect: “He is half-Czech, half-Spanish, beautifully groomed, deliciously perfumed, around 60, and a great air-kisser, mwah, mwah!” You got it: the word is a representation of an air kiss. Close to home, a sixty-something Commissioner had no use for air between his lips and a lady commissioner – and so he was jolted by a rebuke: “Ano ba ýan, Lolo!”

Now you know why you shouldn’t miss this collection. The words capture the pulse – and impulse – of the world throughout the century that just came to pass. And, then, without warning, the words inspire you to remember local words and phrases that capture the nation’s temper and tempests. (dantemv@i-next.net)

Magsaysay legacy: A leader’s role is to keep hope alive

2001-10-14T19:38:00.000-07:00

“My Guy, Magsaysay”
by Jess Sison
Full Circle Communications, 2001

William Shakespeare -- in “As You Like It” -- wrote: “All the world’s a stage, / And all men and women merely players: / They have made their exits and entrances.”

Leaders throughout human history are a fascinating study, especially charismatic leaders who would rise to the occasion at a defining moment in a country’s history.

In contemporary history, there is Nelson Mandela, the leader who spent almost half of his lifetime behind bars, but who emerged larger than life, united his people in South Africa, proved the truism that “one man with courage is a majority,” and ended apartheid in his country.

Lech Walesa of Poland, a charismatic labor leader, fired the imagination – not only of workers – but of the entire citizenry, thirsting for democracy and freedom. He articulated the fondest hopes of the Polish people, and the latter rewarded him with the Presidential post.

Close to home, we have, of course, former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino whose lifelong opposition to dictatorship and whose death at the airport tarmac after “a shot that was heard around the world,” inspired the EDSA revolution that ended two decades of dictatorship. But, Ninoy never became President – unlike Mandela and Walesa.

But one Filipino charismatic leader became President, in what many political observers termed a “brief shining moment in the Philippine presidency.” It was all-too-brief because, on December 30, 1953, Ramon Magsaysay became President of the Philippines. On March 17, 1957, this much-loved leader died in a plane crash in Mt. Manunggal, Cebu, abruptly ending a Presidential watch, which has now become the stuff of legends.

The life and times of the late President have been chronicled in our history books, but such accounts only succeed in a caricature of the leader, depicting him on broad strokes or placing him within the backdrop of a specific historical period.

Thankfully, Jess Sison, former press secretary during the Ramos Presidency and my senior in community journalism, dug deep into his treasure chest of stories about Magsaysay and came up with gems and nuggets of stories in his book, “My Guy, Magsaysay.” The author has told these colorful anecdotes on many occasions, but I didn’t realize the stories would cover all of 141 pages in this elegant book.

Magsaysay was a master in image building. The author’s account tells much about the late President’s style: “During the campaign for presidency in 1953, Ramon Magsaysay became famous for jumping over canals. He had pictures every now and then in the newspapers showing him jumping over this or that canal. What people did not know was that, every time he jumped over a canal and the camera did not flash, he would retrace his steps … until the camera flashed.”

Off camera, Magsaysay was his charming self. Sison narrates an account when the President abruptly stopped a five-car Presidential motorcade – and asked the woman tending the store if she had some 7-Up (his favorite drink). There was an instant meeting beside the sari-sari store among wide-eyed barrio folk, hearing the President promising them that the gates of the Presidential palace would be open for them.

Magsaysay the guy truly endeared himself as the “common man’s hero.” One time, narrates the author, the President was speaking before a crowd in Cabanatuan City, and the rain fell. Instantly, someone opened an umbrella for “The Guy,” but he threw it away. A raincoat was offered, but was similarly rejected. And Magsaysay said in Filipino: “Why will I cover myself with a raincoat when you are all soaking wet … If you will get wet, I will also get wet. If you will get sick, I will also get sick like you.” A thunderous ovation followed, the author narrates.

Who wouldn’t fall in love with a leader like that, a natural – not those more recent leaders who only succeed in strutting about as poor copycats?

An analysis from an expert on leadership, Richard Hughes, illuminates Magsaysay’s incredible appeal. He said, “Transformation leaders are charismatic in that they are able to articulate a compelling vision of the future and form strong emotional attachments with followers … they form strong emotional bonds.”

Anecdotes abound from the memory of Jess Sison who, at age 23, was already a close-in reporter of Magsaysay. That explains why the stories have a sense of immediacy. The book is a well-planned and edited piece of literature, starting off with a photo essay and ending with that poignant photo where Magsaysay was tying his shoelace. The caption says it all, gripping our heart:

“A few hours before he died in a plane crash … President Ramon Magsasay ties his shoelace.” I would have added that he was preparing for an appointment with destiny.

If you miss the kind of Presidency that has real mass appeal, not the one contrived by a former actor, this book gives you a personal account of someone who was there while such Presidency was being shaped. The pictures show the young Jess Sison as truly an eyewitness to a leadership that has become legend.

People may debate the substance and style of the Magsaysay Presidency, but no one can dispute that “in one brief shining moment,” Filipinos knew how it felt to be heard, loved and backslapped by a leader who did not only master the art but who truly had the heart for the masses, as Jess Sison puts it.

Some may believe Harry S. Truman, former American President, when he said: “The President is a glorified public relations man, who spends his time flattering, kissing and kicking people to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway”

But those who love Magsaysay, and those who miss his leadership would embrace this statement from John W. Gardner: “A prime function of a leader is to keep hope alive.”

The Shakespearean line ends: “And one man plays his part.” Magsaysay’s part was to show how to keep the flame of hope alive. From this our present leadership must take its lessons.

Mergers and Acquisitions:Be with the winners, not losers

2001-10-07T11:42:00.000-07:00

“Mergers and Acquisitions”
Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business School Press, 2001

Hyphenated names have been punctuating the corporate landscape -- Equitable-PCI, Bristol Myers-Squibb, PLDT-Smart, to name a few – rivalling the prominence of high-powered women executives resisting pressures to drop their maiden names in favor of the husbands’ not so famous appellations.

Reason: The marriage of two corporations – by shotgun or by consent – has not spared even our corporate world. Mergers and acquisitions (you must recognize them when they are abbreviated as “M & A” to be “in”) have actually been going on in key financial and business centers around the world.

Sometimes the two names survive in a “merger of equals.” Other times, one name survives and the other is consigned to oblivion, instantly telling us which management team members march in as conquering heroes and who settle for a “second class citizenship” in what was once their domain.

We read the outcomes of these highly dramatic mergers or acquisitions, — and about boards reorganizing to reflect the entry of the “new centurions.” In more mundane terms, we hear happy stories of friends being catapulted to CEO or COO positions, and hear sad tales of those who lose their plush offices, executive parking slots, executive elevator privileges or – worse, their shirts.

Locally, the high-profile mergers and acquisitions even had the Presidential finger dipped into them, transferring big sums of money to finance the corporate move – which is now the subject of a celebrated plunder case. You ask: Is it possible to have a merger from a purely business standpoint, bereft of politics?

That’s the problem. In the Philippine context, business and politics are hard to extricate one from the other. You, therefore, need – just this once – to detach yourself from the Philippine setting to learn the fundamentals and the finer points of this exciting game.

