Who Have You Blessed Recently? Changing The World One Act of Kindness At A Time

I'm a big fan of communities, particularly technical communities, because I have benefitted a lot from them when I was starting out in the IT industry. I remember the time I used to spend on BBS and IRC channels when I was "forced" to learn computer programming. If not for the generosity and kindness of these people who I have never even seen in my life, I would not have even pursued this career. I remember people like my father-in-law who, as a professional doctor, gave selflessly to others by offering his services for free.

So, everytime people ask me why I do technical community work - write technical articles, speak at conferences and user group meetings, mentor and teach people online - I speak about the experiences I have had with the generous people who have blessed me with what they have. And I am simply just giving back what I have received. A few days ago, someone approached me regarding coaching/mentoring services I provide. While I may be tempted to take it due to the financial challenges I currently have, he started telling me about him being unemployed for a few months now having been retrenched from his previous company. He needs to update his skills so he can start looking for a new job. That got me thinking - how can I be strategic in my approach while, at the same time, be able to help him get back on his feet? I started out by giving him encouragement and telling him my own stories on how I got to where I am now. The goal is to condition him to what I call the "successful mindset." Then, I laid out a strategic approach on how I intend to help him help himself. The important thing is to get started.

In the process of doing this, I realized that it helped cultivate the "generous mindset" within me; that I no longer look at my limitations but rather look at opportunities to help other people despite of my need. In today's economy, we often see our lack rather than what we have that can help improve the lives of other people. What we don't realize is that we have something within us much greater than what we think we have. In this particular case, I have the skillset to help someone else get up-to-speed on a new career. It may not be profitable for me in the short-term but experience has taught me the "business value" of generosity and how it pays off in the long run. And when people ask how they can pay me back, my response has always been the same - find somebody who needs something that you have and offer to do the same thing (the freedom to define what business is and what isn't is still my prerogative). I just get a kick out of having that opportunity to be a blessing to someone else.

So, who have you blessed recently? I see it as changing the world one act of kindness at a time

I’ve been tagged – Three Things That Got Me Here

I have been out of my non-tech blogosphere for quite some time as my current job is taking a lot out of me. Still, I manage to keep my Twitter account updated which, for me, is like my tiny version of this blog. With all of the changes that happened to me in the past year, there is more than a story worth telling.

I received an email a few days ago about SQL Server Expert Kevin Kline (blog / Twitter) tagging me, prompting me to write my version of "Three Things That Got Me Here." Well, here it is. Much of who and where I am now is a by-product of my faith (I took this from Kevin Kline ...it is so not original) which I got introduced to as an 8-year-old. Having grown up almost inside a church and almost being mistaken as a pastor's kid has advantages but what really got me kicking was my friendship with my "then" youth pastor who shed light to what I now consider my favourite Bible verse. That has radically changed my life journey from being his assistant on campus ministries to planting churches and eventually being where I am now. And though we're literally thousands of miles apart (Philippines and Canada are on different sides of the globe), the spiritual bond keeps us close.

So, on with the story...

Tagged as nuisance

One thing that I have learned as a parent is that kids pick things up really quick so it is very important to really be careful about what we say or do in front of our or other kids. At 4 years old, I heard a colleague of my mom commented about me saying, "you better be prepared to have bail money 'coz this kid's gonna be in and out of jail when he grows up." That sunk in deep. Right there and then I told myself to never let any negative thing, comment or thought define who I am. The fact is - "it's not who we are, it's who God is." Every time I hear a negative comment made towards me, I use that as a fuel to ignite a passion to counteract what they have just said and accomplish what they thought I couldn't. There are countless of instances where that has been challeneged - from being turned down by IBM, Microsoft and then-Andersen-Consulting-turned-Accenture because my university transcript was not good enough for them, to hearing a manager commenting on my professional goals and asking another colleague if I can really achieve them. Each one of them became an inspiration to achieve more, strive harder and look beyond what they see. It takes looking through your mind's eye to achieve greater heights and go past our limitations to see what we are destined to be - and eventually achieve it. Looking back, I was thankful for that remark made when I was a kid and the numerous times I was rejected, ridiculed, underestimated and forgotten. It takes a different perspective to take all of them. Besides, I would never be able to enjoy playing the piano (although I've been recently known as bassplayer) if I wasn't told that I couldn't play any rough sport.

