Settling Down Finally Again Hopefully

I would like to think that no one goes in and joins a company with the goal of leaving right away. It is irrational for anyone to go through the discomfort and the proverbial birth pains of adjusting to a new environment and leave the same at a whim, or at the slightest discomfort. This presupposes of course that one gave a lot of thought to the decision to join any one organization.

Six months into my stint with SM, my former employer before I got into Del Monte, I already knew something was off. To be fair, and contrary to what might have been written on print or claimed by others, SM was a pretty decent employer in my case. I left because I felt I can add more value to Del Monte, and that someone else better could give more justice to the role demanded from me in SM. In short, I believed there was an issue of fit. For sure, I could have stayed there and lasted years, and people would still be impressed with the job that I would have done, but that is really not the point, right?

For me, it is important that I get excited to wake up every morning and rush to work and do something good. For a Finance practitioner, that may not be so obvious as say a doctor or an engineer, but believe me that some things are made better because we are there to deal with the shit that hits whatever.

Six months into Del Monte now, and while realizations and expectations are being aligned, the prayer and hope continues: Let this be the one now. The time window for settling down professionally is closing in. I am already living in the future. This is it - the future I got warned of when I was younger and encouraged to strive harder.

What would make me move to another company? What would make me stay in the same company? My adidas stint holds the answer. Up until the last few months of my work there, I really felt that it was IT for me. But something or someone cracked, and then it hit me - without going into the details here of the last months and days with adidas - that above all, work is very personal.

My loyalty to any one, department, organization, company or family, ends where my loyalty to myself begins.

Flirt!

I can be a good flirt. My two ex-partners said as much, the latter one even more emphatically. That was how I was supposed to have ensnared them into my clutches. How else right? Definitely not by my average to good looks. Nor by my average to wealthy material possessions.

And I can be a flirt. Brazen even. Bordering on outright shamelessness. Most of the time though, I am subtle. Well, shy would be the more appropriate term. And in the dog-eat-dog-swallow-dog-spit world I used to operate in, this can spell the difference between going home alone and sleeping comfortably without any unwanted guest the following day, or just the opposite of that.

Overall, flirting is harmless. It is fun. The worst thing that can be had is rejection or what happened to me - almost getting mugged by a straight guy who did not appreciate the supposed flirty stare I gave him while we were both inside the MRT years back. What an ingrate, right?

So what is the point of this post? Nothing much at all. This is me warming up. Writing again.

Good night!

Happy 2011

2010 wasn't really that bad for me. Above all, 2010 was about Life - enjoying it, preserving it, fighting for it, and sharing it with the few precious people who make an otherwise mundane existence truly memorable.

Wishing all the best for 2011, and for more entries for me here too...

I dreamed this, sort of.

This book is out!!!

It's not exactly a 100% how I imagined my debut into the publishing industry will be but it is a significant step for me in realizing my dream of becoming a professional published writer.

"The New Boss"

As some of you know, I have been on vacation for almost six months now. Very soon (or later), I know I will have to come out of this self-imposed sabbatical, either by force of economic necessity, or something else.

Right now though, I feel like a power plant that has been shut down and getting prepped to start again. Operations people would advise Management accountants that in modelling the cost of a restart, the latter should consider that it takes more fuel (and higher costs) for a plant to restart than it would while in the course of a regular run.

So it is with me. I know that to get back to a regular work schedule, and all its unintended or intended stress, would take more of me.

I am restarting, and I am starting to re-equip myself this early with the tools that I will need in my arsenal.

I do have an unshakable sense of self, and I am almost sure that my next job will involve a team to manage. Incidentally someone gave me a book which I now find handy and serves a good starting point for getting ready for my next journey.

So for people out there who are in a similar situation, here is an excerpt of the preface of that book, The New Boss, How to Survive the First 100 Days, by Peter Fischer.

I do highly recommend reading the book.

------------

"A look at many client organization these days reveals pressure for success on a global scale. This means that innovation, consistently high standards and speed are of the essence in the face of less transparent and tougher competition. In comparison, cultural diversity and virtual relationships seem relatively straightforward. More importantly, the need to deploy resources flexibly means few executives have longer than three years to make their contributions felt - indeed many barely have 18 months. In addition to this, the growing complexity from organizations trying to respond to fast-changing technologies, legal frameworks and markets brings both the possibilities and pitfalls inherent in a leadership in transition into focus. Indeed, the objective of this book is to reveal the 'power of change' - that is to say, the opportunities for introducing change and preparing for eventual success over the inevitable pitfalls intrinsic to any transition process.

Gone are the days when predecessors overlapped with the new candidate to ease the handover. Instead, I find many new managers finishing assignments in one role at the same time as starting the new one. Whilst a new sense of promise at the start and a heightened excitement during the executive honeymoon remain, the rising numbers in leadership transitions point to growing pressures on managers to change and innovate. This sense of promise translates into a much-needed readiness to embrace change. As time is of the essence, new managers are tempted to push ahead with their agendas. After all, that was the reason for their appointment. It is easily forgotten that agendas need the support of key people and that, as a new manager, your ignore the less visible concerns, expectations, and achievements, at your peril."

----------

MoneyMe

(embedded image lifted from amazon.com)

(Customer) Service is About Happy Endings

It costs more money to attract new customers than to retain existing loyal ones. Yet, the key to either is having a robust customer relationship mindset. If your interaction with your customer sucks, your business can neither attract nor retain customers. This is true no matter the size or complexity of your business model.