A book titled “Harvard Business Review on Mergers and Acquisitions” is an excellent piece of literature for you if you want to know any of the following: How to make mergers succeed, how to master the fine art of friendly acquisition, how to evaluate if you are paying too much for an acquisition, how to integrate two cultures in a merged company, how to save a merger that is about to collapse, and how to use the experts in merging, acquiring and integrating.

This is not a textbook on the M&A game, one that has acquired a mystique to business observers and spectators like many of us. This Harvard-published book has steered clear of the jargon that succeeds only in confounding, not enlightening, many of us. After all, we also have every right to know what is happening in boardrooms and golf courses.

Don’t miss the CEO roundtable discussion which features the “acquirers” and the “acquired” – particularly one whose company was acquired by Yahoo! for $3.7 billion; or an insurance firm which made two major acquisitions worth $2.2 billion; or a consulting firm which has made a $6.6 billlion takeover; and many more stories.

One chapter in the book offers some food for thought for acquirers: A “low premium purchase” does not necessarily result in a high return on investment. On the contrary, those who pay a high premium generate high returns, as shown by the book in 20 M&A deals.

Some say that the acquiring team should speak with “one voice.” Some featured CEOs and M&A experts disagree. Robert Aiello and Michael Watkins disagree: “Successful acquirers usually divide their deal team into two or three separate negotiating groups – managers, lawyers and investment bankers.”

The book has qualitative and quantitative analyses on any aspect of the M&A deal, and the you are actualy ushered into their strategic and tactical moves to the last detail. However, lest you come away wondering what the best strategy is, one chapter is wholly devoted to GE Capital. After assimilating more than 100 acquisitions for the past five years alone, GE capital has developed, in the process, a model on how to do it – and succeed.

GE Capital’s four consultants offer four valuable lessons: First, begin the integration process before the deal is signed; second, dedicate a full-time individual to manage the integration process; third, implement any necessary restructuring sooner rather than later; and fourth, integrate not only the business operations but also the corporate cultures.

This book is packed with the best strategies formulated to effect and sustain a successful acquisition. There are usually winners and losers in this game, but some smart acquirers have also achieved a “win-win” situation for the conqueror and the conquered. Whatever the case, make this subject personal: Don’t be caught in a situation where you are the loser. Begin reading this book.

Your role at the workplace is greater than your job description

2001-09-30T23:41:00.000-07:00

“Bringing Your Soul to Work”
by Cheryl Peppers & Alan Briskin
Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc., 2000

I have this artist friend who has a job as executive vice president of a construction-related firm. From nine a.m. to six p.m., he is the perfect engineer who wants every process executed with precision and who makes sure every work component works along a predetermined system.

After six, he rushes home (not to catch the early evening news) to lose himself in his studio. He picks up brush and palette -- and picks up, too -- one other unfinished business: an oil painting on canvas.

I asked him once how he could apply himself with such intensity at work and with equal, if not more, passion at his art studio. His answer was unexpected: “I work here,” he said, pointing to a busy mix of men and machines through his glass window, “so that I can finance my art.”

Another friend gets out of the plush offices of a computer company during lunch breaks -- camera in tow – to photograph the “remaining human elements” (his words) in the concrete jungle – a close-up of a vein-lined leaf, a long shot of a green patch in Makati, or the innocent smile of a streetkid perched on a pushcart. Why does he do it? His reply was as absolutely honest as it was mildly shocking: “By being back to what I most love to do, away from the hustle and bustle of work, I keep my sanity.”

Has the present-day workplace somehow succeeded in sundering soul from body? Has work been deprived of meaning? Has high purpose become incompatible with big business?

A book offers an answer -- and a way of “Bringing Your Soul to Work” which, incidentally, is the book’s title, authored by Cheryl Peppers and Alan Briskin. The book asks: “How do we go beyond simply balancing work and personal life to an approach to living – that has integrity and beauty?”

However, while waiting for the initiatives of corporate organizations toward this end, executives and professionals need to find ways to avoid a workaday chore that seems to tell us to bring your mind and body to work – but leave your soul behind!

The authors first discuss the “inner wilderness of the soul.” The wilderness conjures up a mix of fear and excitement – apprehension over the unknown and thrill over the adventure it offers. This is exactly what the authors want us to feel about our soul at work.

True to their calling as scholars, they make sure “soul” has been properly defined – using several points of view: Greek, Latin, Hindu, Hebrew and some indigenous traditions. The Greeks look at soul as “psyche,” the Romans as “anima,” and the Hebrews as “breath of life.” The authors add that the “Hebrew creation story implies the coming together of divinity and humanity, spirit and body.”

A Ph.D. in professional psychology, Ms. Peppers switches from theology to psychology, saying: “Each of us brings to work a multiplicity of selves.” Explaining contrasting personalities within us, particularly the good and the bad side, she suggests “managing the tension” to bring out the best out of such turbulence.

The authors advise readers to take time reading the book and going through such exercises as keeping a journal – especially as they bring the readers to journey back into their past fears, and travel on into their earnest hopes and fondest dreams for themselves. The book also abounds with stories of conflicts resolved to the fulfillment of the soul at work.

This theme keeps recurring in the book: Be true to yourself at work. Link role with soul. From being lyrical, the authors become practical: They offer six ways to deal with “what pulls us out of our role” – naming them as: criticism, fear, transitions, competing roles, fatigue and loss of purpose.

The book is a well-written piece, rich with psychological, theological and philosophical anchors. Perhaps, that’s what the authors are, in fact, saying: all these truths agree that the soul must be greater than its job description – and must, therefore, find ways to express that “greatness” at the workplace. Unfortunately, the authors say, some people are led to “rejecting a greatness for which they do not wish to be responsible.”

This book insists that you take an inward journey into yourself, and it’s hard to disagree. But, when the book ventures into relegating the battle between good and evil to simply “managing the tension” between positive and negative sides in a two-sided nature, it’s hard to agree. After all, good and evil are irreconcilable forces, and dealing with such mutually exclusive antagonist forces is much more crucial than dealing with quarrelsome sisters inside yourself.

On the whole, however, the book can be quite liberating (if only it liberates itself from subjects that are better left to theologians), especially with these stirring lines from Nelson Mandela, the legendary South African leader: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

The soul at work is powerful beyond measure. This book at least begins the effort to tap such power and, because of that, the book is worthy of one’s precious time – when everyone else is asleep and your soul is suitably stirred.

Narrowing your choices, and making up your mind

2001-09-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

“The Literary Book of Answers”
by Carol Bolt
Hyperion, New York, 2000

“To be or not to be?” That was Hamlet’s question, as he was caught in a dilemma, seeking an answer to an existential question: shall he choose death, or shall he face a “sea of troubles?”

Hamlet’s soliloquy has survived the test of time. Reason: We creatures and actors of the 21st century have become more and more indecisive because we are faced with a lot lot more options. Not only that. Life has become more and more complex.

