Time not money not manpower is your most important resource

Rizal Philippines
July 25, 2019

Entrepreneur - the importance of time

Time is your most important resource, second to none. Time  the 4th dimension, is gold, time lost is lost forever.  We are given only 24 hours in a day equally no more no less.  But why are some people more successful than others.  Its because they manage their time well.

Quote from Alexander the Great who conquered almost 1/4 of the Globe when he was yet in his 30's

1. Time is your most precious gift because you only have a set amount of it. You can make more money, but you can't make more time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you'll never get back. Your time is your life. That is why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time.

Thus in a corporate world:

1.  Time management should be taught and practiced;  every one should have an organizer

2.  Encourage people to be punctual.   Reward the doers...

3.  Penalize those who cant...

In order to predict the future, you have to create it... Abraham Lincoln

Rizal Philippines
July 25, 2019

Many of us are fooled by shamans and crystal ball con men;  if they were correct, then many would be out of their jobs because they would have predicted that can be rich.  But many are not.... Because it difficult to predict the future.  Even horrorscope are not up to it because they are vague generalities.  What they say can apply to anybody and the statements do not amount to anything specific about the future. 

And economists are as incapable too of predicting the future.

Abraham Lincoln and Peter Drucker are more direct in saying that future can be predicted by our creating the same.  That for sure can be certain..

I will have a shopping complex here by 2020.  I will have a 200 unit housing project here by end of 2021.  That is certain. The ability to sell of them maybe not as sure...  Or excel financial projection may be at best guess or approximation....

First things first - establishing right priorities

Rizal Philippines
July 25, 2019

Peter Drucker says executive makes effective decisions?  What are effective decisions?

Stephen Covey in his 7 habits of highly effective people says "First things first"

What would be the first?   From where I am coming from, they would refer to actions needed to increase sales, and reduce costs. And or opportunities to do both... These are the first things to be noticed and acted upon by the executive. The others may be secondary,  or less important.  What pre occupies our time are problems and/or routine tasks:  tsimis and other tidbits about human relationships and politics.  Nothing could be worse time wasters than these.  We know this but most of us waste time on these matters.

For others the priorities would be the more urgent pressing matters:   the call by the boss, the customer, problems that need our attention.  An executive gets overwhelmed by these pressing albeit irrelevant concerns (to the sale and collection target)

For the rest of the staff, I noticed that their concern are the easy stuff, the routine.  They would not touch the hard stuff... The hard stuff are difficult but are more important for the business.

In  a hospital, the most important thing to mind is the mortality rate and/or the ability to make sick and critically ill patients well.  Short of achieving miracle.  But many staff will not cross the line or do their best.  For a company engaged in sales, it is critical to sell.  But many do not... Or are not worried if they dont.  The effective executive will not stop unless he/she has solved this selling problem

For many in the same hospital the concern of many people would be the salaries, promotion, and office dynamics, and forget the most critical aspects that need their energy and attention

Edward de Bonos Lateral Thinking - thinking out of the box

Rizal Philippines
July 25, 2019


DeBono Thinking System, Lateral thinking

I taught this topic via book reports in MBA Entrep subject as part of changing mindset, critical thinking.  We cant have new ideas (if we define entrepreneurship as someone who comes up with new products)  if we use the same thinking pattern.  New products can emerge from the entrepreneur if he uses a new method of thinking.  One of these is Lateral Thinking by Edward de Bono.  His method is often called thinking out of the box (from his example of how to pass 3 lines in a box in a single pass.   The solution is having the solution outside the box...

Lateral thinking as opposed to vertical thinking may be illogical or extra ordinary.  It can be called being smart aleck or thinking like a funny man;  not thinking of the obvious but in  a new unthought of variant options....

Some examples, how to:

Lateral Thinking Techniques

Alternatives: How to use concepts as a breeding ground for new ideas. Sometimes we do not look beyond the obvious alternatives. 

Focus: When and how to change the focus of your thinking. You will learn the discipline of defining your focus and sticking to it. 

Challenge: Breaking free from the limits of traditional thinking. With challenges, we act as though the present way of doing things is not necessarily the best. 

