But still haven’t done much? Ditto for the message from the book, “Why Nations Fail”?
Then consider: We are too weak to face a pandemic and the 21st century. How do we make Juan de la Cruz thrive? Recall the story of creation.
Here’s a refreshing response from Herman M. Lagon, the principal of a private school in Iloilo. He is a licensed civil engineer, physical science teacher, and guidance counselor. [Opinion, Rappler.com, 22nd Sep 2019]
“A Philippines with a life-giving humanistic-internationalist culture – free from the poison of narrow-mindedness, corruption, parochial mentality, oligarchy, violence, bigotry, prejudice, and greed – will surely turn the social triangle upside down and make this naturally rich country rich again.”
“A country that puts a premium on human dignity, objectivity, meritocracy, and reason,” is how Lagon defines humanistic, that he says characterizes first world countries.
We all acknowledge the power of the oligarchy, yet it is only a subset of the elite class. And we in the chattering classes are likewise a subset of that elite class. Sadly, we empower oligarchy – that when one nets it out, we aid and abet the trampling of human dignity that objectivity, meritocracy, and reason go out the window. For example, the writer worked with one of them for eight years.
Recall our value of hierarchy and paternalism, aka our caste system, and it explains why our instincts subordinate human dignity. Think of Padre Damaso.
In contrast, first world countries put a premium on human dignity. [Lagon, op. cit.] And expatriate Filipinos live to experience the phenomenon. And that experience can explain the following:
A Filipino friend who also lives in New York shared the writer’s book (“Learning To Reinvent Ourselves”) with some friends back home, acknowledged that “Pare, wala tayong credibility.” That expatriate Filipinos have no credibility for a myriad of reasons, including they are not on the ground and don’t appreciate the challenges; they are not as invested in the country; some experts know better. Short of calling them unpatriotic. And what about invested? Emotionally? Or financially? [In fairness, the PIDS library keeps a copy. PIDS, recognized among the world’s top think tanks, is the brainchild of Dr. Gerardo P. Sicat. For those interested in “understanding the new globalization and its implications for the Philippines,” here’s the link to their website: https://think-asia.org/handle/11540/11189]
What about expertise? Why is innovation not inherent in us? Because we have yet to experience development as our neighbors did, we can’t appreciate that there isn’t one expertise that solely brings innovation. Or why Singapore is now ahead of the U.S. in the global competitiveness ranking. That is why the Silicon Valley model is collaborative – across not just disciplines but a diversity of people. See above, human dignity.
Hierarchy and paternalism explain why we are blind to our inability to provide Juan de la Cruz with the basics of water and electricity.
Yet, we talk about big data and analytics? Or A.I.? Or the problems of the world? Because they affect us? That's the irony, we worry about foreign-bred challenges despite our parochialism and insularity. Recall “Build that wall.” And Pope Francis reminded the world what Christ stood for, and he embraced the poor and the lame and the sinners.
Hierarchy and paternalism explain the sorry state of our higher education, as in we’re the regional laggard. If we take the hypothesis that higher education is to nurture intellectual curiosity, should we put that up against another assumption that the blog continually speaks to, i.e., “We are parochial and insular? We value hierarchy and paternalism that we rely on political patronage and oligarchy that ours is a culture of impunity?”
We are supposedly cyberspace savvy. That is an excellent avenue for our young people to undo parochialism and insularity. Information is accessible to them in one click. We can then teach them, given our experience, how to turn “information” into knowledge? That is how we want higher education to play out.
Here’s where benchmarking comes in. Students can google the best classroom environments they can find anywhere in the world. And that becomes the first segment of the school term, including how the class will match if not outdo them?
Again, what about hierarchy and paternalism? That’s an inherent challenge in higher education, given the superior-subordinate dynamic in the classroom. The professor lectures, the students take notes. How many would dare to question the teacher?
That is where we can learn from the education and training models of Fortune 500 companies, for example. They took matters into their own hands because even in America, higher education was not responsive to the real world. It was not an issue when America overtook the U.K. despite the latter’s lead in the industrial revolution.
But then came Japan Inc. Higher education had to be forward-thinking. [They must replicate that exercise. Consider: China has become the manufacturer of the world – and why the U.S. is no longer a manufacturing economy. And add to that the 2008 financial crisis, blue-collar workers that once represented middle-class America turned to populism. Or that Singapore is far more competitive than the U.S. Or that A.I. is going to undo today’s “normal.”]
So, instead of lectures, they do workshops. Still, a trainer comes prepared to present the theory but with an abundance of examples.
But first thing’s first: What is the object of the exercise. Why is the subject matter relevant? What is there to gain intellectually, emotionally, and instinctively? Is it personal? Or how does it relate to family, society, and the outside world?
