city university of hong kong

ruinas de sao paulo, macau

a book review

ENGAGING CHANGE IN SCALING THE HEIGHTS OF PUBLIC SERVICE

By Salvador A. Aves, National Statistics Office Regional Director

How fortunate of our new public service managers! Now they have this book to guide them as they go through the process of management - getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively.

This book is a pioneer not only in Philippine public service but in local public service as well. While publications that try to fill our Filipiniana section of the library come from national figures, here is actually a written work from a multi-awarded career executive officer from Cagayan de Oro City – teacher, friend, acquaintance and neighbor to most who would have the first chance to get the book.

Engaging Change in Scaling the Heights of Public Service is three books in one – a gentleman’s memoir of outstanding experiences in government service, a record of public administration programs within the National Statistics Office, and a how-to and do-it-yourself guide for managers that spans both the corporate and the government setting.

Moreover, it is also a nod to the numerous management gurus and business leaders who have forwarded their theories on effective management and leadership, as the book provided accurate and real examples on how those strategies actually work in real situations.

Of particular interest is the art and manner on how the author featured the points in the book – by first presenting the carefully-selected strategies, then bolstering these with leadership lessons that have been tested in time by other international sources, and most importantly, backing it up by his actual experiences.  To provide the complete finish, a personal assessment at each end of the chapter makes the discussions more relevant to the reader.

The only thing to propose for the book is to have its layout and printing in more vivid colors. But on the whole, it is a highly recommended read for both students and practitioners who want to have a better knowledge and appreciation of public service and its intricacies, the challenge of change and its impact to the organization, and the practical and available solutions of achieving managerial and leadership success in the work place.

the politico: leader & manager

The DBM216 Executive Development conducted its second session of the Executive Seminar Series last June 16 2012 at the Audio Visual Room #4 of SBM Building, Xavier University.  Gracing the activity as the Keynote Speaker was Misamis Oriental Provincial Governor Oscar S. Moreno, who gave the message on Skills Development for Managers and Leaders in the Philippine Context.

Governor Moreno was handpicked for the part because of his background both in corporate and public management.  In the span of his career, he has made the seamless transition between the professional and political worlds - though in his very own words, he admitted that he didn’t earn his proper preparation for a profession in business nor did he imagine being a part of the corporate world.

The talk, as a whole, was focused on the life experiences of the speaker, and for the earlier part, it veered towards his development as a politico, then it related the story of his being elected as a member of the House of Representatives and later as Local Chief Executive at the provincial level.  He entertained the group with his comparison of the two political positions with that of owning a car.  Being a congressman, he said, is likened to getting a brand new car to drive.  Being a governor, on the other hand, he equated with having an old car from the predecessor and the challenge is how to make it run.

But in his message, he highlighted that the one missing link in the country today are good leaders in government and that particularly, people who chose to run for office and become political leaders do not necessarily possess the qualities of leadership.

Giving special mention to the other politicians who honed and trained him, Governor Moreno took the time to narrate his experiences with Senator Nene Pimentel and Cebu Governor Lito Osmeña and how their work together and the examples and advices they had given him proved to be the needed impetus for him to join politics.

Governor Moreno shared that it took time for him to like politics, and it took him two years to get to know the ropes and to learn and imbibe the culture distinct in public office.  He said it is a hard and difficult career to choose, but it is fulfilling since one can be able to serve and give opportunities to other people.  His only advice is that the young should learn all they can while they are in the corporate environment, and when they are confident enough to say that they have learned and have molded their skills, then they can leave the eight-to-five job and run for public office and serve the new calling as politician.

The Governor, in his own way, provided the audience with his thoughts on the similarities and differences of executives and leaders and of corporate managers and political leaders.  True to the various materials we can read on managing and leading, he said that the two functions and skills must complement each other.  He observed that there are leaders who are not managers, while there are managers who are not leaders.  He added that as a governor, he must be a leader when he is among the constituents, but must be a manager when he is in the capitol and among the employees of the provincial office.

The governor gave a talk close to his heart, as he even intimated about his family life and how it was greatly affected by his choices in his political career.  When asked about his rumored future mayoralty plans, he was not coy and stressed to the group that he looks at growth and development as a collective work that requires the cooperation of everyone in the community.

But what is most important, as he brought his talk and question and answer portion to a close, is when he emphasized on the three standards he holds against leaders – commitment to serve, technical competencies, and values to provide guidance in everything that the leader will commit to do.

The session, though taking form in a relaxed tete-a-tete with the governor, all the more emphasized his magnanimity, his willingness to share with the graduate students, and his capacity for servant leadership.  When thanked profusely for accepting the invitation without the usual grand standing and bureaucratic processes expected of political offices, he replied that he was humbled by the experience as he too, was learning, in the process.

Skills development always translates to total personality development.  It was a message well discussed and illustrated by manager and leader, Governor Oscar Moreno.

just you wait, 'enry 'iggins

I am still well on my way to becoming a fair executive.