To see is to believe...but to experience is even better

I was born and raised in the city (Manila happens to be the Philippine's capital and, I just found out recently, that I went to the same university in Manila as the SQL Ninja Dona Santos did) and any city kid knew better. We were not a well-off family but my mom made sure that we went to private school and have our basic needs met (let me just say I was a "deprived" city kid). So, while my brothers enjoyed vacation in the city, as a 5-year-old, I opted to spend mine in the farm - helping my grandparents till the soil, sell tomatoes on a hot, humid, summer afternoon, take the carabao for a dip in the river and do stuff that a typical city kid wouldn't even imagine doing on his vacation. My mom thought that I was just enjoying my vacation but, the reality is, I was opening my eyes to what hard work really means and what the lives of people we don't see everyday really are about. It's ironic because it was when I have learned to properly use the spoon and fork (who would eat with their bare hands after coming back from the farm with hands all filthy?). It made me appreciate the amount of work that the farmers do in order to produce food from the ground, the happiness they enjoy despite not having a large LCD TV with an XBox console in the living room (some of them don't even have shoes on their feet nor clean water to drink) and what Dr. Stephen Covey made known as the "Law of the Farm."

When I was in my sophomore year in high school, I wanted to do summer jobs. But it is against the law to hire somebody who is way below 18. And, so I went thru some of my mom's contacts to have me work for a large air conditioner manufacturing plant, doing assemblies of blower fans. And while I can be considered as an illegal worker due to my age, we never did go thru the process of defining liability from the employer's perspective since they are a close relative. Still, the risk of getting pinned down by a lathe machine or bruised by a metal part getting assembled is there. I worked from 7AM until midnight from Monday to Friday and never had to go home without a bruise or a clean shirt (and did I mention not wearing any protective gear at all?). Throughout that experience, I have seen the hardships of the common laborer who work so hard just to pay off their debt and how most of them work away from their homes, living in shanties just so they can earn a decent wage to send back to their families. It's also an early course in what I termed "selfish capitalism" where stakeholders enjoy the fruits of their laborers' hard work while ignoring the plea of the commons (I guess this is a totally separate blog post altogether). It has taught me to always treat people fairly, even beyond what they expect. Which is why every time I engage in a project where I needed to hire people, I always make sure that I treat them well as long as I can. And while I ended up taking a mechanical engineering degree in the university because of the exposure to that job, I never did get a chance to be one. But the lessons learned from those experiences were well worth it that they still make good stories to tell my kids or whenever appropriate when I speak at conferences.

Risk...Believe...Trust

I was a risk taker even as a kid, as the previous stories have already highlighted. I guess most people aren't as tolerant to risks as I am. As I grew up, it played a major role in shaping both my professional and personal life. And while I have learned about calculated risks and how taking risks need to be a process requiring a lot of analysis, I still believe that the difference between good leaders and great leaders is their intuition, as Dr. John C. Maxwell highlighted in his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. I took risks even when its was totally illogical. And, again, people will laugh, scorn or ridicule you because it doesn't make sense to them. But I felt that I needed to do them one way or another. One of those risks was starting my own company. My parents didn't like the idea because they were both employed and have been in formal employment all their lives. I never had any employment experience aside from that summer job I took when I was in high school. I thought it was the only thing to do since nobody wanted to hire me after graduation (see first story). And so I did. I did consulting work for government institutions and small businesses - ranging from fixing computers, managing their network and messaging infrastructure to building their portal. While it wasn't an easy job, it helped me learn more about businesses and how the "employment" mindset has been keeping people from taking risks. During these times, I hated computer programming. I remember asking my best friend to write my programming project in Pascal because I couldn't write a single line of code. I have had to take the programming course twice in order to graduate, an implicit way of saying I failed the course the first time I took it. But, then, a customer was referred to me asking me to write a simple inventory/point-of-sale application for their business. I declined the request as I told them explicitly that I don't write programs. They insist that they want me to write the application for them because they trust me and that they are willing to pay any reasonable amount as long as I personally write it for them. I took that as both a challenge and a sign of utmost trust (Business Lesson: If your customers are betting their stakes on you, it is your responsibility to deliver no matter what). I did everything I can to start learning how to write code, learning Visual Basic 4 with Data Access Object, spending about 12-16 hours a day on BBS and chatrooms asking questions about how things work and how to create an application. It's actually my first exposure to the power of the community and that I promised myself to return the favor by being actively engaged in the community, giving back what I have been given. The experience provided me with lessons both in customer relationship and technical competence. What I felt about writing computer programs has totally changed and I ended writing even more applications from smart clients to web applications on the Microsoft platform. And while I am no longer a developer (I quit having the fear of losing more hair should I continue), the skills I have learned from being one has helped be become a better IT professional. Had I not taken that risk, who knows if I have ever been to where I am now. And while others may say "find what you love to do and do it" in order to be successful, I found myself "loving what I do and doing it with excellence."

