A Call to Arms

I would like to interrupt my column on concepts series by issuing this call to arms. Recent scandals and sordid allegations of corruption in high places have left a bad taste in the mouth. The Philippines is once again at the tipping point of another crisis. It may not be said often or aloud. But you see it in the faces of businessmen. You see it in the callousness of our officials. You see it in the desperation of our people. We know we should care, but do we really? We often hear the lament of the apathy of our middle class and our youth.

I therefore would like to issue a clarion call. We need to start a new revolution, a new people power revolution to empower and build a new class of people, a class of entrepreneurs. Our country more than ever needs to build a large and successful class of young entrepreneurs. Michael Gerber, author and business coach, says, “The entrepreneur in us sees opportunities everywhere we look, but many people see only problems everywhere they look.”

Entrepreneurs care about the environment that they exist in. they care whether or not their taxes are being spent wisely, they debate on the effects of the levels of the peso. They care about how legislation can be better crafted. We need more entrepreneurs.

We need more entrepreneurs that will generate new jobs and spur creativity and dynamism into local economies. Ross Perot hit the nail in the head when he said, “Most new jobs won’t come from our biggest employers. They will come from our smallest. We’ve got to do everything we can to make entrepreneurial dreams a reality.” The Government should put equal or more attention into strengthening and developing local entrepreneurship, over attracting foreign investment.

Barack Obama is energizing the United States with his vision and charisma. He has been compared to America’s King Arthur, the late President Jack Kennedy. He said it best, “People don't expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better.” We need leaders that can call up this vision and energize the public. We need leaders that can inspire and not just command.

I hope that our Government will also sit up and listen. The Government needs to encourage the banking system to increase funding for SME’s. The private sector needs to do their part. The private banking system has to find a way to relax the stringent requirements that would allow easier access to capital for many starting entrepreneurs.

Muhammad Yunus , the founder of Grameen Bank, started a revolution. Yunus pioneered microcredit, the innovative banking program that provides poor people––mainly women––with small loans they use to launch businesses and lift their families out of poverty. He humbly says, “I did something that challenged the banking world. Conventional banks look for the rich; we look for the absolutely poor. All people are entrepreneurs, but many don't have the opportunity to find that out.”

Roberto Aboitiz of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation says, “Our country today faces a lot of problems: there is poverty, the declining state of education, and graft and corruption. These challenge not only the government, but the community as well. In all these scenarios, involvement from the private and business sectors are needed, not to take the place of the government, but to help in nation building”.

How many small businesses are unable to take off because of lack of access to capital. But it is not only that, lack of technical support, lack of access to training, etc. Joey Concepcion is trying to do his part. He together with other outstanding entrepreneurs are storming the country with their GONEGOSYO campaign. He stated, “ It’s an advocacy that will bring about a mindset change needed by many Filipinos to transform their pessimism into optimism.”.” He adds, “The start of building an enterprising Filipino culture will surely propel this nation to greater heights.”

We need more people to get involved. We as a nation have to collectively reflect on our situation and find a solution to break this perpetual boom bust cycle. I believe the solution lies in our young people. We need a revolution, a new people power of young entrepreneurs that will propel this country forward. Mabuhay po ang Pilipino.


The Concept of Outstanding

What do Jerry Seinfeld and Kenneth Cobonpue have in common? Plenty. They are among the best at what they do. They have the respect of their peers. They are widely recognized as icons for their abilities. Their names are their personal brands. They are both outstanding.

Who does not know Jerry Seinfeld? He is recognized for the comedy sitcom that carries his name. The show has won 10 Emmy Awards, and in 2002, was recognized by TV Guide as the number one TV series of all time. It was a radical show that contained a plot literally about nothing. The show was focused on only one thing, to make us laugh.

But that’s not the way it started. Jerry was just one of many struggling comedians before he had an opportunity to write and act in a sitcom called The Seinfeld Chronicles for NBC. Seinfeld premiered on July 5, 1989 where it logged one of the lowest ratings for that night. The ratings were so bad that NBC contemplated on pulling the plug. The show was then offered to Fox, who also declined. The show was destined for the garbage bin, except for someone in the network who believed in it enough to release funding for four more episodes. The network released the additional episodes and the rest is history.

Kenneth Cobonpue is the 1st Filipino furniture design leader to be included in the authoritative international "Design Yearbook" (2002). In 2005 he won the Design Asia Award. He is most known for his Hollywood celebrity clients led by Brad Pitt. He was also asked by Warner Brothers to furnish a casino set for the movie Ocean’s 13.

