It’s Holy week in the Philippines and many entrepreneurs are on vacation. At least, they try to be on vacation. For many entrepreneurs, their business is their life, not a job. I wanted to share these stories as a point for reflection for this season of Lent.

There is a story about life involving changing tires. A boy was speaking to his father. "Dad", the boy said, " My teacher says, that life is like a round wheel." "That's right son," the dad responded, "It is like a round tire that goes around and around. Just like business, sometimes your up and then sometimes your down."

"I don't believe that Dad," the boy exclaimed. "Why son?", the father asked. "Because Dad, if that were true, why are we always poor?" The father started laughing and after composing himself answered, "well son, the tire is flat."Life is really like a wheel or tire. It goes up and down. But it can also get a flat.

Let me tell you another story that I read about.There once was a king of a magnificent kingdom. He was wealthy beyond belief. He was proud. He looked upon all that he could see and said to himself, "I am the greatest King."But a rebellion started, the king fought the rebels. But he was defeated in battle. the King fled the battlefield, pursue by his enemies. He rode his mighty steed faster and faster, but the sounds of pursuit became louder and louder.He jumped his mighty steed thru the bushes only to be startled by the sight of a cliff. He reined his steed and tried to reverse his course but the deafening sounds of pursuit became nearer and nearer.He despaired. He looked down at the massive abyss before him and contemplated leaping to a glorious end. Just as he was about to urge the frightened stallion to jump, the sun's rays caught the diamond of his ring causing it to sparkle and dazzle him.He glanced at the ring, a ring that his father had passed on to him. Inscribed lay the words, "It will pass."

The King felt a calmness come over him. He closed his eyes and thought of his father. When he opened them, the sounds of pursuit had become fainter and fainter.The King was filled with hope. He gathered together the remnants of his army and galvanized his people. Together they crushed the rebellion and the kingdom was saved. The kingdom became richer and greater.The King became proud once again.

One day, as he stood before his high balcony surveying his kingdom, the sun again caught his ring causing it to sparkle. He glanced and read the same words as before. He was moved to reflection.He changed. He humbled himself. From then on, he became a good and wise king, beloved by his people.

Our lives and our business really are like a tire. It does go up and down, round and round. If we sometimes feel that we are stuck in a rut, that the wheel has not turned, we should ask ourselves if we have a flat. Then get up, do something about it, change ourselves and the tire. Business is like that, when we feel that we are stuck in a rut, we need to check why. Sometimes, we need to step back from the daily grind, introspect and reflect, identify the problem, search for the solution, then continue on

The great Indian statesman and leader, Mahatma Gandhi, once said, “Every worthwhile accomplishment, big or little, has its stages of drudgery and triumph; a beginning, a struggle and a victory “

Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, let’s 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 atstirspecialist@gmail.com , or visit www.stirspecialist.blogspot.com .

I believe business must have a positive contribution to society. The contribution may be as simple as providing the best food at the most affordable price . Or it can be providing the best quality service the customer can enjoy or providing the best quality product. There is also a higher kind of contribution, that kind that leads to the development of society.

I have never met a man like Raddy Diola. Rather, I have never met a real estate developer like Raddy. He is the man behind the River Valley Community, a housing development found in Kalunasan, one of the most underdeveloped areas of Cebu City.

Raddy is an accidental developer. He recounted to me his story on how he was offered by a distant relative a large parcel of land in Barangay Kalunasan for a very attractive price. Because He has always dreamt of providing a prosperous financial future for his family, he began to nurture a hope that developing this property can fulfill that dream.

Despite having no knowledge, experience or resources, he went ahead and completed the purchase of the property. The first time he saw the actual site, his heart sank. The road was basically a path, there was no water, and the worst part was that a public elementary school building had encroached on his new property.

The community around his property was both hostile and fearful of Raddy. They feared that they would lose their school. They were hostile that they would lose access to their homes as it would be revealed later, the basic access path ran thru Raddy’s property.

“It was also the time when we were scraping the bottom of the barrel, so to speak, making both ends meet for the needs of the family.” Raddy added, “We had to let go and let God.” He met with the members of the community as well as the school. He immediately donated the portion of the land that the school building sat on. He also donated the path and arranged for it to be expanded into an asphalted road.