Joe Griffith, a renowned public speaker in the United States said: “It’s harder to make decisions today than it ever has been. When I was a kid, there was a soda fountain in a drugstore near my house. They only three flavors – vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry. It was easy to decide. Today when I go into an ice cream store, they have ten times more choices, and I have trouble deciding.”

Here at home, in the not so distant past, we had the simple choices of coffee, tea or … me!? And then, it was a choice between instant coffee and brewed coffee. Today, Starbucks or Seattle’s Best keep you standing at the counter deciding brewed or not brewed, short or tall, flavored or not-flavored, hot or cold, caffeinated or decaffeinated, brewed decaf or instant decaf, hot or cold capuccino – and so on with infinite choices of taste and aroma.

The paradox of the times, however, is that decisions have to be made faster now than ever before. Lee Iacocca, the guy who saved Chrysler, makes clear his bias for quck decision-making by making this requirement from his management team: “The qualities than make a good manager is decisiveness.”

“Whenever I make a bum decision, I just go out and make another,” said former U.S. President Harry S. Truman. This was the same man who ordered the bombing of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. You cannot make a bum decision for so huge a consequence. The advice of Robert Townsend of Avis and author of “Up the Organization,” is a safer one: “Make quick decisions on small risks,” especially when you can change your mind afterwards with minimal losses.

Speaking of quick decisions on small risks, the book “The Literary Book of Answers” provides you an enjoyable exercise in decision-making. Running about 600 pages, has one-liners per page to provide you answers to your questions on keeping or losing some thing like love or any other object of desire, buying or selling a thing of value like a car or a dream house, pursuing higher education or “being just where you are.”

Authored by Carol Bolt, who introduces herself in a book as a “professional artist living in Seattle,” suggests a simple exercise to use the book and thus speed up decision-making. Step 1: Hold the closed book in your hand, on your lap, or on a table; step 2: Take 10 or 15 seconds to concentrate on your question. Questions should be phrased closed-end. E.g., “Is the job I am applying for the right one?”. Steps 3 and 4 give you two final procedures.

Executive Read tried this on friends and associates in the office and here are the results: On an executive’s question, “Shall I enroll in a Ph.D. class this semester? – the answer is this: “Is that what you want?” – which is a quote from James Baldwin, author of “Another County.” A man, hooked on toys for the big boys, asked: “Shall I buy a Pajero?” That answer came from James Fenimore Cooper, author of “The Last of Mohicans”: “What is ordered must sooner or later arrive.” (The dreamy-eyed friend just could not disagree!)

A newly-hired executive assistant in the office queried: “Will I have career growth in my new job?” The answer came from Lewis Carroll, author of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”: “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” A senior communication associate whispered a question about an erring beloved: “Will I take him back?” The answer was a riddle from Confucius but definitely made the associate smile: “The way is to be found.”

There is a chance that you don’t want the answer. There’s a chance too when you relish an answer especially when it reinforces a fervent wish. To one nervous question, the answer was clear and unequivocal from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, from the “Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: “Excellent, Watson, Excellent.” Now, you know that this book can be your handy ally when you are getting someone to say yes to your proposition.

Is this book useful at all? The answer to that question is a story on Sigmund Freud, the famous psychoanalyst. Freud and his niece once discussed how difficult it was for some people to make a decision. He said, “I’ll tell you what I tell them. I ask them to toss a coin.”

His niece said, “I can’t believe it. You, a man of science, guided by senseless chance!” Sigmund answered, “I did not say you should follow blindly what the coin tells you. What I want you to do is to note what the coin indicates. Then look into your own reactions. Ask yourself: Am I pleased? Am I disappointed? That will help you to recognize how you really feel about the matter, deep down inside. With that as a basis, you’ll then be ready to make up your mind and come to the right decision.”

Getting literary giants to narrow your choices and help you make up your mind must be better than tossing a coin. You bet?

Words are a potent force to inspire hope, strike terror

2001-09-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

“The Irrepressible Churchill”
Compiled by Kay Halle
Robson Books, 2000 reprint

The tragedy that befell the American people — when two passenger planes crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, when one plane hit and exploded on the Pentagon, and when one other jetliner crashed in the state Pennsylvania — assumed such a depth in human tragedy and such a scale of destruction that officials and reporters admitted that they were at a loss for words.

President George W. Bush read a hastily prepared statement that failed to communicate the severely seared American soul, especially when he called the terrorists “folks”!?. Others used superlatives like “unbelievable,” “the work of madmen,” and the ever-ready label of “terrorists.”

Words were one of the few ways to communicate the shared grief and agony of the entire humankind, the shared fierce tears and anger of the world, and the shared resolve and courage — not only to bring justice and quick retribution but also to rebuild one’s hope and faith with one another.

How we wish we had someone during these times who could rally the troops to fight a common enemy; one who, with words like “with blood, sweat and tears,” could unite an entire nation to resist the invaders; and who, when one battle was won, could draw from his magnificent arsenal of words and thus declare: “This was their finest hour.”

I am referring to the inimitable Winston Churchill, whom the book calls “The Irrepressible Churchill.” There was no television then, no CNN to capture his sound bites and his smirk. He used an old-fashioned radio technology, and — with his booming voice dominating the stutter of guns, roar of fighter planes and endless siren sound — he succeeded in steeling the resolve of nations to win a catastrophic war.

This book (bought in Bangkok a few months ago), written by journalist Kay Halle, who tracked down Churchill for 30 years, shows that Churchill already had the gift of gab and wit early in life – serving him in good stead throughout his tumultuous but no less heroic career.

Some samplers of Churchill’s admirable turn of phrase abound in this rare book (you must check Amazon.com for it, and it’s well worth the web surfing, if I may add).

The wit of Churchill was demonstrated in this famous exchange with American-born Nancy, Lady Astor, when both were weekend guests at Blenheim.
Lady Astor said: “Winston, if I were your wife I’d put poison in your coffee.” And the famous Churchillian reply was classic: “If I were your husband, Nancy, I’d take it.”

Churchill usually always had the last word in any argument. For example, when a former officer of the Admiralty, Lord Charles Beresford, criticized Churchill, he didn’t escape the wordsmith’s acid tongue: “He (Beresford) can best be described as one of those orators who, before they get up, do not know what they are going to say; when they are speaking, do not know what they are saying; and when they have sat down, do not know what they have said.”

On his war rhetoric, the book has a lot to offer the readers. This one quote should be lesson on strategy, when Churchill commented on navy estimates on both sides. He said:

“The offensive power of modern battleships is out of all proportion to their defensive power… If you want to make a true picture in your mind of a battle between great modern ironclad ships, you must not think of it as if it were two men in armour striking at each other with heavy swords. It is more like a battle between two egg-shells striking each other with hammers … The importance of hitting first, and hitting hardest and keeping on hitting … really needs no clearer proof.” (Hear ye, anti-terrorist force!)

Churchill, in fact, has something to say about the value of an aggrieved country to respond from a high moral ground and a sense of righteous indignation, if I may add:
“Moral force is, unhappily, no substitute for armed force, but it is a very great reinforcement.” In another quote, he says: “In war, you don’t have to be nice – you only have to be right.”

