One time ago, Attorney Riza Baldovino was the Chair of the Humanities Division of the Ateneo de Davao University. And during her tenure, she had to "endure" interviewing one scrawny college kid who was secretly wondering why he's in that moment (if I remember correctly, that interview was for a school award, where you get to win a shiny new medal if you know how to sell yourself properly to the school's almighty beings. Rough example: "Hey, you have no choice but to let me have this award. I've got a lot of extra-curricular and co-curricular activities under my belt and also some senior positions in various organizations too. I've helped out many people and I'm pretty sure I embody all the values this school is trying to teach. Did I mention that I get high grades? Or that I'm super confident? Do good looks count? " You get the picture.)
That boy is me, apparently. Inevitably, Ma'am Riza asked me what my plans are in life. As for my answer, I didn't share my plans with her. My contention was that if I did not share my plans to others, especially her, then I would be safe. I would be safe because if I turn out to be a failure in the end, then nobody would know because I kept it a secret. On the other hand, if I did reach my goals, then it's ok.
Recently, I had to do a bit of thinking whether my contention is still correct. I had the chance to chat with Noewen Lamoste some time ago and, inevitably (again), the topic of our conversation shifted to what our plans were. And you know what she said? Well, she told me she wouldn't share it because of the same reason I gave to Ma'am Riza (It dawned on me that she asked me the same question several months ago and got the same answer).
Now, I'm having a change of heart. Yes, not sharing your plans with others is safe. But I realized that it does not help me one bit. That's because by keeping on doing this, I'm shutting myself from people who could otherwise help me achieve my goal. Also, I think I'll be more pressured to try my very best if I know a lot of people know what I want to do (consider it old-fashioned "hubris/heroic boasting").
So what are my plans? Well, I would rather call it a vision.
Imagine this:
A successful group of companies made up of a hundred home-grown, Mindanao-based SMEs (and a few large ones na rin siguro)
That’s it. Simple and daunting at the same time. Of course, I have to tell you that I’m heavily influenced by the book Heroic Leadership by Chris Lowney and I intend to infuse his four pillars of leadership (Love, Self-awareness, Ingenuity, Heroism) to this vision.
I also have to tell you that I came up with this when I asked myself one fine morning, “Why is it that the other provinces in the country have Aboitiz, Ayalas, Gokongweis, Lopezes and (write famous name of big and powerful business clan here) and Mindanao does not have any?” (Looking back, that was ignorant of me. Some families in Mindanao have made a name for themselves in the business world. However, they still aren’t as popular internationally or even in the national level) I’m not saying that the “Bataller/Evangelio clan ought to be the next big thing in business and I intend to make that happen.” My vision is far from that actually. What I’m envisioning about is a group of companies wholly owned by Mindanawons, a community of people bound together by a common cultural and geographic identity.
The implications of the vision is sort of, well, great. Grupo Mindanao (The name of this group of companies, since I can’t think of anything more decent as of the moment) will be a huge boon to the region, erasing away decades of economic distress brought about by armed conflict and ethnic violence. It is going to be a huge brand, both promoting the region and further developing it.
For the promotion part, having Grupo Mindanao would give out the message that, “Hey! You thought Mindanao is a land of broken promises and endless strife? Well, look at us. We have an organic business organization that can rival the biggest corporations in the country. You still think that Mindanao is for the dogs?” I’m imagining a lot of investments coming in already.
For the development part, I’m thinking about Grupo Mindanao as the starting point, the front-end, for a big civic development foundation that will rival only NEDA. Think of it as CSR designed to benefit an entire island. With good business comes more money and with more money comes a more ambitious CSR program.
Maybe, five to ten years from now, I’ll look back at this post and say, “Goodness, am I the dreamer.” Maybe then, the whole vision might have proven itself too big, too grandiose to be achieved. Maybe then, I would have changed priorities and would have neglected it (Example: “Gosh, maybe I’m destined to be a Jesuit after all! So why am I still trying to build a business?”) Maybe then, I can only laugh and say, “Goodness, I was so naïve.”
Or maybe then, I get to achieve this and the vision comes true. Who knows, right? Either way, I’ve laid it down here. So pray that I be blessed and wish me luck.
That boy is me, apparently. Inevitably, Ma'am Riza asked me what my plans are in life. As for my answer, I didn't share my plans with her. My contention was that if I did not share my plans to others, especially her, then I would be safe. I would be safe because if I turn out to be a failure in the end, then nobody would know because I kept it a secret. On the other hand, if I did reach my goals, then it's ok.
Recently, I had to do a bit of thinking whether my contention is still correct. I had the chance to chat with Noewen Lamoste some time ago and, inevitably (again), the topic of our conversation shifted to what our plans were. And you know what she said? Well, she told me she wouldn't share it because of the same reason I gave to Ma'am Riza (It dawned on me that she asked me the same question several months ago and got the same answer).
Now, I'm having a change of heart. Yes, not sharing your plans with others is safe. But I realized that it does not help me one bit. That's because by keeping on doing this, I'm shutting myself from people who could otherwise help me achieve my goal. Also, I think I'll be more pressured to try my very best if I know a lot of people know what I want to do (consider it old-fashioned "hubris/heroic boasting").
So what are my plans? Well, I would rather call it a vision.
Imagine this:
A successful group of companies made up of a hundred home-grown, Mindanao-based SMEs (and a few large ones na rin siguro)
That’s it. Simple and daunting at the same time. Of course, I have to tell you that I’m heavily influenced by the book Heroic Leadership by Chris Lowney and I intend to infuse his four pillars of leadership (Love, Self-awareness, Ingenuity, Heroism) to this vision.
I also have to tell you that I came up with this when I asked myself one fine morning, “Why is it that the other provinces in the country have Aboitiz, Ayalas, Gokongweis, Lopezes and (write famous name of big and powerful business clan here) and Mindanao does not have any?” (Looking back, that was ignorant of me. Some families in Mindanao have made a name for themselves in the business world. However, they still aren’t as popular internationally or even in the national level) I’m not saying that the “Bataller/Evangelio clan ought to be the next big thing in business and I intend to make that happen.” My vision is far from that actually. What I’m envisioning about is a group of companies wholly owned by Mindanawons, a community of people bound together by a common cultural and geographic identity.
The implications of the vision is sort of, well, great. Grupo Mindanao (The name of this group of companies, since I can’t think of anything more decent as of the moment) will be a huge boon to the region, erasing away decades of economic distress brought about by armed conflict and ethnic violence. It is going to be a huge brand, both promoting the region and further developing it.
For the promotion part, having Grupo Mindanao would give out the message that, “Hey! You thought Mindanao is a land of broken promises and endless strife? Well, look at us. We have an organic business organization that can rival the biggest corporations in the country. You still think that Mindanao is for the dogs?” I’m imagining a lot of investments coming in already.
For the development part, I’m thinking about Grupo Mindanao as the starting point, the front-end, for a big civic development foundation that will rival only NEDA. Think of it as CSR designed to benefit an entire island. With good business comes more money and with more money comes a more ambitious CSR program.
Maybe, five to ten years from now, I’ll look back at this post and say, “Goodness, am I the dreamer.” Maybe then, the whole vision might have proven itself too big, too grandiose to be achieved. Maybe then, I would have changed priorities and would have neglected it (Example: “Gosh, maybe I’m destined to be a Jesuit after all! So why am I still trying to build a business?”) Maybe then, I can only laugh and say, “Goodness, I was so naïve.”
Or maybe then, I get to achieve this and the vision comes true. Who knows, right? Either way, I’ve laid it down here. So pray that I be blessed and wish me luck.
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