Several years ago, I approached an old classmate from high school who was in the construction business and asked him if he can quote me for a big project I was undertaking. He replied, “sorry, I’m too busy with other jobs.” Recently, I asked a friend if she can quote me for some equipment sheContinue reading “When Friends Become Customers”
Category Archives: Aha!
Why We Should Ask More Questions
Eight (8) utility posts fell on a busy street at Manila’s Binondo Chinatown district. The posts damaged cars and caused a power failure to commercial establishments. The power utility company, MERALCO, however, immediately removed and replaced the fallen posts. Power was restored within hours. Business on the street returned to normal. That wasn’t enough forContinue reading “Why We Should Ask More Questions”
Why We Need to Ask More (Right) Questions
We ask a lot of questions. But which questions do we choose to answer? Which questions do we delve into? Which questions become the bases of our lifetime quests? Both words, ‘Questions’ and ‘quests,’ have a similar origin: quaerere, to ask, seek. What we seek depends on what we ask. And the first things weContinue reading “Why We Need to Ask More (Right) Questions”
Enforcement is Not Necessarily a Solution
City traffic in Manila, the Philippines, is downright horrible. Driving a car in Manila is an adventure in patience and civility. It’s hard to be a nice person when we compete for road space in this city’s congested streets. Metropolitan Manila, formally known as the National Capital Region, is the urban centre and capital ofContinue reading “Enforcement is Not Necessarily a Solution”
Challenges & Crises: The Two Types of Problems We Tackle in Business
We encounter all kinds of problems every day. And they go by different names, such as: These problems, especially while managing our enterprises, end up as either of two types: We categorise the issues clamouring for our attention as crises or challenges depending on how urgent and important either one is. A crisis demandsContinue reading “Challenges & Crises: The Two Types of Problems We Tackle in Business”
Freedom Comes via Control & Influence
Gurus and so-called motivational experts teach that we are free to decide our future, to do whatever we want, to believe whatever we wish. We can be whatever we want to be. We can pursue personal goals and choose our path to happiness. Viktor Frankl experienced life in several Nazi concentration camps through World WarContinue reading “Freedom Comes via Control & Influence”
Starting with the Symptoms
We encounter frequent symptoms with our supply chains. One reason is our supply chains are large in scope. Supply chains start from the source (e.g. mining of raw materials, harvest of agricultural crops), pass through a multitude of activities that supposedly add value (e.g., procurement, storage, manufacturing, handling, dispatch, transport), and end with our targetContinue reading “Starting with the Symptoms”
Managing Uncertainty
We’re like baby sea turtles when we begin our careers. We don’t know what awaits us as we venture out into the world. We learn to deal with a lot of uncertainty. A property manager proposed a project to build a warehouse that would require an expenditure of PhP 2,500,000.00 (USD$ 50,000). Three (3) outContinue reading “Managing Uncertainty”
The Convincing Need to Test Ourselves
We go to the doctor when we feel sick. We hardly go see the doctor when we are healthy. If we’re feeling all right, we think we’re okay; we don’t see the immediate need to get ourselves checked. Health experts have repeatedly advised us to get ourselves examined at least once a year. We’re supposedContinue reading “The Convincing Need to Test Ourselves”
We Should Be Grateful to People We Don’t See
We say ‘thank you’ when people send us a gift, open a door for us, or treated us to lunch. We thank people we see. But how about people we don’t see? When we eat at a restaurant, we thank the waiter. But do we thank the chef, his assistants, the dishwashers, and the administrativeContinue reading “We Should Be Grateful to People We Don’t See”
Ellery's Essays 