His advice about dealing with the Germans then could be useful to those hunting the perpetrators of the airline crashes. He is quoted thus in the book: “Those who fight the Germans fight a stubborn and resourceful foe, a foe in every way worthy of the doom prepared for him.” Substitute the names, and you’ve got a contemporary thought, especially for those driven by fanaticism. In fact, our wordsmith defines “fanatic” as “one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.”

And, if America does go to war, she must be driven by another quotable quote from Churchill: “If we win, nobody will care. If we lose, there will be nobody to care.”
This is the strategic equivalent of the advice I knew since childhood which I now paraphrase: “Win and the world wins with you; lose and you lose alone.”

God bless America, everyone now says, and we join the world wholeheartedly. The words of support came even from known critics if not enemies. But allies America needs right now. And this quote is timely, when Churchill spoke about England’s ally — France:

“There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies, and that is fighting without them.”

The entire world now views the American people with a new eye. There is admiration for their selflessness, their readiness to close ranks — the calm with which they pick up the pieces and the steely resolve to hunt the terrorists. Churchill began doubting Americans, but actually gave allowance for their courage and determination. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the announcement that the U.S. was entering World War II, Churchill had grudging admiration for Americans after all:

“Silly people and there were many … might discount the force of the United States. Some said they were soft, others that they would never be united. They would fool around at a distance. They would never come to grips. They would never stand blood letting. They would be just a vague blurr on the horizon to friend and foe. Now we should see the weakness of this numerous but remote, wealthy, and talkative people. But I had studied the American Civil War … American blood flowed in my veins.”

This book has an abundance of quotes and background of these in the checkered life of this great man. The book, according to “The Times,” is one “to brighten the dullest moments.” Actually it is also meant to brighten one’s hope wherever it is needed.

To his dying day, Churchill was his witty self. The book says: “As he lay dying in the darkened room of a London House at 8 Hyde Park Gate, he said about life: “I am bored with it all.” He quickly added with, maybe, his last breath: “But the journey has been enjoyable and worth making — once!” If you are at a loss for words, check out Winston Churchill. He had the witty words and the eloquent phrases all his irrepressible life.

Timeless, practical principles in a dynamic workplace

2001-09-09T19:25:00.000-07:00

“The Wisdom of Solomon at Work”
By Charles C. Manz, et al
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2001

One remarkable thing is happening in the workplace even in this much bandied about century characterized by speed and frenzied change: The concept of “soul” is reclaiming an area once reserved for revenue generation and profit making. Suddenly, the concrete corporate jungle is now seen as a “living” organism, having a life of its own, influencing the people in it even as the people are in turn giving it “soul.”

Another remarkable trend has been noted. Graduate management schools are churning more and more books that go back to antiquity, retrace the “ancient paths,” and cull from such a journey timeless principles that will confer meaning to an increasingly absurd existence and offer principles that truly keep your body and soul together – in a much deeper sense.

A supreme irony has been noted in this age of high-speed technology: in the midst of an explosion of information, there is very limited understanding; in an age that has put knowledge on a pedestal, there is no wisdom; in a century full of techniques, principles have become elusive.

The book “Wisdom of Solomon at Work” is a noteworthy attempt to distill life and work principles from the lives, words and insights of five known characters of the Hebrew Bible – or the Old Testament as is commonly known to us. And lest you suspect that the viewpoint caters to one form of religion, the authors are quick to add that all four of them represent a religious heritage in the Jewish, Catholic and Protestant traditions – all of which trace their roots to Hebrew.

“The Wisdom of Solomon is a holistic perspective that moves us toward a sense of personal integrity where we desire to boldly act out of a set of beliefs and values regardless of the situation in which we find ourselves,” the authors say, adding that “struggle, challenge, and change are at the core of our wisdom perspective.”

The book chose five Biblical characters with pronounced virtues; faith for Job, courage for David, compassion for Ruth, integrity and justice for Moses, and wisdom for Solomon. The authors add that the virtues are “interactive” – one virtue building on another. To summarize, they say: “Faith can establish the courage to act with compassion.”

Of course, the principles are not as neat as that – because the authors presented the five Biblical characters as “flesh-and-blood,” not convenient caricatures. In other words, they are not saints, only forgiven.

The obvious event to demonstrate David’s courage was his encounter with Goliath, but the authors have chosen to zero in on the Israelite king’s “deeper courage when he faced his own mistakes.” It was David who took a woman who was someone else’s wife, tried many cover-ups to hide his secret sin when Batsheba said “I was pregnant” – and, when everything else failed, he sent Batsheba’s real husband to the frontline and thus die in raging battle. (Our Senate committee hearings discuss cover-up attempts, hidden bank accounts, destroying the evidence and summary executions. Alas, nothing has changed!)

The book has gone even further, as it encourages top executives “to incorporate wisdom into our personal and work lives,” by going through a three-step process: recognize, reconcile and reconstruct.

It was convenient in the past to maintain a dichotomy between “business realities” and “ethics born of ancient Biblical principles.” The book wants the readers to think through the tension and, perhaps, find a common ground. The authors recommend carrying a “spiritual backpack.”

What is inside this “backpack.” It must contain, they say, a mix of stories, legends, and ethical principles from our religious/ethical heritage” that should be handy to the executive when faced with choices and decisions.

You ask: Aren’t spiritual issues passé in a secular world governed by business principles, corporate culture and the world’s best practices? The authors reply: “Spiritual issues are central to the challenges of worklife… Our vast cultural and technological change has moved us to seek sources of social stability, meaning, and purpose.”

Efficiency and productivity – the gods of commerce – could result from effective organizational structures and judicious data analysis; “but spirit and meaning,” if you believe the book, “can often spell the difference between an organization that thrives and one that merely exists.”

DZFE, the only classic station in the Philippines, has been successful because it appeals to hard-nosed businessmen by bringing to its listeners the “finer things in life” – appropriately called the “The Master’s Touch.” This book somehow falls under the category of offering you something finer and deeper – and, yes, rare.

Superstardom: a lesson on destiny, and destinations

2001-08-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

“Secrets of Superstar Speakers”
By Lilly Walters
McGraw-Hill, 2000

What do Anita Roddick, Vince Lombardi, Jack Canfield, Les Brown, Deepak Chopra, Zig Ziglar, Norman Vincent Peale, Stephen Covey, et al, have in common?

They share the distinction of being “superstar speakers” in the United States. These are the much sought after motivational speakers, according to Lilly Walters, author of “Secrets fo Superstar Speakers” – subtitled “Wisdom from the Greatest Motivators of Our Time.”

And they are the 19 speakers from among 79 speakers chosen by 4,000 other speakers, meeting planners and press people who were asked the question who the greatest motivational speaker is.

The names of John F. Kennedy, Billy Graham, Mario Cuomo, and Ronald Reagan were also chosen – but whose lives and styles are not discussed in the book. The author, however, promised to feature more of them in a second volume. (That’s a promise, not a threat!)

The 19 featured speakers have one thing in common: They have acquired celebrity status as speakers and authors – not necessarily in that order – because they are able “to connect” with their audience or readers. Thus, their books bring more invitations for speaking engagements (where they are paid handsome fees), and such speaking tours become veritable platforms for making a sales pitch each time for their books.

