Monthly Archives: November 2018

Technology

The 10th NICP Summit at Naga, City of Smiles

November 25, 2018. Somewhere between Naga and Manila. Here I am on the way back home from Naga City where I emceed the 10th National ICT Councils Confederation Summit together with good friend ex-IBPAP CEO Jomari Mercado.

Months back, when I hosted the press launch of  the digitalcitiesPH portal of IBPAP, DICT and NICP, my AIM classmate Dan de Leon and NICP president Dr. Tony del Carmen asked me to help with the national summit which was to take place at the Avenue Convention Center in Naga City.  Dan is president of the Naga ICT Council. I readily said yes to Dan, and the rest was history.  Dan assigned me to co-emcee the two-day conference and the NICP Awards, as well as, moderate two interesting sessions.

It was rewarding to be part of the summit, learn about block chains, cryptocurrency, e-governance, and what the different cities are doing to develop their local IT-BPM Industry and bring about digital transformation and Inclusive growth to the countryside.  It was also a great opportunity to meet old friends in the industry like DICT Usec. Monchito Ibrahim (who gamely took our ribbing) and DICT Emmy Lou Versoza-Delfin, and make new ones, like Metro Angeles Chamber of Commerce & Industry president Dr. Frankie Villanueva, NICP executive director and operations manager AJ Araneta, and dynamic young entrepreneurs of Streetby.com Cherry Ann Lee Angoy and Ronald Rhey Miñoza.  I also had the honor of  meeting Mayor John Bongat, who had penned the moving opening prayer, and VP Leni Robredo, whose intelligence, honesty and humility, I admire greatly.

It was interesting too not to have to worry about all the moving parts of event management. Honestly though there were times that I almost jumped to my feet to give directions but stopped myself in time to just go with the flow. After all, I wasn’t  in charge of organizing the summit, and I had a very capable and funny co-emcee who could easily adjust to last minute changes in the program, and who knew almost everyone in the room.

After the two-day summit was over, the executive director of the Naga Investments Promotions Board Ruel Oliver, learning the I was longing to do some shopping, kindly arranged for a quick trip to the market, accompanied by John Buendia, Sam Bantegui-Ballenas, and Edward Dimaiwat.

Edward is an intern at the City Tourism Office. On the way to the market, we had a lively conversation on what Naga City could offer a tourist like me who only had a few hours to spare. Aside from culture and churches, Edward said Bicol food was a big draw, especially because of its spiciness. I was waiting for him to start naming restaurants when he pointed out that there was a drugstore on almost every street to take care of the effects of over eating.  That was hilarious! Seriously though, he recommended visiting The Red Platter for its kari-kare and laing or Bob Marlin for its crispy pata.

John, on the other hand, is in charge of developing livelihood in 27 barangays, many of which are in remote areas. For instance, he is helping Barangay Panicuason in the Uplands of Mount Isarog to start an abaca plantation with the help of Bicol University. He is very passionate about helping the barangays under his watch prosper. From John, I learned that Mayor Bongat’s flagship program Grow Negosyo looks at growing opportunities for wealth by providing four services to MSMEs and SMEs: training, market support, product development and micro-financing.

My three guides proudly pointed out that the old public market was considered to be the largest single-roof wet market in Asia when it was inaugurated in 1969.  Shortly before the start of Mayor John Bongat’s term, it was renamed as Naga  City People’s Mall. We combed the market for local pili delicacies and dried fish.

I was happy to have Sam and Edward as my shopping guides, especially when it came to the dried fish section.  The lady at the first stall was charging me much higher than the other stalls (I guess it was obvious I am not a local), and Edward helped locate a friendly and accommodating vendor.  A smiling and kindly Merly Diego not only extended wholesale prices, but also sealed several kilos of danggit, pusit, espada and dilis in vacuum packed plastic bags and then packed them in boxes that could easily be checked in.

That night, Jomari and I skipped the Governor’s dinner to eat crispy pata and creamy laing at the famed Bob Marlin while catching up on industry news.  Definitely, Bob Marlin is a “must-not-miss” destination in Naga City.  When I first saw the crispy pata, I said this was too much, but it was so good, there was hardly anything to take away.

On the way back, we learned that there was a church close by that had a 6am Sunday mass.  Back at the hotel, Dan who had come to give us several bottles of homemade laing as promised, confirmed that Peñafrancia Minor Basilica was just a 3-minute walk, so we agreed to hear the 6am mass.

