Has it really been two years already? It doesn’t seem too long ago that I started to write this column. Looking back, it has been an incredible journey and I hope that it’s a feeing that you readers also share.

I recently received an email from Jomar Caborog, a public school teacher of Tipolo National High School in Mandaue. He wrote, “As a public school teacher and social studies teacher, I really update my students on issues. Your column at The Freeman helps a lot, Mabuhi ka.” I want to thank you Jomar for the warm message. It really encouraged me a lot and grounded me to the fact that writing this column is really about people like you. People that read what I write with the hope that they might find some substance in what I am trying to say.

I am suddenly reminded what my favorite superhero Spiderman keeps saying, “With great power comes great responsibility…”

Writing this column has been really transformational on my part. As I have kept writing , I have also been learning. Along the way, I have met many people who have inspired and encouraged, taught and tempered, corrected and rejected. It is people like Jomar who keep me going.

One positive result of my writing is that it has allowed me to interact with the youth, especially students. I have been invited to speak before different schools and groups on encouraging entrepreneurship. This interaction has allowed me to encourage them to form a group, STEP UP (Student Entrepreneurship Provides Unlimited Possibilities), and a few months later, the group was able to hold its first entrepreneurship summit at the University of the Philippines, attended by students of six universities. I also want to share the good news that, the young organization, has been chosen as a country champion for the World Entrepreneurship Day happening this year. Congratulations Neil and the rest of the STEP UP volunteers!

Next week, I will be speaking with the members of the Dynamic Teen Company led by Efren Penflorida on studying and seeking ways to encourage entrepreneurship among the underprivileged youth. I am really thankful for the invitation and opportunity to work with a genuine hero and somebody that I genuinely look up to. It just shows how amazing things can happen from small positive action.

Thank you Jomar for reminding me of what is important. Thank you for allowing me every Friday to exchange and share ideas with you and your students.

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

Have you ever thought of living in the City of Auda? The residents of this city boldly believe everything is possible. In fact, in recent times, one of the more famous citizens was an African American man. This man had the temerity to believe that he could be the forebearer of change and representative of the possibilities of hope in his country. From almost out of nowhere, this man’s message of hope and change captivated his country and propelled him to becoming the leader and symbol of infinite possibilities. Barrack Obama truly showed the world that great things happen if people believe, hope, and contribute to making change become reality.

The search for the right leader is one of the most crucial crossroads for many companies, corporations, organization and even countries. The right leadership that can inspire, manage, and lead will often usher in a period of success.

The late Peter Drucker was a leading management consultant who wrote several books on management and leadership. He has written 40 books as well as hundreds of articles that are still continuously read and studied to this day. He is recognized as “The father of modern management”. In celebration of his 100^th year birthday, a former student and author, William Cohen, wrote a book entitled “Drucker on Leadership”, which compiles many of the latter’s thoughts on leadership.

Peter Drucker believed that leadership was a calling, and that having a moral and ethical center was crucial to being a good leader. He often wrote about character traps that would lead to the demise and failure of leaders, leading to selfishness and abuse of power. William Cohen characterized these traps into the seven deadly sins of leadership, which Drucker sought to emphasize in order to prevent leaders from falling into them. The seven deadly sins of leaders were:

Pride – When a leader believes that rules no longer apply to him, he believes that due to his importance, he can be exempt from normal standards of accountability.

Lust. – Power attracts many things leading to a lot of temptation. A leader’s lack of a moral center often leads to indulgence, which then clouds his ability to render the correct judgment.

Greed. -The sin of greed is a sin of excess. It frequently starts with power. Leaders have power, and power has a tendency to corrupt.

Sloth. –Characterized as an unwillingness to act. It is sometimes seen as a sense of entitlement wherein the leader refuses to do anything he considers to be beneath his position.

Wrath. – The inability to deal with power often leads to anger and wrath as a natural response when things do not happen a leader’s way. The Leader will tend to explode and respond without analyzing properly the situation.

Envy – The belief that every thing should revolve around the leader and when there are things that do not, the natural response is to “attempt to destroy another’s reputation, or in other ways attempt to feel better by lowering the status of another.”

Gluttony - Applies to excessive consumption of any kind. Expects the perks of the position to be a natural reward for it

I believe that in selecting leaders, we have to be recognizant of their natural tendencies to fall into these traps. Or that Leaders, in their quest for position or appointment should themselves introspect and reflect on these sins and how to avoid falling into them.

I think Peter Drucker also was very vocal about writing about these seven sins in order for us to recognize and help the leader avoid them. Leadership in this new decade is no longer about the super CEO or infallible leader. The age of information and communication has empowered even the simplest and lowest member the ability to be informed, comprehend, and in their own ways, respond. Lets look at potential leaders in the right light, not only in terms of accomplishments and capabilities but also for natural tendencies to fall into the seven deadly sins.

I really like this quote, "Leadership is first and foremost about character, one who is in power but not subordinate to it, one who has control of money but is not lured by it, one whose position opens all doors but prefers the simplicity of lifestyle , and one who is followed"

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

A lot of people reacted strongly to what I wrote about the square watermelon. Majority of them liked the idea of innovation, but questioned how can it really be achieved, and if the inherent risks of failure is worth the effort. In today’s uncertain economic climate, some asked, is it really the right time to be innovating and how does one start?

Everybody loves successful innovations but not many want to be the one starting them. So what can we do? Rosabeth Kanter, a professor at the Harvard business school, wrote something revealing on starting innovation. She wrote a article on the "15 minute competitive advantage" which she said can be used to break innovation down to a manageable level, she wrote that change should happen , “in short fast bursts rather than waiting for the breakthrough that transforms everything. If every proverbial 15 minutes, you learn something and incorporate it into the next speedy step, you'll continue to be ahead. And a few time periods later, transformation will be underway.”

Professor Kantor is a firm believer that instead of changing the whole system, it should be changed just enough at a time but also continuously adapting and innovating. This will allow the company to listen and adapt to the market needs rather than force the latter to accept a whole new line of thought.

She emphasized, “Stay a little ahead of the competition while close enough to what customers can understand and incorporate, and the innovation idea is easier to sell” It actually makes so much sense.

Many instances will show us that even though the innovation made all the sense in the world, if we introduce it too rapidly or radically, it will cause the market to instinctively reject it. But by introducing it in short systematic bursts, it will allow the market to absorb it unconsciously.

The other point the Professor made is that the innovation should have certain characteristics in order to make it easier to accept and support, it should be:

1.

Trial-able: The idea or product can be demonstrated on a pilot basis. Customers can see it in action first and incorporate it on a small scale before committing to replace everything.

2. Divisible: It can be adopted in segments or phases. Users can ease into it, a step at a time. They can even use it in parallel with current solutions.

3. Reversible: If it doesn't work, it's possible to return to pre-innovation status. Eventually you want life to be unimaginable without it, but at least in theory, it's possible to go back to zero.

4. Tangible: It offers concrete results that can be seen to make a difference in something that users need and value.

5. Fits prior investments: The idea builds on "sunk costs" or actions already taken, so it looks like not much change is involved.

6. Familiar: It feels like things that people already understand, so it is not jarring to use. It is consistent with other experiences, especially successful ones.

7. Congruent with future direction: It is in line with where things are heading anyway. It doesn't require people to rethink their priorities or pathways, even though of course it changes things.

8. Positive publicity value: It will make everyone look good.

Do you agree? Her points do allow innovation to be thought of in a rational and realistic manner. So what are we waiting for? Let’s start looking for our own square watermelons, and take the first few steps into the innovation decade.

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.com