Yes, as the book engagingly narrates, these celebrities have begun their speaking career rather modestly, if not inauspiciously. They had their “turning points” – which are as diverse as their humble beginnings. And from such experiences and Damascus-like encounters with compelling truths, these superstars started their steady if not phenomenal climb to superstardom.

And motivators as they are, they are generous with gems of thought – the author call them collectively as “wisdom” – which abound in the book. And these pieces do not only tell the readers how they succeeded, but also how “they stay motivated”.

Vince Lombardi, the famous coach better known for the quote, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing,” says of success: “You must pay the price to win, and you have to pay the price to get to the point where success is possible. Most important, you must pay the price to stay there.”

One more thing that characterizes these speakers, Ms. Walters says, is their humility. “True greatness lies in humility,” she points out. And she quotes Earl Nightingale, the popularizer of self-improvement audio programs, to illuminate her point: “The more I study, the more I read and the more I learn, the less certain I am of what I know. I stunned an audience once by telling them, ‘The only thing I know for certain is that I don’t know anything for certain.”

The way these speakers deal with criticisms and rejection is about the same: they don’t let negative thoughts come in the way. Mark Victor Hansen, famous co-author of “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” says: “When they say ‘no’, just say ‘next’.” Hansen advises that we must “reject the rejection.” This is believable coming from someone who had earlier received several rejection slips from 33 publishers!

As for how they succeed in their speeches, one other thing unites them with one quality: passion in their speeches. And his passion and intensity spring from how they relate to “real life” – which has the greatest appeal to listeners in a survey conducted by the author.

“Get to what you are passionate about,” Ms. Walters says. Ask “what gets your soul soaring,” she adds. And then she relates the respective passions of Anita Roddick, founder of Body Shop and famous environmentalist, and Zig Ziglar, a confessed evangelical Christian who she says violated one cardinal principle in public speaking – which is: “Do not bring your religion on the platform.”

Actually, it was not religion that catapulted Ziglar to celebrity heights; it was his sincerity, the book clarifies. “People are willing to grant you your belief if you are authentic.” You must believe in what you are speaking. “Touch your own heart first,” the author declares.

From such premise, the speaker must have a favorite theme – and thus audiences and readers can identify themes with speakers. Ms. Walters cited the famous speech of Winston Chruchill – which began: “We shall not flag or faill … We shall go on to the end .. We shall fight on the beaches … We shall fight on the landing grounds …”

Those who prepare lengthy speeches must listen to this advice from the book: “On the average, they remember 10 percent from a talk. So take control. Decide what you want them to remember. As for Churchill, his last sentence is unforgettable: “This was their finest hour.”

The book offers the reader the finest moments with these superstar speakers. More important, it challenges us to find out for ourselves what our passion is and fires our soul. This is not just a how-to book. It is one that drives you inside your soul and makes your heart miss a beat. What you find inside must so astonish you that you are close to your own “turning point.”

A speech worth delivering, is worth writing well

2001-08-19T19:19:00.000-07:00

“The Lost Art of the Great Speech”
By Richard Dowis
AMACOM, 2000

The debate continues. Should a speech be written? Or should it be delivered extemporaneously?

I have friends and associates who work earnestly with their speechwriters for a well-crafted speech. But I also have friends who insist on “speaking from the heart” with the aid of neither cue cards nor manuscript. And both categories of friends are successful executives – because both communicate – and lead – well. So, how is the issue resolved?

I have my own thoughts, but I would rather ask Richard Dowis, president of the 2,000-member Society for the Preservation of English Language and Literature (SPELL), to settle the issue. He is also the author of “The Lost Art of the Great Speech,” sub-titled: “How to Write One. How to Deliver It.”

Dowis speaks: “A well-written speech is a disciplined speech. It doesn’t ramble. It gets to the point. It fits the allotted time. It contains no superfluous detail, but it doesn’t leave out anything important.”

And he continues to extol the process of writing: “Writing – writing anything – is just about the best discipline I know of. Simply stated, writing makes you think… Writing forces you to think in specifics. Just putting your thoughts on paper in a sort of stream of consciousness might be a useful way to get started, but it’s not writing. Writing is the application of discipline to creativity.”

This two-paragraph declaration of a speechwritier, former journalist and senior vice president of Manning Selvage & Lee Public Relations, is the best reminder to public speakers to insist on a well-written speech. After all, writing and delivering it is an art. Thus the title of the book acquires more significance.

And comparing it with another art form – filmmaking – is appropriate. Dowis points out: “Writing a speech is a lot like making a movie. Much of the footage that’s shot ends up on the cutting-room floor. The result is fast-paced, entertaining picture that holds the attention of the audience from beginning to end.”

Dowis aptly closes the debate with this line delivered with authority: “That’s what you want the speech to do.” And the author proceeds to instruct us – present and aspiring speakers as well as speechwriters – on the fundamentals, then the secrets, and the refinements of coming up with a “great speech.”

Executive Read earlier reviewed two books on public speaking – Peggy Noonan’s “Speaking Well,” and Reid Buckley’s “Strictly Speaking.” Ms. Noonan gave valuable insights as speechwriter of Ronald Reagan – but went no further to include other speakers. Mr. Buckley gave tips – some sensible, others outrageous – and most definitely as useful as a menu of choices fit for several occasions.

Dowis, revealing himself in his many anecdotes in the book as speechwriter and counselor to several CEOs, has put together a comprehensive, well-argued and richly organized bible for speechwriters (who must continually hone their rare skills, and public speakers (who must, from now on, require their wordsmiths to read – and take to heart -- Dowis’s book).

All seven chapters are a treasure trove of principles on speech writing. Somehow, you feel that you are being given an interesting and riveting refresher course on the art of writing – using a good beginning, employing figures of speech like metaphors and hyperbole, and bringing a piece to a stirring conclusion.

The difference, however, is that the author has primed us up to have a great speech in mind. And he makes sure we don’t forget that, because, aside from the main body of the book, he treats us to the world’s great speeches and boxed items called “Podium Presence” -- some timely tips to master the stage.

That makes the book a joy to read. Just when you have a surfeit of his lectures, he refreshes you with wisely chosen speeches from well-known pieces from Lincoln, Churchill and Kennedy, to less known but equally great speeches of Adlai Stevenson and Nelson Mandela.

The author also lets us into the inner chambers of speechwriters like Ted Sorensen of Kennedy, citing the productive partnership between writer and speaker.
In a chapter titled “Wisdom of the Ages,” the author reveals that the passage … “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country …” is antedated by lesser known and less eloquently expressed versions from Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes and Warren Harding.

Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death,” a master in antithesis, is compared with Greek poet Aeschylus’s “Better to die on your feet than live on your knees.” Compare that to Apostle Paul’s declaration: “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” The secrets of the pros are revealed by the author in one chapter – bringing you into the workshop of the best wordsmiths -- using anaphora, analogy, surprise, etc.