And because it is not a lecture but a workshop, the rule is the trainer must be interrupted every time the theory and example present a disconnect, or solely for curiosity’s sake.
That’s the first part of the session. The second part is to break the class into groups that will do a group homework. They will develop a hypothesis to mirror the theory presented by the teacher but not only. They will then come to class to make the group’s presentation like they are the teachers for the session. The best way to learn a subject matter is to teach it.
And what about political patronage and oligarchy and our culture of impunity? That can be a course in themselves. And can be pursued in a similar format, described above.
Water. Electricity. Infrastructure development. And in parallel, industrial development – that will pave the way for the Philippines to traverse the road from poverty to prosperity.
They are the needs of Juan de la Cruz – from his lowest physiological needs to the aspirational.
In an earlier posting, the blog discussed the broad stroke framework to satisfy those needs – because those human needs demand innovation for society to progress and develop.
Recall model thinking, and see above, the modern math concept of sets and subsets.
The story of creation is the most significant innovation experience for humankind. And dynamism was built into it. Instead of a magic wand, the Creator went through six days before resting. It is an excellent example that innovation is not an exercise in quick fixes.
And problem-solving too. It illustrates why ideas go through iterations, as in the Monday to Saturday versions. Or why we must not be married to the first bright idea.
Speed and the search for the correct version is a must in innovation. They are not mutually exclusive. To rapidly translate an idea into a prototype, to be in continual learning mode.
Consider: Since the Aquino administration, we’ve been working on 42 industry road maps instead of prioritizing a few that will propel us to rapid industrial development.
Speed. Speed. Speed.
We are familiar with “the beta version” of software that we may have used, and yet, even the “release versions” go through constant iterations that we laypeople know as updates, in a word, dynamism.
How do we then prioritize the 42 industries? Whatever we’re looking at, as the blog has pointed out, it is not about “we produce this, and then we find a market.” For example, Malaysia moved from rubber to palm oil because the latter generates beyond revenues, higher margins. Think like an MNC, not livelihood projects.
And if we forward-think and do the analytics, we will push the envelope and think like a Nestle, from farming to a portfolio of high-margin packaged food and beverage products.
How did Vietnam go beyond assembling chips, but we can’t? They “begged for foreign money and technology” following the footsteps of Singapore, Malaysia, and China. Unsurprisingly, they are today the regional hub of Samsung’s technology manufacturing – more significant than China’s.
In the meantime, we’re stuck in the paradigm of GVCs or global value chains. Our mindset is a carryover from the past, the garment industry. It is no different from the OFW phenomenon or BPO industry. We are only useful as third-party providers.
Recall the blog keeps raising the bestseller, “I'm OK — You're OK,” because we must learn that hierarchy and paternalism can’t be the rule in the trade and foreign relations. For a weak country to kick out the U.S. military speaks volumes, and we are today paying the price. South Korea isn’t even a third world country, why won’t they get rid of the U.S. military? Recall Ukraine too.
See above how Vietnam conducts trade relations. Or what the writer is demonstrating in Eastern Europe representing USAID. His friends are giving Western global behemoths a run for their money.
Why does the blog tirelessly speak to our value of hierarchy and paternalism? It undermines human dignity, dynamism, the best thinking – and why we cannot wrap our head around innovation.
In a similar sense, America is showing its slips because it has fallen into the trap of tribalism, aka dualism – square-one in human development. It remains the largest economy and can print money in the trillion dollars while developing countries must incur humongous debts to fight this pandemic. Still, it is giving China all the time in the world to catch up. They are losing their way when, for the longest time, they claimed exceptionalism, the unique mission to reform the world.
And what about the universe? It is a subset of the creation story with photosynthesis being its subset. How do we replicate the elements (of sunlight, carbon dioxide, water, glucose, oxygen) to create a virtuous circle?
Pulling all the above, we find a model that illustrates innovation, dynamism, a virtuous circle – the outcome being, organisms can thrive – including humankind, especially Juan de la Cruz.
Recall the Steve Jobs example. That he understood the dynamism of humankind and that for innovation to be sustainable, it must be a virtuous circle. So, he created a product that will nurture the creativity of humanity, that beyond the personal computer, Apple is now well into wellness and healthcare. And it is unfolding efforts of the forward-thinking kind in medical research, medical devices, and beyond. That will be beneficial to humankind.
Sadly, we allowed Juan de la Cruz to fall into the “Padre Damaso trap” continually – that the story of creation is instead about dualism, as in either/or. Or good or bad.
Eden is a subset of the story of creation. And right in the garden was Satan.