Random Entry: Using unconnected input to open up new lines of thinking. 

Provocation and Movement: Generating provocative statements and using them to build new ideas. 

Harvesting: Capturing your creative output. At the end of a creative-thinking session, we normally only take note of the specific ideas that seem practical and have obvious value. 

Treatment of Ideas: How to develop ideas and shape them to fit an organization or situation. 

How many squares do you see? Doing things completely and thoroughly

Rizal Philippines
July 25, 2019

Many would normally see and report only 16 the obvious answer.  4 rows x 4 columns =  16.   There are actually 30 in all.   Where are the rest?

Your goals therefore in your job, to give a 100% effort and results is to look for the other 14 squares.  Observe learn and observe.  Research, ask questions. Practice analytical thinking.   Leave no stones unturned.   It takes some doing to do this.  Look for things that others have neglected or overlooked.  Look at all angles.  Anticipate problems, do not stop until you are completely convinced that you did the task/project

Strive to do your job not only 100% but 150%

Basic formula for a business: +Sales - Cost =+GP

Rizal Philippines
July 25, 2019

 +Sales - Cost =+GP

It is the goal of every body in a business organization to Add to Sales, and reduce cost.  The worse member would not sell, or impede sales, or add to cost.     A good and effective member must contribute to either one of them or both...

The goal of marketing for instance is to satisfy customer wants and needs better than competitors at a profit...  It is a no brainer and you do not need a marketing director to give away your product and services at cost or at a loss.

I recently entertained an application for chief marketing officer, working now as SVP for an HMO company.  To pick his brains I asked him to prepare a marketing plan, which after analyzing showed me that he needs P16 m for op ex and cap ex for the first year.  He plans to sell x number of units.  He came from an HMO and he would sell a different kind of product.  He wants to transfer our Head Office to a city and the regulators just approved the transfer of HO from MM to a suburb.. His suggestion is not feasible...

When I asked the candidate to compute the ROI (how from his numbers can we recover the P16M) the candidate sadly asked me to refer the matter to a finance man, (siya inuutusan to justify) as if this office does not know anything about finance...

It is sad to know that in many organizations many people do not understand their relevance to this basic equation:  how to help increase sales, and/or reduce expenses/costs

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God...

Rizal Philippines
July 24, 2019

I heard this from a lady in Polomok South Cotabato who felt no remorse nor sympathy for her husband who died in a car accident after coming home from a night spot. "the wages of sin is death' Romans 6:23

I encountered this in our business where several people who stole money and materials from us, 3 of them died suddenly. We did not wish them to die. But they died.  The saying being wielded by the Lord against the sinners?

Let us remind ourselves of the  second part  that says "the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord

New definition of asset and liability

Rizal Philippines
July 24, 2019

Any accounting  or business course graduate will tell you is anything that eats or uses funds:  a car, a house, appliance  or anything bought with your money.  A liability is what you owe to a lender, to an appliance factor. etc.

But a new definition came in from financial advisers.

Asset is anything that generates income for the holder:  stocks bonds, deposits in banks or income generating properties.  Or a raw land that appreciates in value...

Anything that requires expenses and creates liabilities for you is a liability like a car that requires amortization, fuel, insurance repair cost.    Before you buy anything think about this definition  Is the equipment machinery or the thing to be bought bringing in positive or negative cash flow.  Prefer the ones that bring in positive cash flow.

What about a 6 figure carbon fiber bike:  all Italian:  frameset, group set, and wheel set.   Is it an asset or liability?

In the course of our business partnerships, we bought inventories which we were unable to sell ASAP. The father of the partner was criticizing us for the failed goal of selling the ash crypts.  But we did not lose anything

Our work should be our prayer, offering to the Lord

Rizal Philippines
July 24, 2019

Our lives have been characterized by a duality, a schism between our working and religious lives.  They are divorced and entirely separate in many people.  Some people will work lazily in their jobs, but work hard in volunteer work at the church.  Or somebody who just got out of church will curse fellow drivers on the way out of church yard...