I am still in the constant development of my executive skills, and on the process of furthering my career and personal growth.

But even at this point, while I continue setting my directions, I know I owe it to my Pygmalions who had the vision, interest, leadership, wisdom and big hearts to craft and mold me into what I am today.

I am blessed to have worked with managers and leaders who stretched me to my full capacity.

Somehow, they knew and they showed me what I was capable of doing, and they were confident to give me the guidance and at the same time the latitude for me to deliver the finished product in good quality but with my stamp of individuality. It was also fortunate that I worked not only with heads of offices but with executives who also manifested creativity, confidence, and good judgment, and who are successful leaders on their own.

In turn, the challenges were not wearing me down, but building me up to my full stature. Whatever difficulties I may have experienced were just a part of the process, the chisel that was able to define my shape and smooth out my texture.

With those valuable experiences, I have learned to achieve. And with those experiences of achieving, I have learned to share those facilitating and engaging qualities with those that I work with, and work under my management. I try to not forget what I learned along the way, and pay it forward – that the good deeds of those who developed me will be repaid by me doing the same to others.

As is expected of me, so I shall strive to become.

- Conclusion to
"Becoming the Fair Executive"
A Reaction Paper to the HBR Article "Pygmalion in Management"
DBM216 Executive Development

finishin' the job

Teacher's clearance at Capitol University
for the following subjects taught:

MKG19 Professional Salesmanship

MKG11 Sales Management and Market Development

MGT28 Organizational Management

MGT05 Human Behavior in Organization

Regional Office Performance Assessment Report for the Development Academy of the Philippines in its Organizational Performance Evaluation for 2011 of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau Region 10

Paper titled "Leadership : Its Impact on the Individual,
Organization and Society" for the subject
DBM217 High Impact Leadership enrolled at Xavier University

Now I'm ready for more.  Bring it on!

on-purpose statement

Purpose

To leave someone better than before I touched his life.

To leave something better than before I engaged with it.

Vision

A happy, full and rewarding life for this woman

with the eyes of a dreamer,

the heart of a believer,

and the hands of a worker.

Mission

To constantly develop myself.

To be the best I can be in all the roles I play.

To nurture a grateful disposition.

- Output from the one hour seat work in my
Advanced Strategic Management class

rock that cheongsam

Photos today during the dress-up session
in Dr. Mark Labuntog's Mandarin class.

Ni hui yong kuaizi ma? Zhen lihai!

deiter, marlene, olive, mark, venessa, denver, and me

whichever which way

what a cast we'd make

Wo hui xiang nian ni de!

wired and wild

It was this Xavier University MBA summer class on Financial Management. My group was working on a business case. Analyze it, provide recommendations, and most of all, present it in class.

I knew that talking about it will not be enough for me. So I convinced the other eight members of the group that we present the case through a BBC World News report. It would be like a special feature where a panel of personalities involved in the issue shall be discussing about the case. They agreed to the concept.

That was just what I needed to set me off to the moon. Or let us say, to the desktop, and the Internet.

LimeWire: The music was the foremost requirement. I wanted the theme music of BBC News. I was able to download two versions.

Google Search: I looked up BBC logos and images. Got some still shots of the news station's ident that featured the various countries that the news company covers.

PhotoFiltre: The BBC logo will go with the intro music of BBC World News. But the JPEG files need a little cropping. And resigning to the fact that I could not convert them into a higher resolution, I racked my brains some more.

Barbie.com: You can pick Barbie and remodel the walls and furniture of her apartment. This provided an intermission to my ongoing mission.

You Tube: What if I can have it animated already? Moving pictures are always better than static ones. Found a good number of available videos of BBC intros.

At this point, I arrived at a wall. How could I move that video from live broadcast to the Compaq laptop as a file which I can manipulate into the AVP? Summoning Mike from his monthly competition at the Del Monte Golf Course, I learned that I have to wait for him. Texting and waiting was such a blah combination.

HBO.com: Checked the PPV boxing game of De La Hoya and Mayweather. It reported - In a closely contested match in which neither man was able to master the other, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. won a loudly booed split decision over Oscar De La Hoya to claim the World Boxing Council super welterweight title before a sellout crowd at the Grand Garden Arena.

Yahoo Search: Mike finally came home from his golf game and work on the AVP was uphill from thereon. Yet the video files of You Tube, if when indeed, you're able to download them, are in FLV format. Searched the trick on how to convert them into AVI Files.

Yahoo Answers: Real-life quests and questions need real-life solutions. Got a tip on how to convert them online, and for free at that!

Media Convert: The answer to my problem.

Windows Media Maker: With all the tools I needed with me, I was ready to compose my introduction. After a lot of patient tweaking and aligning and dragging, I saved my work into a movie file.

Media Player Classic: Watched the report introduction with a big grin. My work is done! I can show this to the guys!

