When in Manila and you are looking for a truly inspiring experience to boost up your leadership skills, I have found a great opportunity for you! Inspire Leadership Consultancy, the organizers of Dr. John C. Maxwell and Zig Ziglars programs among others, can help you achieve leadership excellence through their Voices of Leadership seminar.
Last December 7, 2011, I was blessed to have heard different Voices of Leadership (Php 5,977) from some of today’s most influential leaders. Let me share with you the voices that resonated in the Crowne Plaza Galleria ballroom that day.
Noel Lorenzana: President and COO of Nutri-Asia Philippines
The first voice of leadership reminded me of my Strategic Management class in DLSU. This voice of leadership was packed with useful frameworks and tested strategies for personal and business development. Noel Lorenzana, the president and COO of Nutri-Asia Philippines (famous for brands like UFC, Datu Puti and Mang Tomas), shared the must-do’s In a Time of Great Change.
He said leaders have to look through the customer lens, category lens, internal capabilities and macroeconomic lens, because “Once companies fail to adapt to change, they fail. We should not underestimate the chaos.” Noel Lorenzana continued, “As a leader, you should be clear with the vision.” This allows the company to do what is necessary.
Noel Lorenzana shared with us six steps to become successful leaders:
- Make an honest assessment.
- Set a vision and the tone for action.
- Lead values creation.
- Give people the courage to do what is necessary
- Make tough choices
- Walk the talk.
Fe Perez-Agudo: President and CEO of Hyundai Asia Resources Inc.
The second voice of leadership was Fe Perez-Agudo, the beautiful strong-willed woman in the men’s automobile world. She shared her success story, as to how she became the president and CEO of Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. in a cute story-book like format.
What I found most interesting in her presentation was the way she creates clear and simple visions for the company. The first was the 555 vision. This equates to gaining 5% market visibility in 2005. Then there was the 888 vision, wherein the company had aspired to sell 8000 units and gain 8% market share in year 2008. The simplicity has allowed the employees to remember the vision everyday and work with one purpose towards one direction.
Allison Levine: Team Captain of the First American Women’s Everest Expedition
Allison Levine, the third voice of leadership, learned some of the greatest lessons on leadership when she was climbing Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world. It was my first time to hear that people climb up, then go back down, just to climb up again. “Sometimes you have to go backwards to move forward,” she told the crowd. Moving up, whether it’s on a mountain or a corporation, needs getting used to.
Different situations arise when you’re in that terrain. She says, “Fear is okay. Complacency is what will kill you.” And like Noel Lorenzana, she agrees that, “You must adapt to your environment.” Doing a macroenvironment analysis is very important in order to prevent one from doing something that can take out an entire organization.
When she reached the death zone — 26,000 feet long, she was so tired that she had to take 5 to 10 breaths for every step. Before panicking, she decided to break the enormous plan to smaller chunks. Indeed, this is also helpful in achieving overwhelming personal and corporate goals.
You may ask, “So did something spectacular happen when she reached the peak?” After long weeks of arduous travel, she realized… nothing had changed. “It’s not in the summit that changes your life. It’s all about the lessons learned in the journey.”
Francis Kong: Writer, Motivational Speaker, Businessman
After a hearty lunch, we were welcomed by the fourth voice of leadership, Francis Kong. Leadership, for him, extends beyond accomplishments. Leaders are fired up with a cause higher than themselves. Leaders make a difference. They have the responsibility and the power of being stewards of influence. They lead the troop to accomplish tasks and develop relationships. Leaders make a difference in our world through the people whose lives they have touched.
He further encouraged us to continue learning, to continue growing, to continue personifying values. “Leaders are life-long learners.” How can people lead when they don’t grow?
Jay Jaboneta: Chief Storyteller at Philippine Funds for Little Kids
The fifth inspiring voice of leadership was Jay Jaboneta, the chief storyteller at Philippine Funds for Little Kids. He saw the power of stories when he posted on Facebook the story of kids, from Zamboanga City, who had to swim everyday just to go to school.
Let me share with you some of his tips on how to build movements. Of course, it must begin with passion. This allows you to inspire people to perspire for you. Then start the first conversation.. Share with people online and offline what you intend to do. Once you’ve started, don’t give up. “Success [in building a movement] is usually a matter of hanging on when others have given up.” That was what Jay Jaboneta did, and now he has inspired more people to hop onboard and help more kids.
Mark Ruiz: Co-founder of Hapinoy
Last but not the least is Mark Ruiz, one of the most well-known social entrepreneurs in the county. He is the co-founder of Hapinoy (together with Bam Aquino), an enterprise providing microfinancing business development services.
Mark Ruiz has great tips for leaders venturing into social entrepreneurship. A couple of my favorites were, “Follow your heart. But also engage your head.” Being a social entrepreneur in the making myself, I tend to follow my burdens that sometimes I forget the business side of it. It’s true that a semblance of strategic planning is really worth mapping out.
“Build a platform – collaborate, collaborate, collaborate.” This is a smart way of adding value to your product. Hapinoy has partnered with medicine manufacturers and microfinancing companies to allow the “Nanays” (Mothers) to widen their product lines and provide rural poor communities easier access to them.
If you are interested to become a leader, and a successful one at that, I’ve got great news for you! You don’t have to wait for the next Voices of Leadership. Inspire Leadership Consultantly would like to invite you to attend the “Winning Disciplines for Success” seminar on February 24, 2012. Speakers will include Francis Kong who’ll speak about emotional, spiritual and mental disciplines, the father and son directors Jeric & Paul Soriano who’ll talk about creative disciplines, Dyan Castillejo who’ll cover physical disciplines and Butch Jimenez who’ll tackle the business disciplines.
Winning Disciplines for Success
Date: February 24, 2012
Venue: SMX Convention Center, Pasay City
Contact Persons: Krisselle or Leng
Contact numbers: 706-4281, 687-2614
Learning Investment
Regular Rate: P2,477 + VAT
Walk-in Rate: P2,977 + VAT
Academe Rate (strictly for students, faculty members and staff): P550 inclusive of 12% VAT
So when in Manila, continue to to aspire for personal, professional and social excellence. There is Inspire Leadership Consultancy to guide you through!
Voices of Leadership
Inspire Leadership Consultancy
Date: December 7, 2011
Venue: Crowne Plaza Galleria
https://www.inspireleaders.com.ph/
https://www.facebook.com/InspireVoices
