Leadership: "the human element will remain decisive in battle..." Sun Tzu

Amidst the chaos of war remains the decisive component of humanity.  A single soldier can change the tides of war.  General Patton’s type of field management supported by a willing organization was a turning point in the Battle of the Bulge which was the turning point of War in Europe.  The Punic wars would have not been in history without the presence of its charismatic soldier-leader in the person of Hannibal who laid waste battalions of Roman Legions battle after battle in their own territory.  Amidst the growing sentiment of this generation for technology in the 21^st century,  the human factor in operations will be put to the test. Amidst streamlining and cost cutting of modern organization, there will always be business value disciplines that will call for the best in the human factor  as leadership and interpersonal skills. 

A Cebu Pacific would have only be possible by the leadership and strategy of John Gokongwei whose astute business skills paved the way to a succession process which resulted to a competent second generation Gokongwei.  Philippine Airlines and Fortune Tobacco would have only be possible with the shrewd business management approach of Lucio Tan; a most practical demonstration of Sun Tzu’s doctrines in the Art of War. 

Sir Jo is one illustration of a competent  Salesman-soldier.  Known for his accomplishments in the retail, real estate and distribution business.  The Yap family started their success from humble beginnings of a competent couple in the person of Sir Jo and Mam Carmen.  From stories shared by long time employees of the family the couple assumed a modest grocery space at Valencia in the early 80s. Years before that Sir Jo was an edible oil salesman covering Northmin in the 70s while Mam Carmen was a resourceful woman who worked her way up as a working student and business woman. Sir Jo once shared with your humble writer how he had designated Bodega 1, 2 and 3 the stores of his peers in Valencia.  The system was to improve his assortment he contracted his peers in the nearby streets who specializes in certain category which he was not yet carrying. The staff can contract this items from customers under arrangement of “pick up later” to give them ample time to pull out from Bodega 1, 2 and 3. 

 Machiavelli and Clausewitz spoke of a path  to sustainable  effective leadership. Machiavelli  has clearly differentiated the competence of acquiring power from the competence of sustaining it.  While discussing the concepts of fortune and skill, many princes and kings have acquired fortune by birth right but have failed to sustain their position because of lack of skill. However,  history is full of accounts as well of bold and sublime men who have reached the pinnacle of their chosen field from humble and heroic beginnings as the Patriarch of LCG Group of Companies Lu Chiam Giam and the Matriarch of the Gesalem Group of Companies. Having worked with the next generation sons and daughters, it’s a humbling and awakening moment to stand in the presence of the children and the companies they have built. Trully, a legacy to human limitless possibilities. 

Experience, to start from the bottom and to know the idiosyncrasies of your chosen industry or profession,  historical appreciation, to gain knowledge as to how decisions and its consequences were made in the past  and Intellectual capacity to persist amidst the success and failures of your chosen path; to realize these impostors and be quick in anticipating traps. A strength of mind to remember and keep faith  to your life’s purpose even in the darkest dungeons of captivity; to remain faithful in your cause however hopeless.  

Planning: “The victorious warrior win first before they go to war … “ Sun Tzu

A plan is prepared for the purpose of execution. Preparing a plan is one part of the equation and execution completes the essence of the plan. In preparing a plan, the aspect of execution is a major factor considered. Can it be executed by the manager or the organization it is intended for use? The Pareto Principle applies as well in Planning wherein 70% of the energy must be devoted to the Planning Process to ensure victory before actual operation. Thus when there is a need to materialize the 70%, the mental, psychological, emotional and mental aspect must be thoroughly exhausted.

The physical aspect of a plan is the resources and the physical person combined for  the operation. Vital in every operation is a grounded assessment of the level of performance a resource can produce wherein it is hardly wise to expect more sales from a motor van than an L300 Van; More so to expect more productivity on the first month of a rookie than a veteran salesman with a keen knowledge of the territory and high level of competence in tactical aspect of the industry.

In the venture of a bold and ambitious enterprise where we involve ourselves in the extraordinary, beyond the normal course of things and the regular eventuality of the natural function of life, we construct a plan with mental, psychological and emotional preparedness. In the absence of perfection, we can only aspire for excellence and appeal to the god inside each of us. Wherein in the absence of a perfect plan, we prepare the best course of action with contingencies and combine it with an emotional commitment supported with a psychological mindset that will sustain our rigors amidst the “frictions of war” – natural, human, operational setbacks. 

A psychological mindset characterized by maturity, positive disposition, results orientation and passion for excellence. Maturity in accepting the natural course of things that setbacks and problems is part of the game. A positive disposition to persist in finding solutions in once predicament; to be roused rather than discouraged by setbacks. Results orientation in remaining steadfast and faithful to your objective despite the rain and the challenge of a hard customer. Ad astra per aspera – to aspire for the stars despite adversities that comes your way. 

In the chaos of operation and the fogs of war, the need for a certain level of intellect is required. Such that despite the chaos, one must have a mental capacity for steadiness where decision making is a vital function of operation – a wrong decision can change the tides of war.  A classic case which is a perennial problem in Key Accounts Operation is the decision of a salesman to assign the “suggested order” process to a merchandiser.  An innocent decision which has a tremendous impacts on distribution operation. Another case would be a decision of salesman to prepare a Callsheet at the office versus standard of preparing it during call. Probably, a tendency of manana habit or others would refer to it as procrastination. Robert Sternberg in his material Sources of Failure refers to it as Failure to translates thoughts into action when a salesman knows a standardand yet does not act on it.  A behavior demonstrated by a Salesman in foregoing a Sales Admin requirement would result to a breakdown in the Account Management Business Process. This manifests Lack of Will and Lack of Initiative in surpassing the status quo.

There seem to be a need to short circuit the emotional framework of a human subject to manage behaviors prevailing in an individual not aligned to the values required in Operations or organization. Either self initiated or thru external means, the process would ensure the survival of the individual in the organization wherein thru time certain virtues where identified that contributes to the survival of the organization . External means are demonstrated in a PMA plebe recruitment and training program wherein the values of the Organization is oriented in the individual for the purpose of inculturation.  Though executed differently in a civilian organization, the principle is the same. Habits, values and behaviors will have to be unlearned and learned which will require a certain level of intellect for the individual to decide favorably to his survival. Thru patient coaching and counseling, the culture is revealed to the individual.

“When the going gets rough, on the tough ones gets going” the saying goes. Divine in every human being is our capacity for passion, for emotion. When everything has been exhausted in us – physically, mentally, psychologically – there remains the last human straw of emotion. An intense of emotion or passion has sustained great men in their areas of interest. Michaelangelo’s passion for the arts. Longfellow’s passion for poetry. Gokongwei’s passion for business. Patton’s Passion for victory in Europe. Hannibal’s passion for the conquest of Rome. Rizal’s Passion for his country. Henry Sy’s passion for retail. Sun Tzu and Clausewit’z passion for warfare. When all else has been exhausted, there remains the human emotion that over powers all else.