Hurrying to the group's meeting, I just could not stop being amazed at the endless possibilities when I am in front of the computer screen. And pleased with the fact that from that position I take in the workstation at home, I could make what I want - mine.

I just fervently hope that our report content and conclusion would rightfully deserve that introduction.

a business management game

Search from the Internet these days, and it would give you a long list of business and management books available that tells the reader how to run a profitable successful business. They delve in a variety of topics, from corporate policy to marketing management to value chains to competitive analysis to statistical performance.

But I’ve had my personal glimpse of how to run a successful business through a game.

The business management game was a learning tool in the Production Management subject in the MBA Program of Xavier University. It was to me, the most consuming sit-down strategy game I ever played in my life. It is not that I played so many strategy games, nor there were opportunities for it. But it was the most consuming nevertheless.

In the material provided, it said that the management game aims to provide the participants with the opportunity to apply their various functional skills as well as decision-making tools. In essence, we were 5 teams pitted against one another as hypothetical, one-product, durable consumer-goods companies competing within the same industry.

When the game started, I was reminded of the concept of the cash flow quadrant that was presented by Robert Kiyosaki. I’ve read an article about him and Donald Trump, and the game brought me to think of the many ways I should approach the game – as the manager of the company; as the self-employed consultant of the company; as the business owner and one of the stockholders; or as an investor in the company that earns a passive income from its operations. In that way, I would know how my cash comes from the business in the management game.

It turns out, because of a cruel twist of a funny elimination method in my group, I was elected Chief Executive Officer of the company. I was afraid and not excited to act and take the responsibility of being the CEO of our group. But looking back now, I knew that the lessons I have learned from the game came from the fact that I was group CEO, come zero sales or stock-outs.

In my group, we were six in all. Unlike other groupings in the game, we did not become a business entity because we were friends or we picked each other out from the students in the classroom. Our group came to be because we were the ones without a group. Almost everyone in the group had been absent during the first day of class, when it was announced that there will be groups for the business game. And since we missed the announcement day, we just have to form an alliance with those that were renegades in the class.

Yet even with that fact, we six in the group started to meld as the game started. Because of the circumstance that brought us together, we started to believe and depend on each other. Deep in all of us six, we all wanted the group to understand - and play the game well.

We threw inspiring titles and roles all around – Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Secretary, Chief Finance Officer, Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Marketing Officer.

The basic point I learned from the game is this: that a great business needs a clear mission, an inspiring and impressive leadership, a competent team of managers who work well together, an excellent cash flow and financing, a clear and effective sales and marketing communications, a production systems that work efficiently, and most of all, a great product.

But I guess the operative word for our group is this: system. I looked at my group mates and game partners and I believe that they are all great individuals, with a pack of experience and stock knowledge and varying levels of confidence each one brings into the game. Yet there was no system to our game. At most there was fear of spending too much and losing cash, and at worst there was the "bahala na" attitude because of the thought that it was just a game.

I honestly found myself exasperated with the game. A stickler for systems, I did not like the fact that there was no information available, or deliberately kept from the players. I do not know, see nor have the chance to gauge my product against the other group’s, I cannot see the marketing efforts translated to advertising and promotions, I cannot have access to data and information that will help me study my group’s standing in the game. And of course, there was no system.

The game gave me the taste of how it was to be CEO. I have read somewhere that the difference between the businessman and the CEO is that the businessman is the person who builds great race cars and a CEO is like the driver of the race car. If you have a great race car driver but a poorly built race car, the CEO will lose every race.

My group met regularly to prepare for the game. We goaded each other to read, we were our own cheering squad. The other groups boasted of their own resident CPAs and engineers. We had no professionals like that in the group. Except for one member who is a manager of a nation-wide systematized business, we in the group were just a motley crew of business starters that were committed to finish the game.

I personally prepared templates for our decisions in the game, especially the ledgers to keep track of account balances. I plotted out expenses in a table, as well as sales or non-sales, as the case may be. I was trying to get trends, forcing myself to make a semblance of order in our business. I was thinking like a surfer, looking for a wave so I can ride it, and close a quarter with a good sales figure and make my group happy. But I could not find one wave.

I realized that it all boiled down to one thing: decisions. As the group faced a rocky start, everyone was discouraged and lost focus. We tried to anchor on the choices and judgment of one member. If it did not work, we asked another member to make the assessment and the choice for the next period. If the majority approved it, I give the go signal; yet oftentimes in the game, some members do not want to make decisions for the fear of mistakes. I challenged them, offering to buy them dinner if we make it good. Yet I knew that at the end the decisions have to be made and these decisions will end with me.

We did not end the game at the lead of the class. But though it was a lost case, I think I did not lose the lessons, and that is very important for me. And though we never made it to dinner, I think everyone has learned to respect and appreciate each other in the group. And to realize that it’s just all in the game.