Early the next day, we walked to the Basilica which houses “Ang Ina” or Our Mother as the Naga people fondly refer to the wooden image of the Blessed Mother crafted in 1710, which is carried aboard on its fluvial parade.  We learned from much earlier risers Tats and her husband Elmer that mass was at 6:30 am and not 6:00 am but that there is another church close by with a 6:00 am mass. Since we had to leave by 8:00 am for the airport, we decided to just quickly pop into the Basilica to pray and see “Ang Ina” then briskly walked (almost ran) to the next church.

Huffing and puffing, we made it to the other church for mass, which was in the local dialect. I was captivated by the beautifully painted ceiling with murals from the life of the Blessed Mother.  Walking leisurely back to the hotel, we were greeted by the busy and colorful sidewalk market scene. I was tempted to buy suman but thought better knowing I already had a suitcase heavy with bottled laing.

Truly, this trip to Naga City was well spent, not just about doing my small bit to help NICP and countryside development, learning about digital transformation, networking with the industry, meeting new and old friends, but also savoring the experience of discovering the beauty of Naga, the City of Smiles.

 

Training, Women, Work

Kick Some Glass!

November 19, 2018.  This morning, the Women’s Business Council of the Philippines, Inc. (WomenBizPH) held a learning session entitled “Kick Some Glass” at the Dusit Thani Hotel Manila.  Though tired from an exhausting APAC Tour (she flew in late last night from India and has to leave for the US tomorrow), Ms. Jennifer Martineau of the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) gamely shared research-based lessons captured in her book Kick Some Glass: 10 Ways Women Succeed at Work on Their Own Terms.

Ranked Top 10 in the 2018 Financial Times for worldwide executive education, the Center for Creative Leadership traces its roots to the Smith Richardson Foundation, set up by H. Smith Richardson,  son of Lundsford Richardson, a pharmacist in Greensboro, North Caroline who developed household mainstay, Vick’s VapoRub.  CCL’s mission is to advance the understanding, practice and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide.  Today, it has more than 700 faculty and staff on 11 campuses in 9 countries on 6 continents, serving more than 60,000 leaders and 3,000 organizations annually from more than 100 countries and delivering sustainable results that matter.

As senior vice president of research, evaluation, and societal advancement at CCL, Ms. Martineau serves as the lead relationship manager for highly complex organizational leadership solutions and as lead facilitator for several of CCL’s programs.  Quite personable, Jennifer gave us a glimpse of her personal life as a wife for 29 years, mother of three adult children, professed beach and lake fanatic, and recent convert from cat to dog-lover.  What comes across clearly is her passion for leadership research, and how to apply this in practical and powerful ways for women leaders, many times drawing lessons from her personal experience.

Jennifer’s presentation was rich with strategies for advancement which women can apply personally or as a mentor, sponsor, or women’s initiative leader, from living our intention, to stepping into our power and building our own personal network of mentor and sponsor champions. We have to beat the impostor syndrome, as many times we are the ones who stop ourselves from believing that we can achieve the things we set out to accomplish.  If we do have to slow down because of motherhood or other reasons, we must power down instead of dropping out. Jennifer also reminded us to get fit to lead, to redefine work-life balance, and to take charge of our personal brand.  And finally, we have to start paying it forward so that we can help girls and young women grow into the next generation of women leaders.

Listening intently to Jennifer’s presentation, the 60-strong audience of women leaders (and two men) greatly appreciated the learning session.  Many of them nodded their heads in agreement as she described how one study highlighted that while men and women both displayed bossy behaviour at work, men were usually seen as the boss on the fast track to success, while women were seen as bossy, less popular, and less likely to be promoted.

Another study underlined the “Queen Bee” stereotype where women bosses were perceived as wanting to be special and to be the only one at the top.  Those who did one to help other women were seen as less competent and lower performing than men who value diversity.  It’s a catch-22 situation.

One thing that struck to me was the phrase, “over-mentored but under-sponsored.”  Mentoring certainly helps in developing one’s self-confidence, especially in negotiations and self-promotion, but it is really sponsorship that opens doors as sponsors advocate for developing leaders and create opportunities for advancement for those they are sponsoring. Everyone needs a leg up, and finding the correct sponsors can make the vital difference to success.  When asked how one should go about finding a sponsor, Jennifer urged the companies present to set up a leader sponsorship program.  She also believes that leaders are made, not born, so there is definitely an opportunity for women to become leaders.  And definitely, to kick some glass!

Many thanks to all those who attended, especially the large contingents from Clark Development Corporation (yes, they left at 5am to get to the 8am breakfast meeting), Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Capital One, Sutherland, and TESDA.  Thanks too and hearty congratulations to WomenBIZPH Trustee Leah Caringal for leading the Women Mentoring Women Talks (W2W Talks), and to our secretariat lead by Russel Joy Rivera.  Well done!