Public speaking is not for everybody and I guess that includes me - well, almost a decade ago. I still get people laughing every time I tell them that I am a bit shy and introvert especially when they've seen me do presentations in conferences and seminars (my former classmates at the MBA program proved I was somehow right). I'm a big fan of my brother who has a knack for getting along with people and speaking in front of a crowd. But I knew I had a passion for teaching, even though my personality wasn't really aligned with it. And, so I started applying for a teaching job in a local institution well known for their technical expertise. One advise I have received in the process from a very good friend was that "teaching doesn't even put food in your table." And while that proved to be a fact, it was a risk I was willing to take with my family, barely making both ends meet in the process. I am just happy to know that my wife was willing to take that risk with me. The teaching experience became my platform to improve my delivery skills, interacting with people and learning the difference between the average and the excellent teacher. And that had paved the way for me to have the opportunity to earn my MCT certification that eventually landed me job offer to move to Singapore from the Philippines. That is a whole different risk in itself. Having to stop school, leave the second company that my business partners and I started, with no friends and family to be with and move to Singapore in 2005 was no small feat. I remember another friend who told me how crazy I was to accept the job offer that was about to make just more than half of what she was making back in 2000, not to mention the cost of living in Singapore with 2 toddlers and being the only one working in the family. I just felt peace in my heart when I have finally decided to go, ignoring all the risks that were before me and simply learning truly what the word "trust" means. Looking back, I was just happy to shun all the fear within me and took all those risks, realizing that the only way to see a miracle is by simply taking risks (while Jesus had to feed the five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fishes, we have US$200 in the pocket with two adults and two toddlers and no place to go in Singapore). Besides, of the twelve disciples that Jesus had, only Peter had the experience of walking on water.

It's been a year and 2 months since we moved here in Canada and that move is yet another showcase of how risk taking got me to where I am now. We are still taking risks and probably until we see our kids take their own risks and grow with the experience. But in all of these risk taking and believing lie the secret to where I am now - it is in trusting that "the people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits."

Special thanks to Kevin Kline for prompting me to write this post. I guess it's about time to write individual blog posts about my Twitter updates

P.S. I still would like to emphasize that I am by no means a preacher nor a pastor as some would like to say. But there is something about the things around us that declare the goodness of our Creator in their own unique ways that one can't simply ignore

Connecting Always Requires Energy

Chapter 4 of Dr. John Maxwell's new book, Everyone Communicates, Few Connect is now available on his blog. Catch it before it's too late. After reading thru the chapter, I've posted this comment on the blog.

They Get Out Of It What You Put In

It was my very first time to do a presentation for a group of IT professionals in Ottawa, Canada and I have decided to apply what I have learned from the previous presentations I did - PowerPoint slides were well thought out taking me at least 3 weeks to complete, writing a thorough story line as part of the delivery, and incorporating all of that to drive home the message. Add to that the methodology and delivery - burning with passion and excitement that the audience was always anticipating what I'm about to say. After the presentation, one person approached me and said, "I think you have raised the bar for delivering technical presentations." Not only did they learn so much from the presentation but they have appreciated the effort that went into it. One presenter even attempted to imitate what I have done and commented that he now understands the amount of work needed to come up with a great presentation. From preparation to delivery to evaluation - it takes a tremendous amount of energy.

Connecting Requires Selflessness . . . Give

A common pitfall for every speaker and presenter is the "know it all" attitude who feels that what he has to say is of utmost importance and that everybody should listen. I also fall prey into that - I guess we all do. What's worse is that I see a lot of presenters simply do it to get recognized, be admired and feed off the ego that he knows a lot better than anybody else.

I was reminded of having the attitude of giving and humility whenever doing presentations or conducting a speech. The audience will really feel the sincerity and will shift into "receiving mode," willing to accept whatever the speaker has to give. The goal is always to "put the audience first." That in itself is a sign of humility.

