Teamwork?

In every organization it is always the desire of the people to work in teams to accomplish the assigned tasks faster. It is nature to a person to mingle because human by nature need to connect to one another.

Why is it then that teamwork is difficult to attain?. Is it because we came from different upbringings that it is inevitable that there will be clash of personalities and beliefs?.

But we are the only species capable of building friendship and this human value is the root of an effective teamwork.

Friendship with sincere attention and devoid of deceit.
Friendship with sincere affirmation and devoid of hypocrisy.
Friendship with sincere appreciation and devoid of manipulation.

Need teamwork?. Cultivate Sincere friendship first.

Letter to Agriculture Secretary Prospero Alcala

Our beloved Quezon Province now has a population of 1.82 M.With a low rank of no. 17 on Human development index ( a perennial laggard compared to other CALABARZON Provinces),and an unemployment rate of 7.3% we are facing the worst nightmare of economists:population explosion and widespread unemployment.

As your provincemate who believed that our people deserved a better future, please allow me to propose one project that will create positive maximum domino effect to our Quezon Province Economy.

As our agriculture secretary, kindly spearhead the creation of QUEZON PACKAGING SERVICES AND PACKING CENTER. This center will make generic packaging materials for micro, small and medium enterprises of the province. Packaging in boxes, bottles and vacuum packaging will make the product of Quezon Province available nationwide and can be exported with your full support.

Your provincemate will help you in the following ways:

1. The Quezon Chamber of Commerce and industry can identify what products can be included for packaging. They can help also on the marketing.

2. The colleges/universities can contribute like Sacred Heart College for the feasibility Study, Enverga University for design ,CEFI for marketing, and QNAS for food technology.

3. The Provincial Government of Quezon can look for financing of the QUEZON PACKAGING SERVICES AND PACKING CENTER since this entity will be government owned.

4. The DOST Quezon will train people for the packaging and will handle the initial operation.

5. The QUEZON PACKAGING SERVICES AND PACKING CENTER to maximize profit will be offered also to other SME in CALABARZON.

You see my dear Secretary Alcala, if we can combine the bright minds of Quezon Province, we can do a lot of things to make the lives of our provincemate better.

Very truly yours,

Arnel L. Cadeliña

How to make the Philippines prosperous?

Skilled workers are leaving the country to find work in foreign lands. Many of them were treated as slaves and thousands toiled in back breaking jobs. You can find them as household servants in palaces and homes of rich people.

With the myriad problems besetting the country, they lost their sense of dignity and just trying to survive in the midst of their powerful neighboring countries.

The Philippines?. NO. It was Israel during the time of prophet Isaiah.

The time when their race was looked down upon as inferior, incompetent and powerless.
In the midst of these heart-wrenching problems , Isaiah wrote an effective solution which after following it made Israel a prosperous nation.

The Solution?. Let us read, Isaiah 58:

" Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free. Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear.
Then the darkness around you will turn to the brightness of noon. And I will always guide you and satisfy you with good things. I will keep you strong and well. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water. Like a spring of water that never runs dry. Your people will rebuild what has long been in ruins, building again on the old foundations" .

The letter of Isaiah was proven and any country, organization or family can be prosperous if we will just listen and follow the prescribe solution

UPCAT,ACET,USTET:Letter to CHED

It's the time of the year when parents of high school students and their 3rd year HS daughter/son are busy preparing for entrance exams.
Of all entrance tests, the mothers of them all are the tests of the four universities: ADMU, UP, UST and DLSU. The exams are tough and getting in are tougher because usually they admit only whose scores are the top 20%.
Why the fixation on the four?. How about the "2nd tier" colleges/universities that also offer quality education?.
It is about time for CHED to help strengthen the colleges and universities in the provinces in order for them to earned the Center of Excellence (COE) or Center of Development(COD) seal. This seal will serve as quality assurance that will serve as guide for the parents of choosing a college based in the province. This will erase the fixation to the four universities in Manila and erase the belief that quality education is based only in the NCR.
Further, the CHED should regularly published the list of COE and COD in leading newspapers and provide also copies to the top 1000 corporation for awareness purposes.
If CHED will not act on this, they are perpetuating education for the elite that will eventually result on the slow motion demise of the middle class. The class who economists believed are the true backbone of democracy

Top Universities in RP

Top Universities in the Philippines for 2010, according to Times Higher Education-Quacquarelli Symonds or THE-QS are:

1. Ateneo de Manila ( No. 58th in Asia)
2. University of the Philippines (78th in Asia).
3. UST (101 in Asia)
4. De La Salle University (106 in Asia).