Or somebody who recites well passages of the Bible will see nothing wrong with stealing time from his employer.  I worked with a Pastor who stole P200,000 form us, or a religious fanatic who swindled us with false loan application aside from being a suspect in theft of lap tops.  How could that be.?

Our advice is to offer our work as a prayer.  To  live one life of a worker and a religious.  To make this life integrated.  Our religious life, the ritual life should not be confined to the church but lived in the lay life as well. The taking of the Eucharist is a reminder that Jesus Christ should live in us and his words must be lived to benefit fellow Christians.

What we do should be for the greater glory of God.  Ad Majorem Dei Gloria.  We offer our lives to Him, the joys and the pain, things in the past, and things yet unseen.  Our plans and aspirations we offer to the Lord. Thus we cant produce jobs that are late and lousy

Good management is good management anywhere

Rizal Philippines
July 24, 2019

After I asked one of our project engineers the above statement, I queried him if Japanese managers are better than him.  And he answered yes.  And I said why did you contradict yourself.

Good management can be learned whatever the creed, the nationality.  But it takes a lot of learning, hard work and discipline to do this.  Thus Filipino engineers and managers are showing the way in the Middle East,  Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan Korea and even USA.

Good mangers are good managers anywhere.

A good business has good ROI, like a seed that grows and multiplies

Rizal Philippines
July  24, 2019

A good business has good ROI.  Remember the Dupont Formula for ROI =

          Net Income/Sales   x   Sales/Total Assets    x  Total  Assets/ TSEquity    = Net Income/TSE
             patong (Efficiency)          turn over (paikot)           Leverage (Laway)

This is a very demanding formula where it requires very high efficiency and productivity and wise use of
of  resources. Just  like the master wanting doubling of assets (the talents) when he returns from a long travel.

Therefore a good business is one that yields plenty just like say seed of palay 1 cavan of seeds will yield 300 cavan.  Or one seed of mango will bear a tree that can produce 100 kaing of mango per season.    Or P50,000 worth of fingerling that can yield P5,000,000  worth of bangus in one season...

Just like the parable of the mustard seed..Which grows big in size and becomes shelter to many animals
Parable of the mustard seed    Dr. Jose Rizal compared someone who has no contribution to society to a tree without leaves, flowers nor fruits... Useless

What ever the comparison, you as a businessman or steward of business must nurture that business to bear fruits and do good to many

Every employee must be trained to think and behave like a business person

Rizal Philippines
July 24, 2019

I heard this from a former sales manager a kapadyak who worked for Japanese firms.  That is the first thing he teaches his trainee:  that since the trainees are working in a business  they should be taught this basic tenet.  That they should be taught strategic thinking ie, that they can contribute to sales, and reduce expenses.

Once upon a time, I asked a regular employee of HR and asked her how does she make money for the company. She answered, "When I do my job well I contribute to the revenues of the company or reduce costs...."  I was hoping that she would say, "When I make sure that there is 100% product knowledge, that people think in terms of PNL, then I would be able to contribute to the growth of the company"

Or if I hire staff who are A OK in customer service....

A while ago I was talking to a personnel in the north, and he was giving away a service at low low price. In the first place he lacked the product knowledge.  And for him, he forgot marketing is meeting customer wants and needs at a profit.  Maski  malulugi o kaunti kikitain ng kumpanya ok lang sa kanya....  (basta ok lang suweldo niya.  How can his suweldo be sustainable..

Two uses of loan or capital investments

Rizal Philippines
July 21, 2019

There are only two major uses of additional capital investments or loan proceeds - 1.  to increase revenues, and 2 to reduce expenses. My take on the above as a former banker and businessman...   Whether  that they will be used for equipment or working capital (as more inventories or more investment in receivables.)   They should not be used for luxury nor for other plain expenses..Or to make the business remain in status quo condition.   . If the bankers would be strict about this, there would be lesser defaults. However this might not be applicable to dot.com companies or programming business?

MVP has been notorious in cap ex planning to demand revenue generation for any cap ex request.   Buying for the sake of buying should not be allowed.  

