“We sit in a wider ecosystem.”

But, sadly, our caste system – which comes from our instincts – limits our vision.

We need an altogether new playing field.

Consider: “The habits of Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and other innovative CEOs reveal much about the underpinnings of their creative thinking. For example, research shows that five discovery skills distinguish the most innovative entrepreneurs from other executives.

“Dyer, of Brigham Young University; Gregersen, of Insead; and Christensen, of Harvard Business School, reveal how innovative entrepreneurs differ from typical executives. Their study demonstrates that five ‘discovery skills’: (1) Associating – it helps them discover new directions by making connections among seemingly unrelated questions, problems, or ideas; (2) Questioning – it allows innovators to break the status quo and consider new ideas. Through (3) observing, innovators carefully and consistently seek small behavioral details—in the activities of customers, suppliers, and other companies—to gain insights about new ways of doing things. In (4) experimenting, they relentlessly try on new experiences and explore the world. And through (5) networking with diverse individuals from an array of backgrounds, they gain radically different perspectives.” [“The Innovators’ DNA” by Jeffrey H. Dyer, Hal Gregersen, and Clayton M. Christensen; Harvard Business Review, December 2009]

Those familiar with the blog know that this is not the first time it spoke to the innovators’ DNA. For example, “the ability to successfully connect seemingly unrelated questions, problems, or ideas from different fields is central to the innovator's DNA.”

Consider: “We sit in the broader ecosystem. CEOs can embrace anthro-vision; lessons from anthropology fall into three key buckets.

“First, anthropology helps you to understand your customers much better and, above all else, do something that is in some ways the simplest thing in the world, but the hardest thing in the world to implement, which is to recognize that other people don’t think like you.

“It’s so easy if you are a CEO or an aspiring executive who spends all your day basically in the office or working on a project to fall into the trap of assuming that other people have the same instincts and mentality as you. And it is so vital in today’s globalized world to recognize that it’s simply not true.

“It’s essential to learn to walk in someone else’s shoes and see the world differently. That way, you avoid risks, but you also see new opportunities all over the place.

“The second point is you need not just use anthro-vision to look at your customers, clients, or suppliers, but flip the lens and look back inside your organization and see all the things hidden in plain sight that are incredibly hard for insiders to see. There’s this beautiful Chinese proverb that a fish can’t see water. And it’s tough for us to see ourselves unless we step out of ourselves and look back afresh. So that’s a second area.

[Here’s an anecdote: An anthropologist brought up the notion that things may appear hidden in an organization even when they are in plain sight to outsiders. He was with his wife; they sat next to the wife and me (in our portable lounging chairs) on the grounds of Tanglewood a couple of summers ago. But then we had to give way for the Boston Pops to play Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, which is why they draw a large crowd every summer. He and I shared an interest; he’s in consulting, specializing in helping organizations better communicate internally and see what typically insiders can’t.]

“But the third area where anthropology is helpful is in terms of recognizing that these tunnel-vision tools, such as an economic model or a big data set or a corporate balance sheet, are lovely, but they are also limited.

“It’s becoming apparent that for a company, the corporate balance sheet isn’t the be-all and end-all in terms of measuring the company.

“Because things that people used to consider as footnotes to the corporate accounts, like diversity issues, actually impact the company.

“As for big data, they are only as good as the data you put into a model. And if they are recent, past, and the present, they may not work if the context is changing, so that the future may not be the same as the recent past.

“So that three-part message is really at the core of what anthro-vision could offer: better understanding of other people outside of your company who are your customers and clients; better appreciation of what’s happening inside your company; and a realization about how you as a company sit within a wider ecosystem, and why you have to widen that lens.” [“Looking at the world like an anthropologist,” McKinsey & Company, June 2021]

And it is not only a broader ecosystem we face but a dynamic one too.

And to thrive in this universe necessitated a creature like humankind, in the image likeness of the Creator.

And how does Juan de la Cruz connect the dots given our instincts? We are parochial and insular. So, we value hierarchy and paternalism and rely on political patronage and oligarchy that ours is a culture of impunity.

Here’s a quote from a recent posting. Consider: “We are not the homeless boy who seeks to sniff epoxy — at the risk of being the target of EJK — to bring him to sleep and not face the reality of hunger. 

“Moreover, the Philippine pie is so tiny that raising the shares of the LGUs of the national tax revenues will undermine the efforts of the nation to provide Juan de la Cruz with his basic physiological needs. It is pure unadulterated crab mentality, the consequence of Pinoy abilidad.