But Kenneth was not always this successful. He started out as a normal gangling teenager with a dream. His father wanted him to take up business management at the University of the Philippines and eventually take over the family business. Ken dutifully followed his father’s wishes. After 2 years, Ken wanted to pursue his dream. He took the qualifying exam for the fine arts program at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. He failed the exam. His evaluation showed he lacked the drawing skills needed to qualify.

He went abroad to pursue his dream by taking up Industrial Design at the Pratt Institute in New York. Upon graduation, he wanted to pursue design apprenticeship in Europe when tragic news of his father’s death called him home. He was forced to take over the reins of the family furniture factory. Kenneth recalls, “I took over my mother’s company beset by debts and an aging workforce. Worst of all, I had no one to teach me the ropes because my father was gone. The future did not look good.”

Kenneth could have just followed the status quo and tried to grow the existing business. But Kenneth did something radical. He changed the whole design concept of their furniture lines. He decided to challenge the existing norms of designing to what the market accepts to designing for the purpose of design. What made him different from everybody else was he committed himself to what he designed by putting the ultimate symbol on it, his name.

In the beginning, it was a total market failure. Ken reminisces by saying, “All our old clients left us because the look I made was so different from what the market wanted and was prepared to accept, we were doing negative for the first 2 years.” Ken also did something different, he insisted on the originality of the designs. He demanded that the words, “Made in the Philippines” and his name be equally prominent. He chuckles, “Everybody thought I was crazy then.”

Today, everybody knows who Kenneth Cobonpue is. He has done more for uplifting the plight of the Filipino designer than many of us know or imagine. In one of life’s ironic twists, he helped found the Industrial Design Program at the University of the Philippines in Cebu.

One of the greatest Presidents of the United States Abraham Lincoln once taught, “Don't worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.“ When we plan for the outstanding, we should put our personal brand on it. A modern day icon Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame emphasized, “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn a reputation by trying to do hard things well.

We can do all this by devoting ourselves wholeheartedly in whatever we do. We need to believe in our abilities and in ourselves. Just like all of us, Jerry Seinfeld and Kenneth Cobonpue were born with their names, but because of their commitment to standing out, they made their names outstanding.

Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, lets all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.

For comments, suggestions or stories that you want to share, email me at
stirspecialist@gmail.com , or visit www.stirspecialist.blogspot.com .

The Concept of Service

Whenever people make plans about starting a business, they normally talk about the cost and benefits. How much should they invest? When will they recover? They seldom talk about the concept of service. Og Mandino, the late author of the best selling book, “The greatest salesman in the world”, once said , “Always render more and better service than is expected of you, no matter what your task may be.”

I remember Eddie who used to work as a tire man for a gasoline station in the city. Eddie’s job was to service and repair flat tires, as well as to replace worn tires with new ones. He was a small man but he always did his job with a smile. He would often apologize for his decrepit equipment and always sought to compensate by giving his best personal service. He was very good at his job and he knew all his customers by name. He was a master at installing large diameter low profile tires that required extra care in mounting and dismounting. He was also a master at using a mallet to align dents on the rims that occurred frequently from using such tires. (regrettably Bling-bling often becomes bang-bang on the wallet)

There was a time when I went to Eddie for all my tire needs. One time, I had a flat tire near the station, so I called him. He was right over to help. Whenever people would ask me on where to go regarding installation or repair of tires, I would often tell them to go to this station and look for Eddie.

A good friend emailed me a beautiful story on how personal service impacts a business. Barbara Glanz, veteran customer service trainer was doing a seminar on the importance of putting your personal signature on the job that you are doing. She issued a challenge, “ Think about something you can do for your customer to make them feel special, a memory that will make them come back.”

One day, a boy named Johnny wrote to her and spoke of how he tried to implement what she taught. He spoke of his twin difficulties, one that he was only a lowly bagger at a grocery, and two, that he was afflicted with down-syndrome. But still he tried his best to think on how he could make his customers feel special. He thought about writing a “quote of the day” to express thanks for shopping at the store. He asked help from his father, and together they wrote and printed out multiple copies of different inspiring quotes, one for each day.

Every time he finished bagging a grocery bag, he would smile, look the customer in the eye and sincerely thank the customer for shopping at the store. He would then slip a note containing the quote with his personal thank you.

Barbara was touched and thought that was the end of the story. A couple of weeks later, Johnny’s boss called. He started telling her about an unusual phenomenon. One day, there was an unusually long line at the check out counter of Johnny. He automatically called for more check out counters to be opened, but the customers refused to move. They told him that they wanted to get Johnny’s quote for the day.

A few weeks later, Johnny’s boss called again. He started excitedly telling her of how a big change has come not only at the groceries but throughout the whole grocery store. It seems that many customers now made it a habit to drop by to say hi and to shop. Also, more new customers kept coming. Johnny’s example had spread throughout and service from the heart is now practiced at the whole store.

