"Either i shall find a way or i shall make one". I am eternally indebted to books for opening my mind to a universe the ordinary eye can not see. Eternally indebted as well to people who once shared the battlefield with me. I have grown with each soul I have meet and I have sought what good there is in them. And I have found more than enough good in them. I have shared in there pain and in their triumphs. For there is more to words than mere words. I have welcomed the spirits of their wisdom into my heart and my mind; and I will never be the same after.
Today I say "ang taong gusto maraming paraan, ang taong ayaw maraming dahilan" to trainees and clients. These words I say with conviction tested by time and storms. Before the wisdom of these words dawned on me, a high school teacher once told me "if there is a will there is way". Amused by the phrase, I played with it innocently for many years not knowing its true power. Not until fate led me to Selecta Walls - Unilever that I will be regimented to the field application of these words. Like dew drops forming each morning, my memory of it is so fresh. Our Vice President, like a drill sergeant, would instruct us in the discipline of Professional Sales and Distribution " there must always be a thousand and one solution to a thousand problems".
And many years after, one of the finest RSM I have worked with once shared with me the principle behind the competence of Achievement Orientation. Jesraf was a seasoned salesman and an accomplished sales manager with citations from no less than our expat Philip Morris CEO during the La Suerte to PMPI transition. I have learned more in his actions than from his words. He is "leadership by example" personified. Under his leadership, Central Luzon won the 2003 Performance Award per records of PM ASMS; Best performance in Key Sales Indicators.
Sun Tzu speaks of " to respond to situation in an infinite variety of ways". As I have been blessed with these wisdom, today, I share the virtue of Results Orientation to those in need of its power. Peter Drucker would not have proposed the concept of " you can only manage what you can measure" if Control for results is not a core principle in management. My commitment in finding ways and means will be tested farther after my stint with Corporate Sales.
Starting a liquidation and metal trading business last 2006, the rigors of the metal trading business stretched me to my personal limits; and further. Managing my own business and negotiating with seasoned business people and risking my own personal capital where my family depended on was a totally different level of game. Managing my own business opened to me the perspective of the Filipino businessman which for many years I have assessed theoretically. Now, I understand there passion and commitment to there business. I have learned to respect them. I have come to appreciate illusive concepts of Sun Tzu as "Victory is the object of war"; where the burden of protecting one's people rests on the sovereign.
I had to learn the hard way the true application of tactics where Hannibal excelled tremendously against his Roman opponents. Hard lessons as "in the absence of a well thought of strategy, tactical maneuver sustained by initiative can suffice". Thus, to commit one's self to persist and to fight despite the odds is an attitude demonstrated by the finest managers, entrepreneurs and businessmen. By the end of the day, its your opinion that counts; the question is do your have the moral and physical strength to define yourself and the universe around you. "aut viam inveniam aut faciam", Hannibal confronted with the greatest logistical odds in the Second Punic War, persisted, defined and moved mountains to cross the Alps and never to be defeated while waging war in enemy territory. Adversity is a fact of life. Storms and strong winds will come. We will have our own battles to fight. Will you find a way? If there is none, Will you make one?
Rene Bitara, Prometheus Consultants
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