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| EDITORIAL |
Vol. 07 No. 01 JAN 2007 |
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What's better than...? |
Butch Jimenez |
Contributed by |
Dr
M. S. Prasad
Chief Surgeon, HVF Hospital, Chennai |
| This
speech was delivered during the commencement exercises
of the UP graduating class of 2003 by Mr.Butch Jimenez,
the youngest commencement speaker in the university’s
history. He once dreamed of doing so, and it came true!!!
:-) Students wished they had a pencil or paper to jot
down notes during the speech; some even wished they had
a tape recorder. Some members of the faculty found his
speech practical, refreshing, and funny! Butch Jimenez,
head of PLDT’s media and strategic communications
department, delivered this speech at the UP Diliman Class
2003 commencement exercises. |
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| Better than being negative? |
As
college students, you’re just about to set sail
into the real world. As you prepare for the battleground
of life, you’ll hear many speeches, read tons of
books and get miles of advice telling you to work hard,
dream big, go out and do something for yourself, and have
a vision.
Not bad advice, really. In fact, following these nuggets
of truth may just bring you to the top. But as I’ve
lived my life over the years, I have come to realize that
it is great to dream big, have a vision, make a name,
and work hard. But guess what: There’s something
better than that.
So my message today simply asks the question, What’s
better than...?
Let’s start off with something really simple. What’s
better than a long speech? No doubt, a short one. So,
you guys are in luck because I do intend to keep this
short.
Now, let me take you through a very simple math exam.
I’ll rattle off a couple of equations, and you tell
me what you observe about them. Be mindful of the instructions.
You are to tell me what you observe about the equations.
Here goes: 3+4=7, 9+2=11, 8+4=13, and 6+6=12. Tell me,
what do you observe?
Every time I conduct this test, more than 90 percent of
the participants immediately say, 8+4 is NOT 13, it’s
12!
That’s true and they are correct. But they could
have also observed that the three other equations were
right. That 3+4 is 7, that 9+2 is 11, and that 6+6 is
12.
What’s my point? Many people immediately focus on
the negative instead of the positive. Most of us focus
on what’s wrong with other people more than what’s
right about them. Examine those four equations. Three
were right and only one was wrong. But what is the knee-jerk
observation? The wrong equation.
If 10 people you didn’t know were to walk through
that door, most of you would describe those people by
what’s negative about them. He’s fat. He’s
balding. Oh, the short one. Oh, the skinny girl. Ahhh,
‘young pango etc.’
Get the point? It’s always the negative we focus
on and not the positive. You’ll definitely experience
this in the corporate world. You do a hundred good things
and one mistake—guess what? Chances are, your attention
will be called on that one mistake.
So what’s better than focusing on the negative?
Believe me, its focusing on the positive. And if this
world could learn to focus on the positive more than the
negative, it would be a much nicer place to live in. |
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| Better than working hard? |
We have always been told to work hard. Our
parents say that, our teachers say that, and our principal says
that. But there’s something better than merely working
hard. It’s working SMART.
It’s taking time to understand the situation, and coming
out with an effective and efficient solution to get more done
with less time and effort. As the Japanese say, “There’s
always a better way.”
One of the most memorable case studies I came across with as
I studied Japanese management at Sophia University in Tokyo
was the case of the empty soap box, which happened in one of
Japan’s biggest cosmetics companies. The company received
a complaint that a consumer had bought a box of soap that was
empty. It immediately isolated the problem to the assembly line,
which transported all the packaged boxes of soap to the delivery
department. For some reason, one soap box went through the assembly
line empty.
Management tasked its engineers to solve the problem. Post-haste,
the engineers worked hard to devise an X-ray machine with high-resolution
monitors manned by two people to watch all the soap boxes that
passed through the line to make sure they were not empty. No
doubt, they worked hard and they worked fast.
But a rank-and-file employee that was posed the same problem
came out with another solution. He bought a strong industrial
electric fan and pointed it at the assembly line. He switched
the fan on, and as each soap box passed the fan, it simply blew
the empty boxes out of the line.
Clearly, the engineers worked hard, but the rank-and-file employee
worked smart. So what’s better than merely working hard?
It’s working smart. Having said that, it is still important
to work hard. If you could combine both working hard and working
smart, you would possess a major factor toward success.
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| Better than dreaming big? |
I will bet my next month’s salary that
many have encouraged you to dream big. Maybe even to reach for
the stars and aim high. I sure heard that about a million times
right before I graduated from this university. So I did. I did
dream big. I did aim high. I did reach for the stars. No doubt,
it works. In fact, the saying is true: “If you aim for
nothing, that’s exactly what you’ll hit: nothing.”