Connecting Goes Beyond Words

I have been out of the blogosphere for quite some time due to a lot of work but I guess my Twitter updates have complemented the lack of blog posts. I'm thankful I did Twitter two months ago

Since I have been following Dr. John Maxwell on Twitter, I saw this post about the new book he's working on entitled Everyone Communicates, Few Connect. The chapters are being offered on his blog for a few days and then taken down being replaced with a summary of the chapter. I'm just not checking on my Twitter and blog regularly that I missed the first two chapters. At least I managed to catch the third chapter. I've posted a comment on the blog and it's what the content of this blog post is all about.

"This is my first encounter with the chapters for the book and all I can say is that this has hit a home run. Having been invited to do technical presentations for Microsoft technologies both locally and globally, I know what it means to sit in a presentation with boring PowerPoint slides, bullet points that can kill and listen to a speaker that probably memorized the transcript of the presentation. I have been guilty of doing this myself as I initially thought that this was the way to do technical presentations. Ever since I have learned about the art of delivering presentations, I have committed myself to continuous development on the subject – from creating great PowerPoint slides to delivering the presentation (special mention to great books like Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds, slide:ology by Nancy Duarte and Working the Room by Nick Morgan).

From experience, I have learned that enthusiasm, emotional and visual connection when delivering a presentation is what makes people want to stay and listen more – even for a highly technical and boring presentation. The reason I get invited to do presentations was not because of the level of content I provide other (other speakers are smarter and have more technical knowledge than I do) but because I was able to connect to the audience, understand what they feel and provide a solution using the technologies I am presenting. It’s hard to be an expert in just one aspect of technology especially when it keeps evolving and this is what I have learned when delivering presentations. It’s hard to be an expert at what you will present on. But what makes you as one when you deliver your presentation is the passion and enthusiasm that come with it during the preparation and delivery. Anybody can deliver presentations on just about any topic they may or may not be expert on. The only difference in making it an effective one is to put yourself in the listener’s shoes, feel what they feel and develop and deliver a presentation based on that.

Bottom line:It’s all about the listener when we communicate."

If It Aint Broken, Don't Fix It. But If It Is...

A common expression in IT is "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" as it is important to keep a consistent experience in the infrastructure - staff get's to send emails on time, they get to access their sales documents on the portal, etc. But what if it is broken? We fix it. The mail server went down, we get a severity one alert to "immediately" resolve the issue together with an email from the CEO saying email is of primary importance in the organization.

I wonder why so many organizations don't do so. They see a business process that doesn't work, a work environment that does not foster creativity, or a marketing campaign that does not bring results - they're just simply broken. Yet management still expects to see better results. W.L. Bateman highlights this in a very popular quote, "If you keep on doing what you've always done, you'll keep on getting what you've always got." If it's broken, you've just got to fix it

I saw this video of Seth Godin's presentation at Gel 2006 which somehow highlights what this means.

Why Likeability Affects Service Delivery

Tim Sanders in his book The Likeability Factor emphasizes the need to improve one's likeability in order to be successful. He cited several studies that prove how likeability affects your job, the judge's decision in a court hearing and what not. What's fascinating is that we see this in action in just about any interaction we engage in or see every day. How many times have you screamed at a clerk in a store because of a defective product only to see other complaining customers get serviced ahead of you? Likeability kicks in and you just blew it.

Having to deal with customers as part of my job, I sometimes get tempted to deal with them based on likeability. One incident occurred when an arrogant customer was requesting for an issue to be resolved immediately. Sure, we all wanted to keep customers happy to make them stay. But likeability proved to be right when I have assigned the task to somebody else instead of me doing it. Not because I can't do it but simply because it would be counterproductive doing the work to solve the issue while at the same time having to deal with an arrogant customer.

Now there are two ways to deal with this (especially if they are your customers) but I doubt most people will chose both. One is to stay away from people whose likeability just hits the floor so as not to be affected by it. The other is to make them happy while pinpointing their character flaw. There's always a nice way to say something not nice. It's risky to do the latter especially when you try to keep business as purely business. But it does have some benefits. Having the customer realize that you are concerned with their overall welfare and not just their money as part of the business will make them long-time, committed customers. The choice is totally up to you to make.

