A
nation's economic output or GDP is simply the aggregate of the goods
and services it produces. And while the characteristics of a country
are definitely more complex than that of private enterprise, the
elements of how goods and services are produced are universal. The
profit motive is absent in the public sector yet efficiency and
sustainability remain a mandatory. It is a lesson the Greeks learned
the hard way after political lords had overloaded the bureaucracy
with warm bodies. [In PHL, is corruption in the bureaucracy beyond
repair?] And precisely because a nation is a more complex organism,
much greater focus and prioritization is demanded. In one word . . .
leadership.
It
is common knowledge that leadership must be forward-thinking. Whether
we call it a vision or a mission, the point is there must be a North
Star. And successful leaders have recognized that defining the North
Star succinctly is critical if everyone is to sing from the same
hymnal. And Reagan ("It's morning again in America")
and Clinton ("It's the economy, stupid") come to
mind, and in the private sector Warren Buffett ("I will never
invest in a business I don't understand"). And not
surprisingly, President Aquino has defined his presidency with “Kung
walang corrupt walang mahirap.”
To
be guided by the North Star means to be focused and that may be where
Juan de la Cruz starts to struggle – with the discipline? Focus
demands discipline. Unfortunately, we Pinoys have a bias for
"inclusion"? Or have we misunderstood what it means? Given
our very low GDP per capita, to define "inclusive" as
simply sharing the wealth won’t work – there is not enough to go
around. And that is a lesson Europeans had to learn over time – or
until the fall of the Berlin wall. And in the case of PHL,
"inclusive" ought to mean the opposite of rent-seeking. And
that is the argument of the book, "The Price of Inequality"
by Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate.
Private
enterprises especially transnational companies like nations in
pursuit of their North Star must give priority to infrastructure or
subsidiaries like villages would be isolated – and thus
marginalized. And infrastructure can be both hard and soft, but then
again, focus and prioritization is demanded. For example, we've
pursued tourism yet our aviation infrastructure remains an
embarrassment – thus sub-optimizing results despite great potential
and hope? To focus and prioritize demands discipline. And absent
discipline comes inefficiency, influence peddling if not corruption?
I
have been away from Eastern Europe for over a month now, but because
my friends haven't ceased working on the infrastructure of the
business, every morning while having coffee in Connecticut or Manila
I can log in on the company’s intranet and see reported sales from
over 30 countries, how they stood against targets by brand as well as
the projections for the month. And if there is something out of line,
a simple email would generate a response: who will do what, when,
where and how. And these are ex-socialists introduced to Western
business practices only 10 years ago (though I had to run the sales
function for 2 years to lay out its infrastructure.) Every month
regional managers post their reports and a former rocket scientist
(granted his training hasn't ceased) from Ukraine continues to amaze.
He is responsible for 10 former Soviet republics. The first time I
met him, because he spoke no English, I could not figure out what he
was like. And he had no business background. But he proudly showed
several pages of impressive statistics – though I was yet to be
convinced of their value, i.e., it looked like art for art's sake.
Yet
his discipline accelerated his appreciation of the drivers of the
business and today he delivers revenue and profit plans, even
surpassing them – and why he’s been rewarded with more countries
to manage. (And now speaks and makes presentations in English. His
reports are the equivalent of a best practice model illustrating how
to pull together what marketers call the "marketing mix" as
well as the "resource mix" and the "execution mix.")
But more than the business drivers, he is able to take corrective
action timely whenever plans are at risk. Indeed he can think, create
and execute. Those Soviets knew who their talented people were! But
absent discipline even Russia – one of the BRIC nations – missed
those rosy predictions.
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