I recently ran into the owner of the gas station where Eddie worked and I started to talk to her about him. She listened as I explained how Eddie was one of her best assets and that customers went there specifically for his service. She wistfully agreed with me. She told me that she only realized that fact much later when customers started to look specifically for Eddie. She sadly continued by telling me that Eddie had passed away, and things were not the same for the tire service. She had sold the gas station and that the new owners no longer operate a tire service.

I don’t miss going to the gas station but I sure do miss Eddie. The best praise I can give, is that Eddie did his job so well that I and am sure many if not all of his customers, only knew him by his first name. In today’s society, I think that is the highest compliment anyone can give when you are only known by one name. Eddie provided the best service he could and in doing so, built lasting relationships with loyal customers.

Sometimes, when we plan the business, we fail to plan for the people factor. Starbucks Coffee may be a global name but at its individual stores, it is as personal as it gets. I know Darren, Leon, KZ, May, Sam, PS, and Euge of Starbucks Ayala and they know me. They greet me with an enthusiastic hello and remember what I like to order. In the end, it is not the coffee that I remember, but the whole customer service experience. The Starbucks Coffee website proudly proclaims, “We always figured that putting people before the product just made good common sense.”

Walt Disney once said, “ Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” Eddie showed how a tire man can MAKE a difference. Johnny showed how a bagger can BE the difference. We can all be like Eddie and Johnny by caring about what we do and the people that we deal with. If we are able to consistently do that, success will just be around the corner. Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, lets all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.

For comments, suggestions or stories that you want to share, email me at stirspecialist@gmail.com , or visit http://www.stirspecialist.blogspot.com/ .

The Concept of Aspiration

I remember when I was 13 years old, I used to tag along with my parents whenever they went visiting some of their friends. One day, we went to visit a very successful trader at his house. As they chatted in the living room, I wandered around until I ended up in the garage. There was a beautiful Mercedes Benz auto parked in the garage.

I was instantly dazzled, and hurriedly rushed over to admire the car. My mother noticed the commotion and looked out. She then lovingly admonished me, reminding me not to look at things that I could not afford. My mother’s friend who overheard the conversation rebutted and said, “ you should not discourage your son, but you should instead encourage him to dream, so that he will work at achieving his dreams.”

A good friend and a highly visible successful entrepreneur often talks about the magic of the word “Aspiration”. Wikipedia defines aspiration as “means hope.” Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “a strong desire to achieve something high or great.” Don’t we all want to hope? Don’t we want to achieve something high or great in our life? Lets pause for a moment and reflect on that question.

One of the best stories of aspiration is that of a security guard who had a dream. Jacinto was born in Bohol to a brood of seven children of a firewood dealer. He studied at the Ubay Elementary and High School. He moved to Cebu and enrolled at the college of Law at the University of San Carlos. In order to survive, he did household chores at the houses of his different relatives in exchange for board and lodging. For pocket money, he worked as a stevedore at the pier in between classes.

When he was at his fourth year of the College of Law, he faced a personal crisis. He received news from home telling him that his father wanted to sacrifice the schooling of his other siblings in order to give him a chance to finish law. His father who barely earns enough to feed his family, could no longer give his children equal chances of success. He had decided to hedge his bet on his son, who has shown promise to be a lawyer.

Jacinto didn’t take the news well. He worried about the future of his younger siblings. He decided to do something that would change the course of his life forever. He ran away.

He fled to manila as a stowaway in a boat. While in Manila, he began work as a security guard. After some time, his older brother, who was in the army, decided to assist him in his studies. He returned to Cebu and in 1956 finished his law degree. He then passed the Bar the following year. After passing the bar, he discovered the opportunities were scant and ended up initially working as a security guard again in order to make ends meet. He never stopped aspiring, believing in himself that he can make his dream come true. He continued to work even harder.

Fast forward to today, Jacinto now owns and operates the largest two security agencies in Visayas and Mindanao, which collectively employs almost 2,000 guards. His security agency has been awarded Ten times as the Best Security Agency in Region 7, awarded nationally three times as the Most Outstanding Private Security Agency of The Year , and two times as one of the Ten Most Outstanding Private Security Agency Of The Year.

Confused on who Jacinto is? That’s because he is now more popularly known as Atty. Jack Mendez of Centurion Security Agency fame. When asked to look back, Atty. Mendez has this to say: "Certainly, my humble beginnings have spurred me to succeed in life. It had always been my aspiration to improve the lives of my family and to provide for them. “ He adds “I attribute what I am now and what I have acquired to hard work, perseverance, honesty, dedication and faithfulness and trust in the goodness of our God.”

John Maxwell said ,"Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential." Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, lets all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.

For comments, suggestions or stories that you want to share, email me at
stirspecialist@gmail.com