When I lived in Hong Kong, I was wowed on a regular basis by how their Consumer Banking industry makes it very convenient and efficient for their customers to transact business. While I bank mainly with HSBC, I've had transactions with the other banks, including Standard Chartered -two banks which also have presence in the Philippines - plus others, and I can say that Hong Kong does everything to make the banking experience as painless, even fun sometimes. You can argue this is because Hong Kong is a first world country. This to me is classic chicken and egg. Is a country and the businesses operating therein able to provide superior service because they are so-called first world? Or is it because of an outstanding service mentality that countries like Hong Kong join the ranks of the first world. Am I oversimplifying?

Last week, I visited the Philippine Islands bank, the same bank where I just opened an account the week before. I wanted to purchase USD 200, for personal use. Understandably, this bank offers more competitive rates to its account holders. Unfortunately, that day, I didn't have my ATM with me and I have not memorized my account number yet either. When I mentioned this, the teller made a face expressing displeasure. She said it would take time to retrieve my data if I just gave them my valid ID! WTF! And they had me already waiting to fill up redundant forms, just to get USD 200! My patience flew out the window, and I had to use my tone of displeasure!!! I told the teller then that I didn't care if she gave me the less favorable rate, I just wanted the transaction to be over with! Consider I was talking to the same tellers whom I opened the account with the week before. How difficult could it be to retrieve my information?

Of course, I thought of closing my account then and there, but realizing this bank is supposed to be one of the best, if not the best in the industry and country, I can only imagine what kind of service I'll get from the other banks. To date, my mind is still devising of ways to make my displeasure felt.

In contrast, it is rare in Hong Kong that you need to make a physical visit to the bank to transact. The online infrastructure is that advanced! And when you do need to visit the bank personally, everyone assists you to make the experience painless. The tellers even fill out all the necessary forms for you, and you just need to sign the same at the bottom. And they do this in the most efficient manner possible. I am not easily impressed by service but Hong Kong banks in Hong Kong get an all thumbs up from me.

Customer service is one of those keys to success that is often ignored, or just paid lip service to. It should be embedded within the core of any individual's work ethics. If we treat people we work with, or even friends we hang out with, as customers and treat them properly, we can go a long way in our personal careers, and businesses. Good customer service, which in its simplest form is really having good interpersonal relationships, streamlines all forms of interactions.

Do I believe that the customer is king? No. I believe that customers in whatever form they manifest are your equals, and must be therefore treated with respect. Customers should not be allowed to wait any more than is necessary. Customers should not be given bull! And where there are serious problems concerning the transaction, customers should be given information in the most transparent manner. Anything less will mean less business too, in the long term.

On a side note, after being away from Hong Kong for three months, it's really the efficiency and high level of customer service in that city-state that I miss the most. Tragically, I don't understand (fine, I do a bit) why the Philippines cannot achieve the level of efficiency so common there when we have so much talent here. Oh well...

-----

MoneyMe

email: steve78ph@gmail.com for questions

"Rest If You Must..."

"... but don't you quit."

In a month's time, I will be without a job. After ten years of working (hard), I am taking some time off, a few months to a year :-). How did it get to this point? Well, really a combination of both uncontrollable events, and personal decision. As I alluded to in a previous post, my current role has been made obsolete, and while the company I have served faithfully declared an unwillingness to let me go, the alternative positions offered were not of my liking really, and to accept them would not have been fair. So in a way, I am a victim of what is happening as a result of the global economic downturn. But not really a 100% true. In our language, umarte din naman ako.

It was no easy decision of course. My nonchalance now has only been made possible because of the gut-wrenching process that I had to go through. My emotions are still a mixed set until now, though. Not surprisingly, my bipolarity has spiked just as much too.

Resting, but not quitting. That is what I am doing. Exciting. Scary. Not for the weak.

You need to be a hare in this race called life. Not the tortoise, no matter what that fable said. The hare was just a bit irresponsible, sleeping (?) and allowing the very slow tortoise to win that race. That hare deserved to be barbequed.

I imagine with all that is happening around us, a lot of people are considering to take a breather from work. Some don't have a say in this, and are unilaterally let go by their organizations. Others, who may be to a degree fortunate to be left behind, may find the remnant organization demotivating - more work, same or less pay, increasing uncertainty, no security. Demotivation or low morale is like being sucked off of all your happiness by Dementors. You need to be a Harry Potter to cast that Patronus spell. Still, others just want to, simply because they can.

Everyone I have consulted regarding taking my own sabbatical was unanimous in agreeing to the merits of the break. It is as normal as the need for sleeping on a daily basis, or the cycle of boom and bust of economies. Yet, as mentioned, it is not for the weak. One needs to be able to plan the break in advance. Yes, even those who may suddenly find themselves fired without warning.

This means that at any point, everyone needs to set aside some resources (money) and contingencies for such an event. And really, trust me, no one is expendable. When that company's bottomline bleeds, you are really just a resource in this whole capitalistic game. I have nothing against capitalism, mind you. It is just how it is. Some people say you need about the equivalent of 3-4 months salary as contingency. Who knows what the real buffer level should be? Only you, of course!

For those who have the benefit of being able to plan in advance, then the process becomes more exciting. more painful too, since it becomes protracted.

As a final point perhaps, I have been asked what I plan to do during my break. Take a break!

A break in itself is a productive endeavor. It allows your mind and body to recharge. However, should you fear becoming unproductive, it also doesn't harm to have a back up plan for productivity. Learning a new skill (driving for me) for example, is one.

(will be continued if something brilliant comes up my now-getting-relaxed-mind).