This book gives us a rare encounter with the world’s great speeches and how they are crafted by the finest wordsmiths. Are great speeches a thing of the past? Katherine Hepburn once sighed upon seeing the late John Wayne, magnificent on horseback: “They ain’t made like him anymore.” Before we say of great speeches, “They ain’t made like them anymore,” learn from this book.

‘Living the brand’ is easier said than done

2001-08-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

“Brand Manners”
By Hamish Pringle and William Gordon
John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

I checked the balance in my credit card the other day with one of the biggest banks in the world. An answering machine gave me a series of instructions: press one … press two … or wait for the operator. I sighed with the cashier who was nervously waiting for the confirmation: “Is there a way to be free from answering machines? Where have all the telephone receptionists gone?”

Previously, it was my secretary who had been making the request for updating. My first encounter with an impersonal bank was actually serendipitous: I was reading a book, which warns against creating a “corporate distance” between company and customer. And this global bank was actually being distant from one customer it once courted without even trying. The bank is not alone.

Many companies here have joined the bandwagon in installing these answering machines who have effectively alienated them from their customers. And who, may I add, have belied their pronouncements about their customer-friendliness.

The book, interestingly titled “Brand Manners,” is a wake-up call to big – and even small – companies to make sure their organizations truly live up to the promise of the brand, their ads and their public relations positioning.

Sub-titled “how to create the self-confident organization to live the brand,” the book provides valuable advice to CEOs and marketing directors who continue to face the unwanted prospect “over-promising and under-delivering,” to use a phrase that’s been going around pointing to the all-too-familiar failure to deliver on their promises.

The authors – Hamish Pringle (director of Brand Beliefs Ltd) and William Gordon (strategy partner with Accenture, formerly Andersen Consulting) – put together a wealth of concepts and “to-do” guides that will enable corporations behind the brands to make it easy on management and employees to live up to the customer expectations they themselves have created.

The usual way was to install a “command and control” strategy to make sure the entire organization is primed for being “customer-driven.” However, such a strategy, externally applied to pressed from above, depends solely on “cascading” the CEO’s commitment to the customer. And, more often than not, the enthusiasm or passion peters out through layers and layers of the organization.

“No matter how good the work behind brand positioning, marketing and communication, a reputation can be ruined by a poor interaction between a customer and a brand representative,” the authors say.

“What is needed is a self-confident organization,” the book declares, one that has in its corporate culture a desire to please the customer and exceed his/her expectations.

Terry Leahy, CEO of Tesco in the United Kingdom (whose firm is presented as a success story in the book) underscored some fundamentals that, as Robert Fulghum would say, “we learned in kindergarten”: “There can be a huge improvement in business performance by applying the incredibly simple principle that good manners – good conduct, good behaviour – motivate everyone.”

The book offers a treasure trove of tables, illustrations and cartoons that either make the principles easy to understand or make a point unforgettable. Don’t miss this cartoon, titled “Phone Therapy” that provides a reductio ad absurdum some companies’ fetish for answering machines. A distraught caller, phone handset on his left hand hears a voice from the machine which says:

“Hello … This is the Police. If you are being attacked from behind by a mad axe-murderer, press ‘One’…”

The book has promised to deliver key concepts on enabling your organization to live up to its brand promise. It has done its part providing a single-minded approach to equipping your people from to CEO to the front-line employees for such a worthy goal. Your part is to read the book, page by page, illustration by illustration.

Living the brand is easier said than done. This book shows that it can be done – and how!

Yield not your mind to ‘group think’ and be free to make rational choices

2001-08-05T02:01:00.000-07:00

“Getting What You Want”
Robert J. Ringer
G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2000

In the late 70s, corporation watchers and socio-political scientists were saying that a person would soon lose his individuality – because he would become an “organization man”. He would be faceless, his character subsumed under the corporate jungle, his choices limited by the goals assigned to him by the organization – and his life controlled by the “Firm” from cradle to grave.

Instead of accepting the inevitability of the individual melting into anonymity in the ocean of collective structure or corporate thought, more perceptive thinkers reasserted man’s primordial right to be distinct individually, as they cited the dangers of developing “herd mentality.”

Philosopher Eric Hoffer, in his book “True Believer,” gave a ringing rebuke to the fashion at the time to elevate to the pedestal the man who was willing to submit himself to the collective, when Marxism was fashionable and capitalism a bad word.

Another philosopher, Erich Fromm, lamented the all-too-easy abandonment of rational and individual thinking in his book, “Escape from Freedom.” He said people were willing to surrender their minds to their leaders, because “freedom carries with it the terrifying responsibility” to think for one’s self and to face the consequences of one’s own decision.

History has shown that when the majority of people allowed their rulers to direct their own destiny in mindless submission, disastrous results followed – bringing about the Holocaust of Hitler, the Monstrosity of Idi Amin, the Killing Fields of Pol Pot, to name a few.

It is really far easier to ask someone else to think for you. If something goes wrong or a business deal sours, you have someone to blame. This is exactly what “Getting What You Want” is advising against. Author Robert J. Ringer has crafted “The 7 Principles of Rational Living” for you, people, so that you would be “getting what you want in life, whether it be friendship, love, money, respect, or just about anything else that you believe will make you happy.”

Ringer -- the author of “Winning Through Intimidation” and “Looking Out for # 1” decades ago – has written what could be the lasting legacy of his well-argued points on his one formula: rational living.

Obviously acquiring a philosopher’s depth and broad-mindedness with advancing years, Ringer says that “you have a moral right to do what is in your best interest, provided you do not commit aggression against others.”

The seven principles he proposes somehow summarize everything needed for individual and community life. For example, Principle # 1 recommends: “Base your actions on truth.” Before dealing with “scientific truth” and “secular truth,” Ringer (whose religion is not revealed in the book) endears himself to “creationists” when he takes the bull by the horns and throws himself in the middle of the debate between the hotly contending theorists on “creation” versus “evolution.”

In an illuminating paragraph, he argues: “As I rhetorically asked my atheist friend, given that you are infinitely more complex than one line of a book, what are the odds that you accidentally, with all your billions of precise, specialized cells, evolved from rocks and dirt over a period of a few billion years?”

If you think that short paragraph gives you an idea about the compelling logic and lucid thinking of the author, you have just begun with the book because, as you read on, you pick up more gems of thought and well-argued points along the way. Liberating is Principle # 4: “Avoid those who drain your personal resources.” If you just cannot say no to a friend who clings to you in utter dependence for every need, this section tells you how to avoid “people taxes,” and “friends” who keep “taxing” you.

Refreshing and edifying is Principle # 3: “Make choices with civility, dignity, honesty, and humility.” Move over Confucius; ring the bell for Ringer! “Dignity is a rare commodity in our bizarre, modern-day world,” he points out. He cites the example of “talk shows that feature tragic people who emotionally and psychologically disrobe themselves in public while sharing their most intimate thoughts with millions of strangers.”

One is reminded of truly pathetic scenes on television of sex sirens making public their private desires and otherwise decent actors disclosing their all-too-intimate thoughts of loneliness and questings after pleasure following a failed marriage.