Congratulations! (especially to the Thomasians who surpassed the green archers!).
May other Philippine colleges and universities aspire to be included in the 2011 THE-QS survey

Leadership 101

A student of mine asked how he will select a leader in his college organization. I asked, why is he interested when being a leader means that the number of concerns will jump and criticisms will multiply.
But I remember my old professor who said to me “"For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required." -- Luke 12:48 . Well , then it is second nature for us to seek leadership.
From working in the academe and in the corporate, I found out that there is no single "best" style of leadership. There is no set of characteristics that can describe the most “effective” leadership styles.
I also believed that leaders do not require a formal position and I as grow older it is very clear to me that leadership begins when the person start to love himself/herself and how this love is experienced by people around him/her.
This leader who emanates love is always tapping into other peoples' passion—and create an environment for innovation. This results in a world/organization/club to which people want to belong

Choosing wisely

A recent graduate is very lucky that he was offered 2 jobs from 2 corporations belonging to top 1000. In an era of joblessness, he is indeed in a very lucky situation.
His question to me is which company he will choose?. I remember an article from Fortune magazine on how to rate a company. If my memory serves me right, the following are the criteria. He need only to say yes or no:

The company is Innovative...........................
The company believes in quality
Of management ....................................

The company values long-term
Investment........................................

The company has the ability to
Attract & keep talented people....................

The products or services of the
Company is sound .................................

The financial condition is sound .................
The company is using wisely their
Corporate assets..................................

From the above scale, he can rank the 2 companies and decide wisely. Good luck to him!.
Arnel L.

Make people a priority. A Tribute to AER.

At a point where I feel that I mastered a particular job or task I always try to share this expertise with others. This is a product of my experience with my late mentor Mr. Antonio E. Ramirez whom we fondly call AER. He was our HRD Director and my boss in my 11 years stay at PILTEL Makati.
In him I learned that individuals thrive in an environment where he is recognized and supported. The weekly “To Do List”, the monthly meetings and the occasional karaoke singing were done without coercion but a passion to do things excellently. The singing included.
AER was a real mentor.
During my first month at PILTEL, I noticed he has a heart for probinsyano like me. I, coming from far away Quezon Province and Noel Dacanay from Cebu were treated by him as his surrogate sons. Maybe his UP education influenced him or maybe the three of us are kulay kayumanggi in the land of PILTEL where mestizos abound.
He never forgot my birthdays and he even handed me a gift during my wedding day.
He was a father to me. Ready to send you to training, encourage you to speak up, train you to write corporate policies, edit our letters (yes he is doing it!) and most especially to hold on to your principle.
After all of us said good bye to each other in 2001, I haven’t seen him since then. His son Ian, now based in Ireland, informed me that he passed away in 2002. My heart weeps because I can never find another one like him.
God bless your soul AER!. You may be gone but you will not be forgotten.
Arnel L. Cadeliña

Insular Life

My daughter, Alyssa, is now enjoying the college plan of Insular Life which I religiously paid for 5 years when I was working in Makati. I am very much thankful that I listened to my MBA professors that insurance companies handled by the Insurance Commission are stable compared to the pre-need firms handled by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Truly, knowledge on personal finance pays-off in the long run.

Letter to Commissioner MELO of COMELEC

Sir:
First of all, congratulations for pushing through our first automated election. Your resolved results in the first real QUICK RESULT in the history of Philippine election. May I suggest the following for our next election to be more efficient:

1. The PCOS machine should be distributed to the local COMELEC branches two-weeks before election. They can utilized monasteries, seminaries, churches, mosques as temporary warehouse guarded by PNP or by the Military.

2. The memory card should be distributed one-week before election to the local COMELEC for testing. Representatives from SMARTMATIC, accredited election watchers, political parties should be present as witnesses. The memory card should be sealed again and the boxes signed by the witnesses. Any defective memory card or PCOS machine should replaced immediately.

3. The Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) should be properly trained on the function of the PCOS machine, the system of voting and trained on time-motion techniques.

4. The PCOS machines and memory cards should be distributed to the precints 3-days before election and guarded by the PNP or military.