But there’s something better than dreaming big. Believe
me, I got shocked myself. And I learned it from the biggest
dreamer of all time, Walt Disney.
When it comes to dreaming big, Walt is the man. No bigger dreams
were fulfilled than his. Every leadership book describes him
as the ultimate dreamer. In fact, the principle of dreaming
and achieving is the core message of the Disney hit song, “When
You Wish Upon a Star”.
“When you wish upon
a star, makes no difference who you are; anything your heart
desires will come to you. If your heart is in your dream, no
request is too extreme. But is that what he preached in the
Disney company? Dream? Imagineering
Well, not exactly. Kinda, but not quite. The problem with dreaming
is if that’s all you do, you’ll really get nowhere.
In fact, you may just fall asleep and never wake up.
The secret to Disney’s success is not just dreaming, it’s
IMAGINEERING. You won’t find this word in a dictionary.
It’s purely a Disney word. Those who engage in imagineering
are called imagineers. The word combines the words “imagination”
and “engineering.”
In the book “Imagineers,” Disney ‘s CEO, Michael
Eisner, claims that “imagineers turn impossible dreams
into real magic.”
Walt Disney explained there is really no secret to their approach.
They just keep moving forward-opening new doors and doing new
things, because they are curious. And it is this curiosity that
leads them down new paths. They always dream, explore and experiment.
In short, imagineering is the blending of creative imagination
and technical know-how. Eisner expounds on this thought by saying
that “Not only are imagineers curious, they are courageous,
outrageous, and their creativity is contagious.”
The big difference with imagineers is that they dream and then
they DO! So don’t just be a dreamer, be an imagineer.
You must have all been given a lecture at one time or another
about the importance of having a vision. Even lea dership expert
John Maxwell says that an indispensable quality of a leader
is to have a vision. The Bible also makes it very clear that
“Without vision, people perish.” So no doubt about
it, having a vision is important to success.
But surprise! There’s something more potent than a vision.
It’s a CAUSE. If all you’re doing is trying to reach
your vision and you’re pitted against someone fighting
for a cause, chances are you’ll lose.
The Vietnam War is a classic example. Literally with sticks
and stones, the Viet Cong beat the heavily armed US Army to
surrender, primarily because the US had a vision to win the
war, but the Vietnamese were fighting for a cause.
In the realm of business, many leaders have visions of making
their company No.1, or grabbing market share, or forever increasing
profits.
Nothing really wrong with that vision, but take the example
of Sony founder Akio Morita. He did not just have a vision to
build the biggest electronics company in the world. In his biography,
“Made in Japan,” he reveals that the real reason
he set up Sony was to help rebuild his country, which had just
been battered by war. He had a cause he was fighting for. His
vision to be an electronics giant was secondary.
What’s the difference between a vision and a cause? Here’s
what sets them apart... No one is willing to die for a vision.
People will die for a cause. You possess a vision. A cause possesses
you. A vision lies in your hands. A cause lies in your heart.
A vision involves sacrifice. A cause involves the ultimate sacrifice.
Just a word of caution. You must have the right vision, and
you must be fighting for the right cause. In the end, right
will always win out.
It may take time, and it may take long. But if you have the
right vision and are fighting for the right cause, you will
prevail. If not, no matter how sincere you are, if you are not
fighting for what is right, you will ultimately fail. |
| Two final quotes |
Allow me to end with two quotes that I have
lived by ever since I stepped out of UP.
The first comes from the Bible, which says, “To whom much
is given, much is required.”
Having been given the opportunity to study in UP, no doubt,
much has been given to you in terms of an excellent education.
Don’t forget that in return, much is now required of you
to use that education not just for yourself, but for others.
And as you move up and start reaching the pinnacle of success,
even more will be required of you to look at the welfare of
others, of society and of the country.
Though I have often dreamed of addressing any graduating class
of UP Diliman, I never really thought it would happen. This
brings me to the second quote I have held close to my heart
as I traverse the destiny God has laid out for me.
“There is no destination beyond reach of one who walks
with God.” My standing in front of you today, as the youngest
commencement speaker of this esteemed university in 92 years,
is proof of how true that quote is.
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A FINAL
REVIEW
• What’s better than focusing on the negative? Focus
on the positive.
• What’s better than working hard? It’s working
smart.
• What’s better than dreaming? Imagineering.
• What’s better than doing something for yourself?
Doing something for your country.
• What’s better than a vision? A cause.
• What’s better than a long speech? Definitely,
a short one. |
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