Ridding yourself of major encumbrances and acting rationally, not on impulse, are two other principles that are elaborated on by Ringer. “People feel imprisoned by many responsibilities,” the author says, who adds: “There is no such thing as a happy slave. If you’re not free to pursue your dreams and achieve your goals, you are, metaphorically speaking, a slave.” “Act now, regret later” is an advice heartily embraced by a people known for the “bahala na” attitude. The book advises otherwise with a witty blurb: “Curiosity may have killed the cat, but so did impulsive actions.”

One theme runs through the entire book: Don’t be easily swayed by what’s fashionable or socially acceptable. Check the truth that underlies it, your values about what’s good and what’s best for you. Then freely make a choice. “An unexamined life is not worth living,” a philosopher declared centuries ago.” This book gives seven principles by which you conduct such a life- or career-changing examination.

The K.I.S.S. principle wields magic on management, leadership issues

2001-07-22T01:48:00.000-07:00

“The Power of Simplicity”
by Jack Trout with Steve Rivkin
McGraw-Hill, 1999

The K.I.S.S. Principle, as most of us probably know by know, is a curt reminder to “keep it simple, stupid.” No offense meant, but it is also a frank advice – for public speakers – to “keep it short” – the speech, that is.

“Simplicity is beauty” – as we learned in grade school – has been elevated to “simplicity is power”. To rhetoricians, there is power in the simplest words carrying distilled wisdom. To chess grandmasters, there is force in simplifying the strategy that penetrates the opponents’ ranks. To generals, there is invincibility in simply marshaled troops. To scientists like Albert Einstein, there is compelling truth in a theory reduced to a simple formula. To preachers, there is might in the simplest truths of Jesus’ parables.

And, allow us to add, to author Jack Trout and co-author Steve Rivkin, there is power in cutting through the nonsense of complexity in business – because that means doing things right. Extolling the virtues of simplicity, they practice what they preach in a simply designed book titled “The Power of Simplicity.”

Tackling 23 issues covering the basics of simplicity, management strategies, leadership principles and people matters – the book proves that it can be a tour de force, minus the forced effort of reading through a voluminous piece. Why? Because in only 191 pages, the authors lead the reader to every conceivable issue an executive must grapple with to succeed in business.

The book begins with wit and wisdom associated with “common sense” – which has become uncommon – and with “complex language.”

Taking off from Leonardo da Vinci’s views of common sense, the authors call it “supersense that rides herd over our other senses.” For example, they say, common sense dictates that Xerox should not venture into high technology businesses other than copiers – because it has made a name in the copying business. For not listening to this uncommon quality, Xerox lost a lot of time and money.

The section on language that “clouds people’s minds” is a joy to read, especially with translations of famous sayings. Consider this: “It is not efficacious to indoctrinate a superannuated canine with innovative maneuvers.” (You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.) What about this: “Visible vapors that issue from carbonaceous materials are a harbinger of imminent conflagration.” (Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.)

Touche’, Mr. Trout – you have made your point. We hate to say it, but many of our reports and memos really use such convoluted language.

The authors continue to target some business icons and dash to pieces their theories and diagrams simply because they are full of intersecting arrows, boxes and circles. They take to task Michael Porter, Harvard’s strategy guru, and his complex discussion of the five competitive forces – and offer their own recommendation couched in a single word: positioning.

They question Nike’s “Just do it” slogan, and volunteer the line “what the best athletes in the world wear.” It makes rational sense, but does it have “gut appeal”? The authors recommend: “Kill the frogs” in Budweiser’s ad; instead stress the heritage behind the Budweiser brand.

The authors tell the gurus, “Give us a break.” We reply, “O come on!” We may have a case of simplicity going too far.

But, as you move on, you will continue to agree with the authors’ insightful analysis. On companies’ customer orientation, Trout and Rivkin say that too much lip service is paid to such policies as “customer is always right” and “customer is king”.

They reveal that, in a survey by Inc. Magazine among CEOs of 500 fastest-rising companies about their concerns, the responses showed that CEOs are more concerned with competitive strategies (18%), managing people (17%), keeping up with technology (13%), managing growth (13%) and managing finances (12%). Asserting that “customers did not even make the list,” they volunteer this simple customer policy: “You should treat customers so they (1) buy more, and (2) complain less,” adding, “Make them feel smart about being your customers.”

You will find yourself agreeing with the authors on some points, and then disagreeing with them especially when they demolish the theories of your favorite management experts. To be fair, the authors reserve their highest praise for author Peter Drucker and CEOs like Jack Welch and Andy Grove. The rest are not so lucky.

Actually, simplicity makes for user-friendliness. The authors cite the success story of the Palm Pilot Organizer, which was designed for just a few simple functions, making it a companion to PCs – not a replacement. They quote 3Com’s palm division: “Our mantra is simplicity.”
Business can be complex at times, and the mantra of simplicity may not work all the time. But, there may also be times when you can’t steer clear of the maze confronting you. And you need a distilled insight with razor-sharp focus to cut through a web of options. Then you know first hand the power of K.I.S.S.

Can we ever have the nation we want? UP's best minds predict when and how

2001-07-15T01:45:00.000-07:00

“The Philippines Into the 21st Century”
By Jose V. Abueva (General Editor), et al
University of the Philippines Press

In one breath, with a palpable sense of despair, we ask: Can we ever get out of the mess our country is in? But, in another breath, proving that hope truly springs eternal from the Filipino heart, we earnestly seek an answer to the question: When can we have the nation we want?

Is finally having a better Philippines a simple matter of when, or a problematic matter of if ? Can we finally tear ourselves away from the vicious cycle of rising and falling expectations and from the seesaw between peace and conflict? Can we finally have choices beyond the unacceptable extremes of systematic authoritarianism, on one hand, and a bungling democracy, on the other?

Can we have real economic prosperity that truly deals with the plight of the poor, and not a prosperity that makes the rich richer and the poor poorer? Can we ever get out of the predicament of a flawed free society, to paraphrase a former American President, that “cannot help the many who are poor, (and therefore) cannot save the few who are rich?” Can we be spared forever from a leader who promotes a class war – wooing the poor and wishing woes for the rich?

While abroad, when can we be spared from the bad news of banditry and economic plunder, and instead be treated to the good news of heroism and economic growth in our country -- and so be touched by a sense of national pride?

Closer to the gut, we query: When can people go to bed without pangs of hunger? When can children have a life of fun and a secure future, and not a life of scavenging in the stench and squalor of a mountain-size garbage heap? When can farmers truly enjoy the fruits of their produce and fishermen get substantial earnings for their day’s catch – enough for their daily bread and some extra to secure a future?

The authors of the book, “The Philippines Into the 21st Century,” conclude – after exhaustive evaluation and rigorous analysis – that the Philippines is in for a full flowering of socio-cultural, economic and political institutions that will result in a brighter future for Filipinos by the year 2025 at the latest. At the concluding part of the 216-page book, they give this forecast:

“The chances look good for the consolidation of Filipino democracy. The nation’s cumulative democratic experience, including the recent and phenomenal expansion and strengthening of citizens’ organizations in civil society, helps in the rebuilding and institutionalization of democracy… Progress in economic and social development, if sustained is conducive to democratic consolidation. The global democratic revolution provides it with a favorable external environment.”