After winning the trust of the community, he was able to organize a water brigade that searched for and eventually found access to water. He recounted , “ For 23 years the school was without any water system. Children risked their lives and limbs fetching water at the nearby river.” Through the help of donations, they were able to pipe the water to the community and the school.

Today, what used to be a place devoid of hope is now one the most pleasant community to live in. The school is thriving. Again through the help of many individuals and organizations, the school now has a thriving library and a computer laboratory. The children are healthy and well fed through weekly feeding programs and medical check ups. I cannot find the words to describe the changes that happened. What was once despair, Hope now springs.

River Valley Community is now a thriving real estate development. It had evolved into a beautiful small subdivision for middle income families. River Valley Community is providing a contribution to society. I believe that the basic questions we have to ask ourselves in planning a business is ,”What kind of impact will my business have on society?”. Andrew Carnegie once said, "No one becomes rich unless he enriches the lives of others."

Life as a journey is a lot like sailing. You are at the mercy of the elements. The trick is to gently exploit the power of Mother Nature and coax the boat towards the destination. The most important thing is to never lose track of the goal, and to constantly check the compass and correct your course. Sometimes the weather can get so bad that it feels like its better to turn around and head back. But for the seasoned sailor, it’s a matter of looking for a temporary safe harbor, weathering the storm, and continuing on.

One of my favorite posters is a picture of a sailboat weathering a storm with a saying, “The rewards of the journey far outweigh the risks of leaving the harbor.”

Jason Hyatt is the celebrity chef/owner of Abacá Boutique Resort and Restaurant. For those who are unfamiliar with the latter, Abacá is the premier fine dining restaurant in Cebu, with food, ambience and service at par with the World’s best.

Jason has achieved a reputation for excellence beginning with his stints as assistant chef at different hotels and restaurants in the United States to serving as the executive sous-chef of the famous Wolfgang Puck at his seaside restaurant Granita in Malibu California. In late 1999, Jason was asked to run the Lan Kwai Fong groups flagship restaurant in Hong Kong, California Restaurant. He went on to running all of the group’s restaurants as the working group executive chef. Jason really made his mark in Hong Kong when he was given the free hand to design and run his own signature restaurant, Lux.

Vince Lombardi, the famous football coach had a saying, “It's easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you're a winner, when you're number one. What you've got to have is faith and discipline when you're not yet a winner.”

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Jason’s dad, Joe, who was here to visit his new grandson. Joe is from blue collar Midwestern roots, having spent part of his life in a rock and roll band, and part of it building hot rods. I asked him, given his adventurous lifestyle then, how did Jason end up a chef?

He told me the story of how Jason grew up. He and his wife had divorced and for many times, it was just him and Jason. So he and Jason had to master the art of fending and cooking for themselves at an early age.

It was a struggle growing up. He told me of many nights spent in a motel with a table drawer and a pillow for his son to sleep on. When it was time finally for college, he asked Jason to go around the United States first before deciding, to be sure that he wouldn’t waste his dad’s money on something that he didn’t want.

Jason moved around finding odd jobs here and there. For some reason, he would always end up in jobs at the kitchen, starting with dishwashing. He then moved on to flipping burgers. One day, the cook was absent, he was asked to fill in. Jason discovered that he enjoyed it and that he wanted to be the best. Eventually, he showed up back in front of his dad and told him that he wanted to be a chef.

“The thing about Jason is that he really knows what he wants in life” his dad proudly proclaimed,” he is like a sponge, he observes and absorbs everything. When he sets a goal, he is determined to get there.” Jason often reminisces to himself, “when I lay in bed or drive to work I sometimes question why we have been so lucky to have what we have and how I actually got here is sometimes a mystery.” He adds, “ After all, I am just a white kid from the midwest.”

We can all be just as successful as Jason by starting correctly with setting a goal , and striving for it. We each need to discover where our journey will take us, but we can never set off without first selecting a destination. Just like sailing, we need to perpetually check our compass and make corrections to our course. In time, each of our ships will make port and the journey would have been worthwhile.

Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, let’s 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 atstirspecialist@gmail.com , or visit http://www.stirspecialist.blogspot.com/

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/ .