Management principles may be crowding most bookshelves nowadays ranging from the popular Six Sigma, which was developed by Motorola, to Human Sigma, to the older Theory Z, and such other literature that are claiming to be revolutionary and effective when it comes to bringing the best in the organizations but these principles may not hold water in actual practice.

Six Sigma, for example, when applied by the book in the Philippine context may be taken as something that is too confrontational which may lead to subordinates being too offended by the evaluation and calibration process and make them loathe their managers to the point where they would rather want to quit their jobs.

My five years experience in the Sangguniang Kabataan has thought me a lot about management. Of course the first year has not been easy cause most of us where more into our studies than our official duties plus the fact that we only meet once per quarter except for emergency meetings and federation activities.  It’s hard to craft a suitable management style if you don’t know well the people that your going to handle and it’s also a lot harder when you got to manage 69 young people like myself who were in the peak of adolescense and worse, I was still 17 then and struggling to make myself sociable even though I was a loner ( and still am). After the first year, I was able to know which cherry to pick from the bushes of proven effective management styles. It’s not really good to rely on just one and it’s always best to add a personal touch to it.

A little help from simple project management softwares such as the one provided by Pelotonics would have made it a bit easier for me when I was still starting off. Project management softwares help makes colaboration easier as it allows a centralized messaging portal where everyone can keep track of updates and avoid ”Didn’t you get that?” syndrome.

With the right tools, the best attitude, a cooperative organization and, a little help from modern technology, managing a team these days is easier even if you’re handling an organization as big as, well, the Maasin City SK Federation.

P.S.

How I miss those days. 

When I was growing up (or growing sideways ^_^) dad’s presence was very minimal. He just goes home once every week usually at 6PM on a Saturday and goes back to Sogod at dawn before we even wake up. I never liked his presence in the house since he always like to argue with me about the news and once he starts to employ ad hominems, that’s a sign that I’m winning our little word war. I always win.

We don’t have a broken family but dad’s permanent residence is two hours away from the rest of us (mom, my sister and myself). He stays at the family farm where he spends his day attending to our furniture business and at the same time, turning the more-than-one-hectare rice field to a tourist destination all by himself. Although his limited presence in my life, I learned two things from him that made great impact on how I lead my life today.

My dad works his ass off every day, in the heat of the glaring sun just to bring home the proverbial bacon all by himself cause he just wants mom to attend to our needs and I guess it just rubs off on me. He’s one of those people who associate hardwork with sweat and since I was  as city councilor before and now a call center agent and blogger, he doesn’t think I’m hardworking. He’s also ambitious and that too rubbed off on my sister and I. The same ambition led him to places and I also hope ours will lead us somewhere too.

Happy Father’s Day Dad!

At age 17, I was certain that this life of mine is gonna be short lived. I wasn’t diagnosed with any terminal disease nor do I have inborn abnormalities. The only health hazard I have is the tons of extra fat hanging on every part of my body. Being well read, I learned early on that my state of obesity triggers a lot of complications later on in life and that if I don’t wanna suffer in old age, probably alone, I should plan a way to end my life at 25 but after 4 attempts at suicide and a new perspective of life, I think the worse thing I can possibly do to myself is to get drunk or have my eyes endure long hours of sleeplessness while surfing the web or reading a good book.

Tomorrow, May 6, will be my 23^rd birthday and like the past years, I spend the day before that, May 5, looking back at my past and trying to come up with a list of the things I have accomplished, the lessons I learned, and trying to look the bright side of the darkest events I had been through. Since I know how a blog, I think I’m gonna start making this a yearly blogging tradition.