Making Social Networking Work

While I am not an avid fan of social networking, its a fact that even businesses use it for their advantage - hiring people, getting potential business contacts, marketing, etc. Many people just use it for fun while others are reaping the benefits of maximizing their use. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to name a few of these social networking sites have become popular due to increased usage. In fact, even Pizza Hut hired a "Twintern" to promote their brand to their Twitter followers. While it has become a hype, making it work for you requires a lot of work. An article in NetworkWorld highlights 10 keys for making social networking work for your advantage. One thing I learned thoughout my experience with people is that whatever works with them works in just about any media. Think about it. Do you remember your classmates from decades ago unless you've initiated contact with them on a regular basis? What about the very first job you had? Do the people still remember who you are? How did you know about your current job? It's all about others - not you. If you jump into the social networking bandwagon thinking you want to be connected to others, first, think about what's in it for them. I see a lot of posts on these sites promoting products and services without even reading the code of conduct on the usage of the service. A lot of people find this pretty annoying and, hence, simply ignore them. But when people find out that you are there to help them out, they bring down their barriers and are more open to what you have to offer or your need.

Bottom line - if you want social networking to work for you, remember that it is not about you

The Customer is King vs Doing the Right Thing

Most of the service-oriented businesses these days know that the customer is always the king. This means doing everything they can at their disposal to make sure that their customers would be more than satisfied with their goods and services even to the extent of simply yielding to the customers' irrational requests. Having worked for service-oriented organizations where customers pay by man-hours or man-days (even man-minutes), I've heard of customers' requests to cut corners just to save time on projects and implementations which, of course, saves on consulting fees. Anybody who'd like to keep the customer happy would simply yield to such requests without thinking of the repercussions in the long run. As service providers, customers expect us to provide a high level of service and trusts us to make decisions for them. While saving the customer a few thousand dollars might make them happy for now, imagine what could happen down the road. For example, imagine you're a security consultant that charges on a per-man-day rate and that the customer saw the breakdown of your quote. Since they want to cut down on cost, they figured they can simply drop some of the services you are offering and just go with the "least" acceptable proposal. Now, as a security consultant, you know the risks of not implementing your entire suite of solutions but wouldn't want the customer to simply walk away without signing the contract. What would you do?

Compassionate Capitalism as some may call it

In a world where capitalism focuses more on profits and revenues, others may think making a difference is totally out of the picture. I was reading about TOMS Shoes and how the company started out as Blake Mycoskie, Chief Shoe Giver, wanted to help children from developing countries by providing them shoes to wear. Their motto: "One for one." His company would match every pair of shoes sold with a pair given to a child in need. Talk about real and authentic corporate social responsibility. I was reading more about TOMS Shoes and how it garnered a lot of media coverage, one being the AT&T ad featuring TOMS Shoes while they do their shoe drop activity. What's really amazing is the fact that the business model is built on the concept of compassionate capitalism where their vision is primarily what sustains the business. His explanation on the CGI U meeting with President Bill Clinton highlights that even during this time of ecenomic crisis, they have sold three times as much in the same month as compared to last year.

TOMS story is a testimony of compassionate capitalism at work and how organizations should think about their impact in society. More than just the leader's vision of growing the organization to greater heights, couple that with being socially responsible is how we can create a sustainable environment and make this world a better place to live in.

When Making a Contribution Is Better Than Doing Well

We all love to be noticed, affirmed, adored - name it. Its human nature. But sometimes, what prevents us from really performing at our peak is the fact that we want to do a really great job. You want to be the best secretary, the best office administrator, the best computer programmer and we want people to see it. Now there is really nothing wrong with that. But what if we, even for a minute, shifted our focus from doing really great at work to making a difference. Wouldn't that change our perspective? Imagine this, instead of being the best office clerk, what about focusing to make a difference in your organization because what you're doing will help someone else make their jobs a lot easier. Or maybe this, instead of being the best database engineer for a healthcare company, think about how your job helps decision makes recommend the best alternative for keeping healthcare costs down for a lot of people. It's not just being the best at what you can do that makes you become exceptional but finding meaning and purpose in what you do every single day.