Thus think of somebody who bought a machine for P1 million but is capable of peeling potatoes at the rate of  P100 million worth of french fries a year.   Or a machine that will save you P20 million a year  . Even a weighing scale for trucks that can detect palusot or over packing products is worth the money put into it.

We had an elderly friend who accompany us on 4x4 adventure, who told of a story that he was commissioned by a cigarette manufacturing company to build a machine that can pack 36 sticks into a box.  
Because he was a genius in machine work he was able to build one.   He demonstrated its efficiency and capability and it worked.   He was asked how much the company will pay? He said P1.2 million.  Well the purchaser and the VP for manufacturing haggled to reduce the price to 1/10 the amount since they costed the labor and materials to be only that much.

The machinist said let us match manual labor and the machine to produce the same output. The P1.2 million he said will be the salary of workers packing the  cigarette.  They tried and soon paid the P1.2 million he priced for the machine..

Exalting the poor or making the poor beat poverty

Rizal Philippines
July 25, 2019

The beatitudes that exalts the poor has been grossly misinterpreted by many and corrupted our ideas on the poor.  Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven  Mathew 5:13   It is the belief of this post and so with others that this saying is meant to motivate the poor; to lift them out from depths of poverty and give them hope. They shall be better and not remain impoverished.... It is not meant to be a static statement to glorify their situation..

And thus justify some statements:   as said by a former bishop, "It is ok for the poor for the poor to steal and rob if he or she is hungry.!!!? What revision of the ten commandments?

And this is being bastardized by politicians, "Si.... para sa mahirap."   How many  have used the cause of the poor... to justify plunder crimes as PDAF DAP....

We have to make the poor productive by teaching them how to fish, rather than cash donations that make them reliant or weaker by making them dependent on dole outs.    Education and livelihood are decent things we can provide the less privileged

Jesus Christ was the son of carpenter and may be well to do.  He was not a Jolog...

Doing something extra - it does not have to be many or big...

Rizal Philippines
July 24, 2019

Some people think that doing extra ordinary things need double the effort or really doing the extra mile  -  another mile or another same effort. The extra is just that extra .   Small effort or small additional things to be done.. Things about that...

Ordinary people too can do something extra ordinary -  beyond them by exerting extra effort

As Wayne Dyer said, just + 1 degree Celsius....

How to be a no limit person

Rizal Philippines
July 24, 2019

This thought comes from my earlier readings and self improvement tapes I got from my mother (RIP), our former Chairman who bought these Earl Nightingale tapes in the hope of motivating me as her subordinate in business

Wayne Dyer talks about boiling water.. It boils at 100 degrees Celsius but boil it further to 101 degrees Celsius, it becomes steam that drives steam turbines to generate electricity, or locomotives to run trains and other machinery... Just 1 degree Celsius more. 

That applies as well to us... When we just continue to do things as we are within our limits,   we achieve nothing  Steam heated at additional 1 degree Celsius can propel a 30 ton aircraft from a steam catapult in an aircarft carrier from 0 to 100 miles per hour in 3 seconds.

Think about that just 1% more heat giving steam that extra punch and power.

Can you do something more, extra?  Can you work harder? Can give something extra in your work additional one degree to achieve breakthrough?   vs.  8 to 5 mentality, being a member of 501 club, or that is not my job attitude, I am busy... Ang dami niyan.  Busy for what?  These are the limited person.  Hopeless... Talunan..

However, the US Navy has innovated by switching to EMals system (electromagnetic catapult)  meaning to say, that we must innovate and just improve on existing system or mindset...

"To a worm in a horse radish, the world is the horse radish..."

Rizal Philippines
July 24, 2019

One of the greatest education in life is to travel (after reading)   Travel lets you know of the bigger world around us, how puny and small you are. If you are a proud person you will be humbled by the achievement of others:  the art, the enormity of their achievement... And here you are a mere pigment of the universe, a dust... Very proud and unmindful of others... Travel gives you a sense of wonder and expansiveness of thoughts and aspirations to be one with humanity and the Universe.

Get away from your cocoon, your comfort room.  You are not a worm.  Your world is not that of a horse radish.

Amazing things start beyond the comfort zone.... Adventure, the magic happens outside of the horse radish