Here is a list of what I have accomplished:

• On an entrance test for high school, I got a score of a hundred and twenty one (121) in an Ottis-Lennon IQ Exam. I would have opted for a higher score to qualify for a membership in Mensa but just knowing that I was above average is a big deal already.
• At age 17, I was elected Sangguniang Kabataan Chairman of our barangay and eventually the overall president of the Sangguniang Kabataan City Federation. I was in service for 5 years until the end of my term last Novemeber, 2007.
• Won academic competitions.
• Passed the Professional Governement Career Service Exam in flying colors and even garnered the top post of my batch.
• Initiated the first Maasin City Battle of the Bands which has garnered popularity over the years and has been replicated throughout the province.
• Been to some of the top tourism destinations of the Philippines such as Cebu, Bohol, Davao, Boracay, Manila, Tagaytay, Limasawa, and Baguio.
• Got my first bank loan at age 17. Got a negative net worth 3 years after that and regained financial health 2 years after and gaining a lot of lessons about money management with that.
• Started my online venture at age 22 with no initial capital and now earning an average of $150 dollars every month.
• Invested on my family’s agricultural ventures.
• Got accepted in 3 of Cebu’s top call centers I applied on but eventually took the offer from Convergys.
• Got myself a Converse flip-flop.
• Bought my on motorcycle and PC.
• Read more than 50 novels.
• Learned HTML, PHP and Wordpress through self study.
• Learned to fix my own PC and refurbished an old one into a media server.
• Learned how to see the bright side out of the darkest life experiences and keeping my sanity mostly intact even when my family is dysfunctional.
• Conquered my fear of heights.
• Went river trekking at Hinagdanan Falls, Libagon, So. Leyte.
• Been to all 70 barangays of Maasin City and made friends with the local folks.
• Knew people who inspired me to be successful. Ma’am Essie, Governor Mian, Mayor Maloney, Ma’am Effie and the rest of my colleagues in the City Council.
• Been loved by the people who were in close contact with me and still to feels it even today.
• Made lots and lots of friends everywhere I go to.
• Stepped-up from my racial biases.
• Having loved without expecting to be loved in return.
• Being Agnostic and abandoning the religion my parents gave me.
• Keeping my battle with weight even if it’s a losing one.
• Being at peace with myself.

Here’s what I want to accomplish:

• To be wealthy enough to help others and influence national policies.

I don’t know if I’ll ever gonna have what I want to accomplish and I don’t know how long I’m gonna live either but as far as I’m concerned, every day’s gonna be a single step towards that goal.

Happy Birthday, Bendz! May you find true happiness!

Last February 5-9, 2008, SJC celebrated this event dubbed as the College Day with the theme: “God’s word alive–among us. It started with an opening mass, followed by the opening of booths and various academic, musical and literary competitions.

This year, the event was highlighted with a Traipse, that “…captures the common yet essential manifestations of the local culture and lifestyle, featuring not just the three main islands of the Philippines: Visayas, Mindanao and Luzon, but as well as the neighboring countries of the Aseia Pacific Regions.”

The traditional Recognition and Awarding Ceremony was spruced-up with productions that captured the milestones of Saint Joseph College’s history.

Of course, College Day will never be complete without the Alumni Homecoming Day and the Coronation of the Homecoming Queen. My friend, Ganda’s (who owns Ganda’s Aromatic Cafe, one of the best cafes here in Maasin City) sister, Joy Padillia-Bascug was one of the candidates for this year along with Ms. Corrain Claire Cañete, Grace Mar Gonzales-Boehm, Cheryll Esma-Terante, Surita Roa-To, Catalina Piao-Magpatoc, Immaculada Alma Moldes-Parunggan, Madonna Caintic-Nudalo, Elina Bilvero-Cuaves, and Andriano “Ardring” Arnaiz. In case the last one sounds like a man’s name to you, that’s because he really is a man.

No, I’m not kidding. Mr. Adriano “Adring” Arnaiz, a Sapphire Jubilarian, was included in the list of candidates and I don’t even have the slightest idea why. Mr. Arnaiz, who anchors a noon-time radio program at DYDM here in Maasin, is, for the record, not even effeminate (just in case you are wondering).

Saint Joseph College, once again, delivered a remarkable show this year. One which, even a rebellious Josephinian during high school,like myself, can be truly proud of.

SJC would, no doubt, continue to be a beacon of academic excellence both here in Southern Leyte, and around the globe.

P.S.

If you want to know if this year’s Alumni Homecoming Queen turns out to be Mr. Arnaiz, just leave me a comment.