Travelogue-My hometown

Family is really getting excited for my hometown trip.
1. June 4th - arrive midnight and will be fetched by family members!
2. June 5th - nostalgic trip down to my hometown, school, relatives, friends.
3. June 6th - hit the road to the North. We are going to where a former president had lived. Visit his masouleum and the famous Malacanang of the north. Paoay lake. Fort Ilocandia.
4. June 7th - rest. Prepare for Manila trip.
5. June 8th - early morning travel to manila. Rest and massage at SM?
6. June 9th - travel to QC, my old university. Watch PBA game?
7. June 10th - travel to Tagaytay. Meet churchmates in Tagaytay?
8. June 11th - early morning travel to Subic. Rest at hotel.
9. June 12th - road to Bataan, Mt Samat, Old nuclear power plant.
10. June 13th - rest at Holiday Inn clark.
11. June 14th - back to my adopted country.

Rule#2

#2: Know what a team is and how it works. It is made up of dynamic personalities.

APPLICATION: Find out what motivates my people. Know who's the influencer, the indirect leader and who's opinion matters most.

#2 Set an example/standards:

APPLICATION: Work hard, play hard. Question everything. Mold ones character. Be a person of integrity.

Rule#1 of Management - My daily rule application

Rule #1
Managing your team : People can manage themselves if you let them. What you need to be concentrating on is the real job of management - the strategy.

APPLICATION: I went to look into how my overall global strategy. I have also trained China team. I realized these efforts are all Quadrant II areas citing Steven Covey's 7 habits.

Managing yourself: Get it done/work hard. Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.

APPLICATION: I have to spend until 10:30 pm last night to tackle training with my supplier. Beyond that I have to be at the sending off dinner with one of my leaders at church!

Who do you admire?

I must admit I was getting a little 'emo' when I joined my youngest son for 1 on 1 the past 2 weeks. For one thing, gone are the days when all I do is talk to him about 'games, fun events and other 'kids' stuff.

Now the tone is more serious. The conversation is revolving around his officership in the Natl cadet corps, his exercise routine to strengthen his body, even life and some history about our family.

I am prepared to handling kids during our early part of our life. But now that I am raising teens, my learning curve has to happen fast in order to model the way.

I remember when I was a teen that the common theme is to look for role model or 'idol' or even 'heroes' outside of the family. I asked my son last night. I asked him straight, 'so who do you admire in the family?. He said, without batting an eyelash.

Mom! I asked, why? Because she's smart, works hard and takes care of me. I was inwardly elated to hear of such comment! At least I now know my youngest does not have to look 'outside' of the family to look for people to admire.

It's now my turn to work harder in what I do so I too would elicit the same admiration from my boys. Its easier said than done, though...

My Hometown

I am getting nostalgic as of late as my wife and kids make mental preparations to go back to my hometown in 3 weeks time. I am reminded of where I came from, and what this means to me.

Having this 1 day break from work-family-ministry (not in that order of course) life cycle allows me to somehow reflect on where am I and where I am heading in the journey called LIFE.

For one thing, being introduced to the life changing principles of Christ and HIS WORD is the foundation of everything I do now. Serving in a church ministry together with tireless leaders who have unshakable commitment and deep faith to the living GOD is something I cannot thank GOD more than enough.

I also remember the work organization that I belong to for honing my leadership and managerial skills in a top notch global environment. One lesson I learned is that no matter how diverse a global culture we live in, deep inside our being, we all long for the same basic human need - the desire to be loved (recognized), cared for, nurtured and led.

But in all these, I shall always be indebted for the free education in a public institution that has shaped and molded me during my formative years. I know I shall one day give back to the many nameless and faceless Juan de la cruz folks who toiled so hard to earn a penny so I could enjoy a free and world class education.

And even if I am out of my homeland for many years, and no matter where my job and where I will be in the future, I shall always be 100% Filipino and 100% Servant leader of a Living GOD!

My prayer is that I live up to what my founding fathers have sacrificed their lives for. After all, one martyr once said " The Filipino is worth dying for".

May I carry the message for the benefit of the next generations to come. Mabuhay Ka Pinoy!

Lyrics from Ako ay Pilipino

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Ako ay Pilipino

Ang dugo’y maharlika

Likas sa aking puso

Adhikaing kay ganda

Sa Pilipinas na aking bayan

Lantay na Perlas ng Silanganan

Wari’y natipon ang kayamanan mg maykapal

Bigay sa ‘king talino

Sa mabuti lang laan

Sa aking katutubo

Ang maging mapagmahal

Ako ay Pilipino

Ako ay Pilipino

Isang Bansa, sang diwa

Ang minimithi ko

Sa bayan ko’t bandila

laan buhay ko’t diwa

Ako ay Pilipino

Pilipinong totoo

Ako ay Pilipino

Ako ay Pilipino

Taas noo, kahit kanino

Ang Pilipino ay …Ako

Back to Basics

How do we go back to basics if we don't have the basics to go back to.

3 Key Leadership Principles

There are at least 3 principles in leadership I have learned over the years:

1. Leadership is a journey. Take people to a whole new land. A new experience. Get them to
thinking that where they are right now is not good. Paint a bleak picture of today and a rosy picture of tomorrow, or what is out there. Of course your personality comes into play how you can do this, esp if obstacles are in the path. And in all of this, do it with all honesty and candor. People hate liars and phony characters.

2. Leadership is about movitation (the heart). Its not enough to give them a good reason (head), but even more important engage their emotions. Remember, people buy on emotion and justify on reason. Study the people you lead and understand what makes them tick, each one of them:)

3. Leadership is caring. People don't care what you say (or where you're taking them) if they don't see that you care. This is basic human interaction process. Be sincere. Don't care for the sake of caring, people can see it. Be genuine too. Voice out your emotion. If you're angry show it. If you like it praise. This way people see your vulnerability and will respect you for that.

Contract

My son and I had a deal. He promised that if he is on the top 5 of his class that I award him with 70 bucks for his effort (1H2011).

To reinforce the importance of this deal and mimic the real world, I had to assemble a quick contract and we both signed the agreement inside a moviehouse (while watching Rango::).

Hope that he learns his lesson and that I am setting a good example for him to follow one day.

Updates

I looked at my post and it read January 17! Wow, it felt like its been ages since I updated my blog. Lets 'look back' and find out what happened over the course of 2 months.

February saw my inlaws, parent and brother in law, coming to town. The whole mid week of Feb was spent picking them up, touring SGP and of course lots of fellowship! Before this time was church work monitoring the couples night out.

March saw me celebrating my birthday with my parents in law. One memorable event took place at the dinner party where we celebrated. Just my being a 'hero' in saving the day with my kids, I almost ruined the dinner with a brief spat with the owner/manager who stubbornly refuse to let us take photo. I told her its my birthday for Christ sake! Even then, she came away with funny stories about how a woman who barge into her resto and turning out the person was in fact from a competitor.

Can't ask for more...

vision

Create a vision so great that if God is not in it, it will doom to fail.

ambiguity

Leaders don't avoid ambiguity. They thrive on it! After all, if everything is so crystal clear, then we don't need to communicate.