5. The list of voters should be posted in the precint two-days before election.

6. There should be express voting lane for senior people and physically-challenged.

7. Watchers of political parties and watchdogs should not be allowed inside the precint when voting is on-going. The BEI should be given power to expel them when needed. They will be allowed only when it it is time to print the precint result for them to act as witnesses.

8. The voters should show an ID when voting since the voters list contain no picture for proper identification. This should be checked by the BEI.

9. Setting up of PCOS and other election paraphernalia in the voting precint should be done a day before election.

10. On election day start at 6:00Am and end at 8PM. You may designate a special time for the elderly (6:00-8:00AM) and a special time for first-time voters (6:00-8:00PM).

Again congratulations.

Arnel L. Cadeliña

The battle for clean water. A call for action.

Our rivers are drying up quickly.Climate change and diminishing water supply are now wreaking havoc to millions of people around the world. In Lucena City, the huge and growing population will cause water to be dirty and unsafe to drink. Several years from now, if we will not help LUPATA amd DENR, turning on the faucet and having water pours abundantly will be a distant memory in Lucena.
Our action should be decisive this year because bringing clean water to every home is key to break the cycle of misery and poverty. We should not allow the time our children will devout hours to fetch water because this will kill their interest in developing their skills and thinking of establishing their own business. Fetching water is some kind of slavery and it is already happening in Africa where females are tasked to haul water as far as 3 km from their home. They can not go to school and choose a better occupation. We should not allow this to happen.
For those who are based in Lucena, Pagbilao, Tayabas and Lucban I am challenging you to be part of an advocacy to protect our source of water.Call me 0919-278-9171, email lenra1967@yahoo.com. Let us make the first step.

Choosing a City Mayor

I am asked by a Knights of Columbus friend who will I vote for Lucena City Mayor. I did not answer quickly knowing that the present candidates never campaigned based on platforms (the usual thing in Lucena Politics)and we never experienced (never ever!) hearing them debating on critical issues. However I drafted my own criteria to elect one:

[ ] The true public servant (mayor) stands out because he has no personal agenda.
[ ] He lives for no reason other than to fulfill the will of the people – to serve the
public interest.
[ ] He wields no power other than the strength of his principles and the influencing
force of his character.

If nobody will pass the above criteria (woe to Lucena City!), I will rather abstain voting for Mayor.

Winners vs Losers

Winners seek answers to problems , losers see problems in every answers.
Winners are people who have plans, losers are people who have excuses.
Winners are those who see the difficult as possible, losers are those who see the possible as too difficult.
Winners tend to say “ What can I do for you?, losers tend to say “That is not my job”.
Winners make mistakes and say “ I was wrong”, losers make mistakes and say, “ It’s not my fault”.
Winners say “ This is good, but there must be something better”, losers say “ This is good because it’s the way it’s done before”.
My friend the tribe of winners are waiting for you, join the bandwagon!

SENATORS

The Senate of the Philippines after the EDSA 1 revolution was known for showmanship rather than substance. We can not hear anymore the thundering voices of Claro M. Recto and Jovito Salonga who made the Senate Hall as the bastion of quality debate and nationalistic laws.

This coming May election I am endorsing the following candidates.
May they make a difference:
1. ACOSTA, NEREUS JR. - Liberal Party
2. BAUTISTA, MARTIN - Liberal Party
3. DRILON, FRANKLIN - Liveral Party
4. HONTIVEROS, ANA - Liberal Party
5. LACSON, ALEXANDER - Liberal Party
6. MAZA, LISA - Independent
7. OCAMPO, SATUR - Bayan Muna
8. TAMANO, ADEL - Nacionalista Party

RETREAT

One benefit of working in a Catholic school is attending a yearly retreat.

This year I am so blessed to attend the 5-days Ignatian Lenten Retreat at the San Jose Seminary in Ateneo. Sr. Rose Lynn Doromal, DC, upon learning that one of her staff can not attend the retreat due to illness pitch me in as a replacement.

It was a very good time because it took some day off from home and work to engage God in quiet prayer and meditation. I reflected on the graces I received for the past year ( so many!), the problems and challenges ( equally many). The Ignatian retreat is distinct because I was provided a retreat director ( Emoy a former Jesuit seminarian) whom I meet each day for 1 hour to share fruits of my prayers.

