As the Greeks continue to
deal with their economic woes, my Eastern European friends couldn’t
help but dissect the genesis of the crisis. In fairness, they
recognize and are grateful that the Greeks were among the first to
invest in Eastern Europe following the end of Soviet rule. But as
they relate very specific anecdotes about their Greek friends, I am
reminded of the Italians, the Spaniards and even us, Filipinos. The
Greeks love life and can laugh at themselves and their mistakes. Just
like us they are among the happiest people. Not surprisingly, Greece,
Italy and Spain are favorite tourist destinations – and which
should also apply to PHL if indeed we get our infrastructure
developed.
As I was reviewing the
2013 budget prep calendar of my friends and some of the major
projects that are ongoing, I realized that these Eastern Europeans
have in fact changed from when they first had to deal with the
hard-charging ways that I was impressing upon them: “We’re
competing with global behemoths; they don’t hold their punches.”
In the beginning they thought I was coming from my corporate
background while they were in their heart entrepreneurial – until
they realized that to feel positive may be a great feeling yet they
could in fact be falling into the trap of “que sera, sera.” It
is why to be proactive is elusive; and the key is to start with the
end in view.
I also have specific
anecdotes of why we’ve had a love-hate relationship with
expatriates in the Philippines; and it comes down to: “mga
suplado sila”! They’re too task-oriented and cold – and
thus heartless! And as my wife would remind herself all the time,
“even my siblings think I am heartless”! Where is it
coming from? For example, we like to develop our timelines of when
things or events would occur with lots of optimism. [“Ay, sorry,
I am late, sobra ang traffic sa EDSA.”] And we like to say that
we are eternal optimists and would always see ‘the glass as half
full.’ The same would apply to the Greeks; and the problem is when
optimism equates to committing less than adequate resources to the
undertaking – “pwede na ‘yan.”
“Exporters now
consider their 10 percent growth goal this year a fighting target
indicating the sector’s strong likelihood to miss its goal owing to
difficulties in the country’s major export markets US, EU and
China, coupled with the rise of the local currency against the US
dollar.” [10% Exports Growth Looks Dimmer, Manila Bulletin, 9th
Sept 2012] “Sergio Ortiz-Luis, president of the Philippine
Exporters Confederation (Philexport), admitted that the 10 percent
growth target has become harder to sustain . . . Before, the 10
percent target was like a walk in the park, but now it is a fighting
target meaning we have to do a lot of efforts and hope for more
luck.”
I just had my Eastern
European friends listen to the webcast of a Fortune 500 CEO whose
company is outperforming peer companies as well as the S&P index.
They are in the same industry as my client but are marketing in 200
countries. They have been paying dividends for over 100 years and
over the last 40 years they’ve had successive dividend increases.
For one thing, their flagship brand has 45% share of the global
market and their gross margins are close to 60% – both elevated by
industry standards. And yet one of the numerous awards they’ve
received is for the work-life balance they provide their people –
the outcome of the three core values the CEO consistently talks
about: caring, global teamwork and continuous improvement. Of course
they’ve had to overcome aggressive competition, slowing economies,
devaluing currencies and even the impact of the Arab Spring, etc.
given they are doing business in 200 countries.
The good news for my
Eastern European friends is they’ve internalized the challenge they
face and recognize they are ways away from this Fortune-500 company.
But they are consciously building their inner strength to sustain
their “A game” – and clearly they want to avoid the fate of
another Fortune 500 company that has become the industry pariah.
They’ve realized positive thinking is a must yet it does not mean
que sera, sera. (The thought came to me as the Market Development
Manager of one of the business units drove me, and showing off his
new luxury car, to my out-of-town hotel where they have their
manufacturing facility after a celebration that went past midnight:
“Do you know why your friend is smiling from ear to ear? At a time
when Europe, and the world, is a mess we are growing 30% this year.”)
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