AFLBS brings together
young student leaders from all over the country and top executives across the
Aboitiz Group to share and learn about business and leadership. For its 6th
leg, it carried the theme “Inspiring Leaders for a Better Future.”
After passing the
selection process, which involved paper screening and a panel interview, I flew
into Cebu with 89 other delegates to attend the summit held on August 19-20,
2011 at the Radisson Blu Hotel. It was actually a four-day affair, with the
first and last day set for the arrival cum welcoming ceremonies (for non-Cebu
delegates) and departure, respectively.
The two days were
jam-packed with discussions on leadership, business strategy, customer service,
brand building, financial discipline, corporate social responsibility, nation
building and sustainability, and how to become a world-class company.
There were also
games and teambuilding exercises, which can be tricky considering that we had
to wear corporate attire during the first day of the event, though helpful in
burning the pounds we had gained from being so well-fed. In the exercises, cheating
was a big no-no. Even if unnoticed by the proctors, a single mistake or slip
meant that you voluntarily start again from the beginning. Good leaders are
people with integrity.
We had been
divided into 10 predetermined groups, with each group given a particular
business case study to work overnight on. Until the wee hours of the morning, I
and my groupmates bonded over real estate, marketing, manila papers, markers
and color pencils, and practiced our lines for the presentation and
question-and-answer portion of the team project.
Group together people with
different personalities and courses, let them work on a project on a very short
deadline, and you get a recipe for World War III. We did not exactly strangle
each other; thankfully this was where the importance of interpersonal skills chimed in. (On
a somehow unrelated note, the experience proved to me that Louisians can very
much hold their ground when it comes to working and competing with students
from other schools in the country, and yes, even those from schools who have
placed higher spots in the Asian Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Ranking in 2011.)
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| Queen city of the south. Hello Cebu, hello new experiences! |
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| Snapshot. From the bus, I caught glimpses of this charming place. |
Noted and Quoted
Over dinner,
while our team grilled Sir Roberto “Bobby” Aboitiz on the aspects of real
estate development, I deviated a bit from the topic and asked him about the
best thing to do after graduation. In reply, he said you have to be the best
even in the little things and be patient and determined in work. Emphasis on
the “best even in the little things”
since Sir Bobby added that companies are always on the look-out for high-value
people. However, “do not wait until somebody finds you”, you must also act and
make the right moves.
Improvement is very important, because “there is always a better way to do something.” Furthermore, “always ask questions” and “never keep your eyes closed.”
Improvement is very important, because “there is always a better way to do something.” Furthermore, “always ask questions” and “never keep your eyes closed.”
A co-delegate,
during the leadership forum, asked the executives on what they think are the
problems with some of our country’s politicians. They responded “Because when
you ask some politicians why they run for office, they answer “because I think
I can win.” They also pointed out, “They have no vision, no plans, no
definition. It is not enough to be good, you have to have plans, and
communicate them.”
Some more
precious gems of advice I have noted are:
- “A good boss will tell you, it is about the people, a bad boss will tell you it is about the money.”
- “Encourage learning. Humility is the key to learning.”
- “You should not hide from negative feedback, then how else can you correct it.”
- “The best way to success is by making people do things with the least resistance.”
- “If you’re on the wrong bus, get off.”
- “Not everything in life is perfect, but at the end of the day, if you have the right attitude, you will overcome it.”
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| From Baguio with love. Carlo, Reymart, and Lois - my co-delegates from Baguio. |
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| Inspired. Being with them strengthened my belief of a better future for our country. |
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| Party! Having fun on our last night in Cebu. |
Ask and Tell
If you are
burned-out with all the negative news about our country and begin to think that
all of our taxes are siphoned into the pockets of thick-faced politicians and
that every inch of our 7,100 islands is filled with fixers and opportunistic
monsters, then do not despair. We may
have been portrayed as a nation with high corruption rates, but still, there
are people and companies out there who put high value on integrity and
credibility.
Regarding the question “What was your greatest
mistake and what lessons have you learned from it?” awhile back, actually, the
three Aboitiz executives were not able to come up with one. Not because they
are perfect, but because they said they have made so many mistakes they cannot
pinpoint which of them to tell. But they all agreed that from those mistakes,
they learned very important lessons which had helped them become successful. Their final advice was:
“Don’t go through life worrying about making mistakes. Remember that corrections can always be made.”
* My overwhelming
gratitude to Sir Benedick Bacani for being funny and intelligent and for giving
me the application forms for AFLBS 6, Sir Marianito Meneses for the excellent
recommendation letter and for being our publication adviser, Dean Gil Espiritu
and the people at Student Affairs Office for being very kind and supportive,
and of course, White & Blue – the official student publication of Saint Louis
University and home to many of the smartest and kindest people I had ever met.