It is spiritually uplifting especially when my feet were washed by Jesuit priests during the Holy Thursday mass and kissing the cross on Good Friday. On both occasion I felt the holy spirit descended on me.

Just in my 2nd day of retreat with the great help of being silent for more than 24 hours I realized that my strength is in General Management and Administration of a company, business or organization. This is what I am and doing it will make me happy.

On the third day I realized that in my life there is no accident. Everything that I possessed and every people that I met or will be met are part of chaotic events done by Unseen Hands. It is up to me to make it less chaotic.

During the Holy Saturday Vigil, which is the longest mass I attended because of 9 bible readings, 9 responsorial psalms all done by singing, transformed my view of the passion of Christ. From the candle lights procession up to the proclamation of Easter, I was overwhelmed on the power of a great Catholic tradition that can not be found in other denominations.

I will carry the images, the sacredness and the power of the Holy Triduum Lenten retreat until the end of my breath.

I am challenging my blog readers to experience it yourself. You may start by visiting www.cisphil.org.

DISCIPLES

For the past 23 years that I am working, I already identified three kinds of workers where an employer or entrepreneur can measure the level of commitment.
The highest kind of workers are the disciples. These people believe in what the Administration is doing and believe in the leadership of the top management.
The second type are the fence sitters. They are the wait and see types and will just stay in their office the whole day and just do their daily work.
The third type and the worst are the saboteurs . These are the people who do not believe in the leadership of the top management and at the same time causes harm to the organization.
The disciples are easy to identify because they are high-performing individuals and whose personal objectives are aligned to the organization. They will not involve themselves in office politics rather focuses on developing their competencies.
Now, look around in your office or business, who are the disciples?.

Toxic 2.0

Toxic people intoxicate the mind of others that it may result to hypocrisy.
In the workplace you can not escape meeting them whether you are in the high-rise building of Makati or in a government office in Maguindanao.
In my experience, toxic people wear their mask everyday to hide their insecurities and fear. They love to spread rumors because it is their weapon to hide their sins or shortcomings.
Literally run when you meet them in your company corridor or suffer absorbing the negativity that emanates from them.
We have three ways to avoid the trap of toxic people:
1. Have a good family.
2. Have good friends
3. Do good works
Toxic people influence the lives of others by speaking lies and deception. Do not take this road and do the opposite.
A life doing good and helping others will bring multiplier effect hence your influence is immeasurable.
Good lives can be as simple as just decency in every room.
Remember, hardships and diseases are nothing if you have Good Family, Good Friends, Good Works.

Work

Work for me is sacred. To do nothing is a blasphemy. If you will made me choose to sit down all day long versus cleaning the toilet, the latter will win hands down.
If I did my job and there is spare time to read you can find me enjoying books, magazines and all printed materials that inspires me.
I am always working and learning at the same time. This you may call work ethic but for me it is to drive away the evil of laziness and negative thoughts.
My father said hard work rules!
No doubt he was right, it is the primary rule of life!

COLLEGE

When I was in college our family was always in dire straits. There are times we have nothing to eat. I have no choice then but to work.
From the beginning I know that my strength lies in my brain and not in my fingers. So I persevered to write articles and puzzles for the college newspapers. The university paid me P600 per issue and added to that the scholarship I enjoyed being a dean's lister made me survived the high cost of college.
What is appalling today is the kids that receive all these college expenses for free from their parents, while then I worked hard to manage these things.

DEATH OR ASSUMPTION?

When I was 22 my father died. I saw him agonizing in the hospital caused by complications of diabetes. He was a good guy. He sent his children to college on a meager salary as a welder. I remember him telling me to focus on my studies so that I will not be like him. But deep inside he is my idol. His daily heroic sacrifices are imprinted in my mind.
When he died, I instantly became the head of the family. Lucky I am I was employed right after graduation at Pag-IBIG Fund. All my earnings then were used to pay the tuition of my two brothers and the rest as our food expenses. A day after my payday it was very common that nothing was left for me except a few pesos for my transportation. But I have no inkling then to blame anybody on the hardships I incurred nor being the sole breadwinner.
It is clear to me that I should put my 2 brothers and my mother first before my need.
In the end , I realized that the death of my father is something over which I have no control.
It gave a lesson though that there is always a smart way to run a life and it is to live well, do exciting and worthwhile things and be a force for good.
A life well lived is the most worthwhile goal of a person.