Injecting humor in your presentations

I like funny people because they keep the atmosphere light. This is very important when dealing with highly controversial issues, particularly those of the government. I was watching White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs deliver his briefing on CNN and was amazed at how he tried to inject humor into the atmosphere. He started with informal comments about the TV series Chuck and went on to proceed with the briefing. What's fascinating was when one of the audience asked him about the comments of a Wall Street analyst about Obama's financial stimulus plan, he went on recommending to read the plan carefully and analyze, commenting that he would even invite the analyst for a cup of coffee at the White House adding "decaf" at the end of the comment. The entire room burst in laughter after hearing him say this. Humor just brightens up the atmosphere even when there's tension in the air. It is something that we need to remember, not just for people who do presentations but for all of us in general. There's just more than enough reason to laugh.

Include staff development in your business model

I'm a bit biased when it comes to staff development and training. I'll admit - I'm a trainer. But somehow, your staff development has a direct impact to your organization's success. I was on a conference call assisting a staff on installing and configuring a new technology that they need to deliver to their customers. The first thing I usually recommend is to go for a formal training. What's "not" surprising is that the most common response is "we don't have a budget for training." The irony behind it is that one generates a revenue when delivering any type of service. Organizations expect to get something without giving something as an investment. What's worse is that I've seen organizations where their business model doesn't include staff development at all. Most consulting and services delivery companies where they bill their clients by man-hours want to make sure that the majority of the time they bill should be charged to the clients. Where does staff development and training come into the picture?

We spend money on our stock portfolios and financial investments, thinking that they will have a good return in the future, depending on the market movements. We invest in making a good impression and creating a brand image. What could be more important than the very people who help the organization generate the revenue and profits that all balance sheets reflect?

As Zane Zafrit, CEO of Conference Calls Unlimited, said, "It’s clear that people really do make a difference in the success of (an organization)"

You choose how you make a mark

I was at a supermarket counter last night when the counter attendant asked us if we were from South America. I replied by saying we were from Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. The counter attendant suddenly replied, "Imelda Marcos! And her famous shoes!" While there was simply nothing wrong with what she said nor how she said it, I was surprised by what she said next. "Well, she definitely placed the Philippines on the map." That just confirmed what I always say when it comes to being popular. There are two ways to become famous: either you do good or just do the opposite. Either way, you'll leave a mark. Not only will that affect how we leave a legacy in this world, but it will definitely influence how people will look at who and what you are. It's your call

Include corporate social responsibility in your business model

It took me a few weeks to get back to blogging due to a lot of changes happening. But then, again, great ideas are always worth spreading.

A few weeks ago, I was privileged to assist Microsoft Singapore in providing software assistance to non-profit organizations. Normally, it only required reading thru some documentation and providing some analysis based on that but I've decided to go even further. Visiting the facility of the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS) was definitely an unforgettable experience. The SIA-MINDS is actually a joint-project with - guess who - Singapore Airlines. The head phones that you see and use on the Singapore Airlines flights are being prepared for by the trainees at MINDS. What's really encouraging is the fact that not only do we see people who are intellectually disabled doing the work that nobody else would probably see but we see them doing a really good job. And what's good about Singapore Airlines is that they have included corporate responsibility and welfare in their business model, recognizing the importance of contributing to the communities it serves. Corporate social responsibility has become a buzz word in today's modern organizations. But every now and then, it gets challenged by stakeholders especially in times of recession (I still believe that recession is a state of mind). But whether we like it or not, the community is part of any organizations' stakeholders. If the community flourishes, so does our businesses. It's a win-win situation.

I think the best thing to do is to include corporate social responsibility in our business model. That way, we even have budgets allocated for any related projects. What's more, apart from the fact that we feel good when we extend our hand to someone else, it's nice to know that a warm smile is waiting for a hand somewhere where we could have extended ours.

So the next time you fly Singapore Airlines, ask for a head phone - those cute colorful ones. You'll know that somebody went thru a lot of effort making sure that they are in good shape for your entire flight.

You Get What You Pay For

With all these scares on the melamine issue from products coming out of China, I couldn't help but think about the very principle behind it. I am not against low-cost labor or cheaper alternatives but the bottom-line still remains which happens to be one of my favourite taglines these past few days: you get what you pay for. A lot of multinational companies have outsourced their manufacturing to China because of the low labor cost, thinking that it would eventually end up with increased profits. Probably for the short term but with products being recalled, I don't know how they would quantify that. The same is true for just about anything. A lot of companies treat employees and staff the same way. They think that not sending people to training or not properly investing in them would eventually end up with increased profits because of lower costs. This ends up with employee morale going down causing them to become unproductive and eventually leave. Management thinking that they can get away with not investing in their staff ends up being more costly in the long run.