“Let’s pause right there. How come we in the Philippine elite class can’t keep our eyes on the ball? The reality is only Juan de la Cruz is impacted by our meager GDP per capita ($8,908) because we make even more than the average Malaysian’s $28,364. 

“Denial is how we perpetuate our caste system – and preserve our rank and privileges.

“Over decades, we kept managing our economy via logical and incremental thinking – instead of lateral or creative and forward-thinking – and proudly celebrated a GDP growth rate of 6%-7%. Yet, we remained the regional laggard – and must borrow tons of money for the 4Ps so that Juan de la Cruz can put body and soul together.

“Sadly, that paradigm is not the answer. Why? Because as our neighbors demonstrated, it is about traversing poverty to prosperity. It is not charity per se. Charity is not what ‘inclusive’ means. ‘Inclusive’ means to become prosperous as an economy and nation.

“But we want to keep to our puny minds – aka binary or dualistic thinking – even when our neighbors already scaled the cognitive development ladder. So, they embraced dynamism and interdependence that wealthy nations opted to partner with them – pouring loads of money and technology.

“How do we shift paradigms?

“One of our most significant shortcomings is our inability to think forward and prioritize courtesy of our crab mentality. And it is complicated by our binary thinking, i.e., we don’t distinguish charity from the common good. Put on top of that our caste system.

“It explains why we see virtue in hierarchy and paternalism – that only Rizal saw otherwise.

“In other words, until we can own up to our instincts, we will constantly be blindsided.”

Let’s test the assertion that we can’t think forward and prioritize – compared to our neighbors.

Our top two exports account for over 64 percent of export revenues. They are (1) Electrical machinery, equipment, and (2) Machinery, including computers.

On the other hand, fruits and nuts are less than 4 percent.

And our top eight companies, combined, can’t match the revenues of Samsung Vietnam, the latest of the neighbors that overcame poverty – while we haven’t.

Consider: “Although only some 25% work in agriculture (farming and fisheries), if we include the whole value chain of agribusiness (post-harvest, agricultural inputs, logistics, food processing, and food retailing), the percentage jumps to as high as 65%, as recently reported in a column by a foremost commentator on agricultural issues, Ernesto Ordoñez.” [Work as an enduring human activity, Bernardo M. Villegas, Human Side Of Economics, BusinessWorld, 1st & 8th Jun 2021]

Then consider: “A (second) reason Europe fell behind in recent decades is that its biggest firms are in the wrong industries. The sectors European firms dominated 20 years ago, such as insurance or telecoms, have grown slowly. Even if European firms did well, as many did, they mattered less as the world moved on.” [“Europe is now a corporate also-ran,” The Economist, 5th Jun 2021]

In other words, it is not only a broader ecosystem we face but a dynamic one too.

Let’s pause right there.

To be dynamic is not in our bag of tricks — and we can’t keep ignoring it. 

We must embrace a growth mindset in agriculture — and get ahead of the curve. 

We must visualize the industry beyond food security.

We must satisfy the 21st century — i.e., innovation and global competitiveness. 

We must attain state-of-the-art and be the leading edge.

Yet, we don’t have to go it alone.

We must lure foreign money and technology. 

“Pinoy abilidad” and an inward-looking bias turned us into the regional laggard.

That’s why the blog discussed the industry along with these caveats: (1) We must benchmark against our neighbors, i.e., we don’t need to reinvent the wheel; (2) The principle of economies of scale is vital to make Philippine agribusiness competitive; (3) We must move up the value chain – i.e., serve the needs of consumers beyond our shores, and beyond mere farm produce, and leverage the food chain – as in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. 

Recall the GPS model that the blog often replicates in the postings.

It is a great tool to think forward and prioritize. But, sadly, we can’t seem to own up to our instincts or habits. And we can’t figure out where we are to be able to traverse poverty to prosperity.

See above: Our top two exports account for over 64 percent of export revenues. They are (1) Electrical machinery, equipment, and (2) Machinery, including computers.

They are where we get the biggest bang for the buck, as in Pareto. But, on the other hand, we are unable to think forward and prioritize given our crab mentality.

Translation: We surrendered the playing field to Vietnam. We must now keep our noses on the grinding stone to reclaim it. Today is not the time to be parochial and insular. We don’t want to be left in the dust again — by the likes of Cambodia and Myanmar.

Juan de la Cruz cannot personify Bondying — as in an underdeveloped economy and nation.

We sit in a broader ecosystem. But, sadly, our caste system – which comes from our instincts – limits our vision.

Gising bayan!