Inclusion and compassion

At the core of the culture shock between developed and developing countries are their instincts? Developed countries instinctively go for ‘cuentas claras’ (i.e., black or white) while developing countries go for the grey – because of inclusion and compassion? Even the Brits have labeled the Americans heartless – because across the Atlantic the social safety net is far wider than the US unemployment benefits, for example.

When the writer had his first serious conversation with his Eastern European friends about doing business beyond their country, he wanted their assurance: ‘we will be a white enterprise – everywhere we do business, we will be above board’. They assured him that they were but in one country where they’re pursuing the export market, they had to close an eye. And so the writer blurted, ‘No way, Jose’! And the clarity gave them the impetus to do their first acquisition effort – buying an overseas entity; and opened the doors to a market bigger than theirs . . . and to be pure white! It became the standard by which managers are hired – put simply integrity is at the core of this business enterprise, others need not apply! It is a policy of exclusion!

Being white meant the focus of the business had to be on raising margins – international trade is highly competitive and typically stacked up against outsiders to begin with! And margin – from investing in product development to state-of-the-art manufacturing to continuously raising efficiency/productivity, thus drive competitive advantage – is now religion in the enterprise. They’ve seen how it elevated a small cottage industry in the middle of nowhere (in a supposedly poor ex-socialist country) to a competitive regional entity, generating a far greater, more profitable business against local/regional /global players – despite the global recession. (Philippine enterprises focused on low-pricing as opposed to driving margins will find this imperative of global business a daunting challenge? Gearing the mind to be globally competitive is a good starting point? And we can put our creativity to great use if we appreciate the power of focus and prioritization?)

But have they become heartless? Fortunately, not! They still cringe when the writer drives them to keep thinking white – with clarity and simplicity. And as managers from competition join the organization, they are seeing that these MNC-trained folks go for either black or white, no grays! And so the writer ‘holds the pioneers’ hands’ to make them internalize the imperatives of progress and evolution – while calibrating the pace they could take on the change, e.g., asking them to Google ‘managing change’.

The bottom line: President-elect Aquino has his work cut out for him. Populist demands like compromises would test his leadership. And between him and us, we need to understand where leadership must take precedence over inclusion and compassion – and recognize that compromises undermine transparency, the lack of which breeds corruption . . . until it’s endemic?

The goal of leadership is to drive our GDP (PPP) per person from $3,300 to $33,000. And that means enacting legislations to make us truly attractive to foreign investments so that we can acquire state-of-the-art technologies from advanced economies, produce competitive products in strategically defined industries and thus attain competitive advantage – that our products have growing and healthy market shares so that our revenues and GDP are sustainable.

The biggest barrier we face is: unwittingly we’re tied to the past and the inside and the hierarchy? We’re focused on one brick at a time because we’re not to burden our hearts with cares? And growing poverty is our destiny – and should find solace that the broken is blessed, but not the man adorned with gold?

So President-elect Aquino is heartless if he pursues economic reforms? Calling our schools and the Church . . . how can we reshape our culture – who ever decreed that it’s our destiny to be a poor nation?