Same is true with leadership and teamwork as pointed out in the Law of the Price Tag in the book The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork by Dr. John Maxwell. When organizations are not willing to pay the price for growth, they end up losing a lot. Bottom-line still is: you get what you pay - or not pay - for.

The next time you see a cost entry in your balance sheet - whether for an employee benefit or a business investment - evaluate it with a different perspective. I don't see it as cost when it is for an employee benefit but rather as an investment. And always remember: you get what you pay for!

Work With, Not For

A typical response everytime you ask somebody where they work is this: "I work for..." Whether intentional or simply something we got used to, it somehow represents how our working relationships are with our employer or boss. In a boss-subordinate kind of relationship, there is not much to say about co-dependence. Maybe this is where we got the term "working for." And maybe we need a new mindset where the boss-subordinate kind of relationship needs to be changed to something like "coach-team staff" where everybody in the team would realize the value each one brings into the team to become successful. Think about it. Imagine a basketball team where each player has a different goal or the star player wants to show off or the coach simply wants to finish the game. There's no way they can make it to the championship with that kind of mindset. But with each member of the team focusing on a common goal, "working with" each other instead of working for the coach, the championship is just a matter of time. Co-dependency may not make a star player but it definitely makes a championship team. And a championship team makes every member a star player.

The Success Formula #1

I've had the opportunity to speak about The Ironies of Opposites for Success last year at the PASS Community Summit in Denver, CO. There really is no silver bullet to become successful but principles applied in every day life. The goal of this article is to come up with a series of formulas for success that we can apply.

Formula #1: Your success in any undertaking is directly proportional to how much you enjoy working with the people in your team.

Whether we like it or not, relationship has a big impact in just about anything we do - work, study, recreation, etc. And as we try to attain a specific goal and build a team, we need team members who are rockstars to become very successful. We cannot do it on our own. The book The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork by Dr. John Maxwell highlights this fact in every chapter. But what's more important is not just having great players in the team but making sure you have good working relationships with every member. Let's face it. How many baseball or football teams have you heard where the a great player leaves the team because of a stained relationship with the coach or the team captain. It's impossible to please everybody but not the fact that you can build good relationships with anybody. And this could mean the difference between success and failure. One article I read about employee turnover in organizations mentions "employees don't quit jobs, they quit managers." This simply highlights the importance of relationships in the corporate world.

When I was starting off in business, I have coined the term "relationship selling" and "relationship marketing" which highlights the effectiveness of relationships in your sales and marketing efforts. Maintaining very good relationships with existing customers would be more profitable than getting new ones. You can ask just about any sales professional you know and they'll say the same thing. Bottom line is that you can no longer ignore the effects of relationship in just about anything you do and it may spell the difference between success and failure.

I will be speaking on using Emotional Intelligence in Information Technology in this year's PASS Community Summit in Seattle, WA

Leadership Lessons from a Formula One Grand Prix Race

Singapore happened to host the very first Formula One Grand Prix evening race. Formula One, or F1, is the highest class of open wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. Hundreds of avid fans flocked to Singapore this past weekend to watch this sport live. Though I am not an avid F1 fan, I like sports car racing and anything that has something to do with cars. But we preferred watching it from the comforts of our own living room as the sound of the F1 cars from beside the tracks is totally deafening unless you brought some noise reduction/cancellation gadgets like ear plugs. While fans watch the fancy cars and enjoyed the rush of the race, I was watching how teams work together in the pits together with the drivers. There's a lot of leadership lessons you'll learn from such a popular sports event. Here are a few that I've noted.

1. FOCUS. If you want to achieve your goals, focus is the key. This was proven by F1 Singapore Grand Prix Champion Fernando Alonso from Team Renault. He has posted great results on the practice laps during the first night and was pretty sure he'll make it to the top. Unfortunately, his car suffered some serious mechanical problems during the qualifying rounds on the second night, causing him to start at the 15th position during the finals. Though disappointed by the results of the qualifying rounds, that did not deter him from focusing on what he really wanted - the championship title. That focus has given him the opprtunity to bounce back during the finals, making him the first F1 Night Race Champion.