Humankind has the choice to replicate the story of creation – as in innovation that social progress and development demand for humankind to thrive – into a virtuous circle, not a vicious one that we’re stewards of creation and mustn’t take it for granted.
In other words, perfection is not of this world. See above; dualism is square-one in human development and how tribalism can make America lose its way.
Humankind has a choice. It doesn’t mean knowledge is a waste. Senior citizens like the writer may know that an over-the-counter antacid is now banned. See above; to be in continual learning mode. On the other hand, to intentionally market opioids to profit from addiction is vicious.
A choice, again, must be dynamic yet virtuous; that is why innovation given human need is endless. See above; Satan was right in the garden.
There are many facets to a virtuous circle. Let’s take the employees of a company, being one. Not Apple or the writer’s old MNC-company. But his Eastern European friends. They had to forward-think despite being an MSME that had lost money for eight years. And the employees were then making the mandated minimum wage.
Still, to compete with Western global behemoths that invaded their country, they had to become a $100-million business. That meant they had to upgrade every aspect of the enterprise to be competitive. For example, was a living wage good enough? No! They had to match MNC practices too to compete for talent. That meant benchmarking pay levels to the 75th percentile of comparable companies, including MNCs. The operative word is forward-think. And to draw up a model that will yield a virtuous circle.
Let’s get back to the Philippines: The challenge remains – how will we stand up to political patronage and oligarchy – given that we are on the road to a failed nation, if not extinction? And who will take the lead?
Here’s a quote from an earlier posting: “Thanks to CJ Panganiban, he throws a breath of fresh air: The PCGG is mandated to chase not only ill-gotten wealth but also other assigned graft cases. Since the public is not familiar with its work, I urge the private sector, especially the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), to help in the chase and, more so, in the closure of these cases. The IBP can entice the legal academe, principally patriotic law students and their professors, to monitor the cases and assure their complete closure.” [“Closure of graft cases needs IBP's help,” Artemio V. Panganiban, WITH DUE RESPECT, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 12th Apr 2020]
The COVID-19 pandemic will likely wipe out the 6%-7% growth rate that we’ve had for several years now. Then consider: Water and electricity are among our countless disasters even though they are such basic physiological needs for Juan de la Cruz. How can a nation proud of its economic achievements be so remiss?
Meanwhile, oligopolies have their fingers in every pie. At the same time, the nation is stuck in a service-consumption economy, unable to move up to an industrial-investment economy. That will allow the Philippines to traverse the road from poverty to prosperity.
To add insult to injury, Vietnam runs rings around our top enterprises with one singular company delivering more to their economy than our eight top listed companies in the Forbes list, combined, to the Philippines.
Those entities are laughing their way to the bank while Juan de la Cruz has become the icon of abject poverty. Should we ask ourselves how we aid and abet the trampling of human dignity?
Or what do we want instead? “A Philippines with a life-giving humanistic-internationalist culture – free from the poison of narrow-mindedness, corruption, parochial mentality, oligarchy, violence, bigotry, prejudice, and greed – will surely turn the social triangle upside down and make this naturally rich country rich again.” [Lagon, op. cit.]
Gising bayan!
“Why independence, if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow? Moreover, that they will be such is not to be doubted, for he who submits to tyranny loves it.” [We are ruled by Rizal’s ‘tyrants of tomorrow,’ Editorial, The Manila Times, 29th Dec 2015]
“Now I know why Paul dared to speak of ‘the curse of the law’ (Galatians 3:13). Law reigns and discernment is unnecessary, which means there is little growth or change in such people. When you do not grow, you remain an infant.” [Faith and Science, Open to Change, Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation, 23rd Oct 2017]
“As a major component for the education and reorientation of our people, mainstream media – their reporters, writers, photographers, columnists, and editors – have an obligation to this country . . .” [Era of documented irrelevance: Mainstream media, critics and protesters, Homobono A. Adaza, The Manila Times, 25th Nov 2015]
“National prosperity is created, not inherited. It does not grow out of a country’s natural endowments, its labor pool, its interest rates, or its currency’s value, as classical economics insists. [A] nation’s competitiveness depends on the capacity of its industry to innovate and upgrade.” [The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Michael E. Porter, Harvard Business Review, March–April 1990]
"You have to have a dream, whether big or small. Then plan, focus, work hard, and be very determined to achieve your goals." [Henry Sy Sr., Chairman Emeritus and Founder, S.M. Group (1924 - 2019)]
“Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” [William Pollard, 1911-1989, physicist-priest, Manhattan Project]
“Development is informed by a people’s worldview, cognitive capacity, values, moral development, self-identity, spirituality, and leadership . . .” [Frederic Laloux, Reinventing organizations, Nelson Parker, 2014]
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