That’s not a sound bite, I know. It’s a mouthful. And yet it is the one passage that captures the message of the entire book, which is sub-titled: “Future Scenarios for Governance, Democracy and Development, 1998-2025.” And, more important, it is a statement that concludes an exhaustive multidisciplinary study about a huge subject like the entire country and about the longest road ahead of us called the “future.”

This is not your kind of book when you curl up in bed on a rainy day to get small doses of homespun wisdom or handy anecdotes. But this is a book that you must read, if you are in search for answers about the future of our country. For so long, we have been treated to viewpoints and opinions dished out so casually and so recklessly – and we therefore take their opinions with a grain of salt.

This book changes all that. The conclusions about where we as a nation are going and in what shape – plus in what possible dates -- are arrived at by 50 scholars and experts -- based on assiduously researched data, well-thought out premises, rigorously analyzed viewpoints, objectively tested findings, and systematically arrived at scenarios. We come away more confident that we have been given a road map for the future, and we are told that some of us are at the driver’s seat – and we must do our job well.

Be patient as you wade through the robust, if not clinical — but occasionally inspired — language of scholars, often stripped to the bare essentials of communicating fact and truth – because, along the way, you will encounter interesting questions as: Shall we shift from a Presidential to a Parliamentary form of government? Is it true that among 39 countries evaluated for student achievement in science and mathematics, the Philippines ranks 39th? You will invariably get informed answers.

You will have to be prepared for a rare encounter with the collective thought of the experts — top-notch academicians or high ranking government officials (past and present) — or both. You may start with the integrative framework at the beginning to encourage you. Then jump to the concluding notes that are punctuated by tables that, at one glance, tell you at what year we can achieve the best for the Philippines in nationhood, democracy, rule of law, health, etc. Then, make a reckoning that by 2019 or 2025, you would still be alive by then to savor the bright prospects.

In the same concluding notes, the authors reserve their best shot in a fitting clincher which focuses on the future leaders of the country, proposing five job qualifications -- covering competence, respect for human dignity, imbued with a vision, emphasis on character formation and commitment to preparing future leaders for orderly succession. Did our previous Presidents qualify? Check the book out on its evaluation of the watch of Marcos, Aquino and Ramos. Joseph Estrada’s all-too-brief stint was not included in the study.

And yet this concluding paragraph might as well be a timely reminder for the current President and for future Presidents:

“As history’s good and effective leaders have shown the world, only a few of them were saints; they were simply humans who emulated the best and tried always to aim high, to learn, and to transcend themselves. For they truly cared for the people under their responsibility. No less will be expected of the Filipino political-administrative leader in the 21st century.”
As for you, dear reader, if you care enough about whether we will ever get the nation we want, tap the rarely untapped critical mind in you, and be ready to discuss our common future with the best minds in this book.

Eloquence: Not a monopoly of the high and the mighty

2001-07-08T01:43:00.000-07:00

“In Our Own Words”
By Senator Robert Torricelli
and Andrew Carroll
Washington Square Press, 2000

Extraordinary thoughts and eloquent words are not a monopoly of the famous and the powerful. Unforgettable statements and speeches also come from the lips of ordinary people – if not more so – because these are spontaneous, are authentic expressions from life in the raw, or are surprisingly illuminating cutting through layers of formality or falsehood.

Who can forget Emma Lim, the cool and collected witness at the impeachment trial of the former President. Initially looking like a frightened chick under the shadow of a so-called legal eagle preparing his menacing claws and flamboyantly displaying his verbal tricks to trap her, Ms. Lim countered with words that are now part of the Philippines’ famous sayings: “Iniinom po ang iced tea, your Honor, hindi po kinakain.” It was an unintended repartee that left the famous law professor dumbfounded. The credibility of the witness was established by whether tea is drunk or eaten!

Or, three decades ago, a television personality – probably unaware that he was subjecting a favorite Martial Law slogan to ridicule – said: “Sa ikauunlad ng bayan, bisikleta ang kailangan,” a parody of the much-hyped “Sa ikauunlad ng bayan, disiplina ang kailangan. The comedian was thrown behind bars, but his words rang out, because it exposed the sheer hypocrisy behind the new society battlecry.

Many books of quotations and speeches include in their anthologies pieces only from the rich, famous, infamous and the powerful. And most of these are politicians, statesmen, celebrities, infamous gangsters – but never words from those we usually call “ordinary people.”

That’s why this book, “In Our Own Words” – subtitled “Extraordinary Speeches of the American Century” – is a refreshing exception and truly a treasure. A collection of 150 speeches, the book at times present speeches in pairs. For example, in the celebrated case of sexual harassment against Judge Clarence Thomas, the book features both the Judge’s defense and the chronology of Anita Hill detailing the advances of the accused.
The vision of the future of 11-year old Samantha Smith’s follows a great speech of United Nations Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick excoriating the Soviet Union for shooting down a passenger plane. A rare collection is the tandem of versions of former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s apology for his “improper relationship” with Monica Lewinsky – the first is the original draft, the second is the speech Clinton ultimately read. You will note the hazards of spontaneity and the extreme caution of Clinton’s masters of double talk.

The watchers of Hillary Rodham-Clinton -- erstwhile U.S. First Lady, now Senator – will now be convinced that this feisty lady had the guts even early in life when, in 1969, she took issue with the commencement speaker, a Senator from Massachusetts, on the themes of integrity, trust and respect. One’s admiration for Hillary’s mind and courage will increase as one reads her extemporaneous speech.

This collection captures the varied moods of every decade. For example, on the same year Hillary rebuked the commencement speaker, the first man landed on the moon and we have the pre-landing Christmas message from the crew members of Apollo 8 using a generous quotation from the Genesis account of the Creation, probably better appreciating the “good Earth” vis-à-vis the crater-punctuated Moon.

The book, spanning ten decades, does not only give the reader the extraordinary speeches of ruler and ruled, victor and victim, hero and heel – but it also gives one the events taking place all at the same time within a decade. One, therefore, gets the feeling of an ever active globe – while a scientific discovery is announced in America, a revolution is taking place in South America, a dictator emerges in Africa, and a people are being bombarded everywhere.

What makes the book’s account extraordinary is that its views of history in the making are taken from the varied vantage points of the speakers. You finish the book with the impression that truly man’s capability for mercy or cruelty is boundless; and that the human thirst for justice is matched by the inhuman drive for exploitation.

We also know that in the midst of advancing technologies, the human spirit continues to assert itself – and so still has “dominion over all the world.”

The words of Tom Brokaw conclude this amazing book, delivered before the graduating class in 1999, waxing nostalgic about a time gone by, and summoning a new generation of leaders to confront the problems and opportunities offered by the then coming millennium. He mentions two lessons in history:

“The short lesson: technology is not enough, not even when it comes with a generous package of stock options, sabbaticals, and leased time on a private plane.

“The long lesson? It is not enough to wire the world if you short-circuit the soul.” In this book, one learns more about this soul when one listens to the voicesof the mighty and the lesser mortals upheld by the Almighty.