2. TEAM-SPIRIT. While the drivers appear to be the very popular ones in this sport, every one plays a very important role - and in this sport, the term "very important" is an understatement. One mistake could cost not just the championship title but lives as well. Everyone in the team wants to be the champion - whether it's the driver or the constructor team categories. But doing it as an individual would cause really serious damage. This is what happened when Felipe Masa of the Ferarri Team. He took pole position during the qualifying rounds but one mistake during the finals caused him the title. As he sped away during a pit stop, some of the pit crew are knocked down after they failed to get fueling hose off the car. This could have caused some fuel ignition and possible fire as the fuel hose was leaking with fuel as it was being dragged by the car and that sparks were coming out of the car every now and then. The pit crew could have lost his life in the process. A Ferrari engineer was said to be at fault for Massa's double pit disaster. In organizations, teamwork is normally highlighted in high-profile activities but underestimated in others. Imagine how a team would perform if members, including the leader, would make everyone feel that their roles are very important in the success of the entire team as well as the organization. Most of the time, it's th star players, the managers and the bosses who are given that mindset but does not trickle down to the subordinates. A mistake made by a Ferrari engineer has caused them the championship


3. PRACTICE YOUR SUCCESS MOVES. An article in a local Singapore newspaper featured the McLaren-Mercedes Team practicing their pit stop maneuvers and tasks during the first few hours before the race. The team believed that what they do during their practice determines the outcome of the competition. Which is why even at the last minute, they still did those practice moves, earning them the constructor team championship in this race. This should be the same with organizations. We wanted our teams to win yet we do not practice those moves that will make us win. Take for instance a team of sales people who wanted to win that big account for the quarter. We assume that the sales people can do it without sending them for training or practicing those closing phrases. Or the IT team who is responsible for keeping the IT infrastructure up and running and making sure the most critical IT projects are successfully implemented. Managers assume that the IT guys are smart enough to pick it up on their own and not send them to training. If we really want to be successful as an individual or a team, make sure we practice those success moves and do them correctly and efficiently.

There are more leadership lessons learned on and off the F1 race track but these are the most visible ones. As managers and leaders, may we learn from the greatest sporting event on this planet to achieve that championship title we've always wanted. For pictures of the Singapore Grand Prix, check out the Boston Globe website or check the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix website. Enjoy the ride!

When Reducing Cost is More Than What It Is

I've been following the progress of Tim Sander's book "Saving The World At Work" and found a great perspective on cutting down on cost (didn't I say I'm a fan of Tim Sanders?) I'm really good at finding means to cut down on costs, coming from a third-world country where resources are scarce. In businesses where making profit is a top priority, the common message is to increase revenue or lower down costs to make sure profits go up. The ideal case would be to do both at the same time, hence, maximizing profits. Today, cutting down costs means more than that. It means saving the environment, as the book highlights. Whether you are turning off the lights when not in use or simply reducing the amount of paper used to print documents, it's a means to saving your environment. And this is one message you need to convey to customers, staff, partners and stakeholders. Not only do you get their support (who wouldn't want to save the environment with what is happening around us?) but also gives you a different perspective on increasing your profit margins.

Brag About Your Staff...and do it often

One thing managers are really good at is bragging about their accomplishments. There's nothing wrong with that so long as you do not take credit for what is not yours. But what they need to do more often is brag about their staff and make sure they do it real good. I had an opportunity to do just that last week where our project director asked me if I can deal with an immediate project. I know its not my field of expertise but I know somebody from my peers who's really good at it. I started talking to my director about the guy and made sure he gets to do the job. I acted as the coordinator/project manager for this until the issue has been resolved. I requested for a comprehensive report of what the guy did to fix the issue and formatted it very well to make sure my director would perceive of it as a highly critical project. After submitting the report, I made it a point that he gets compensated for what he did. To make the long story short, the guy got compensated for what he did because I pushed so hard for it. But my job didn't stop at the point where he got the payment. I've crafted a very nice email thanking the customer for their confidence in our team and that we under my director's leadership are committed to excellent customer service and are always ready to be of help. I asked the guy to send that email to the customer and copied our director. That guy became a somebody from a nobody in a span of a week and the management realized his value in the organization.

As managers, we get much of the limelight especially when our team did really good on a project or two. It wouldn't hurt if we let our staff take the spotlight once in a while and make sure they shine within the organization. They will feel good about themselves, about you as their manager and the organization for recognizing their potential. So, for the weeks to come, find something about your staff that you can brag about and make sure they feel it. They'll love you for doing it