I will never be a prominent blogger like some friends I know. I am bad at creating my own content. The best I do is post mobile photos to my Facebook, rarely on Instagram… my Twitter is luckily linked to my Foursquare check-in so that’s a bit of solid content there. Other than that, this blog is virtually a seasonal thing.
Some excuses:
No time
Okay, that’s the only excuse I use. No time. Quite true especially this year which witnessed me swirling about fast. There’s the new job at Burnett which required me to be on top of my game internally and externally. There’s IMMAP which required me to attend meetings at frequent intervals. There’s the drive to make money both for myself and the company I work for.
I didn’t even get to travel this year – not at least the level that I’d want to. This year I had hope to go to Nepal, revisit Europe, see NYC and club in it, and a whole lot more places to seize but left not done.
For all that I learned this year, one that tops my list is opportunity cost.
Opportunity cost is simply the cost of having chosen something over another – what you lose in the course of having chosen one over the other. And this is what I learnt most this year – and which I am now cherishing a lot.
Had I not decided to leave Globe, I would have received a generous amount of discretionary and performance bonuses. I would have been able to file my vacation leaves ahead and traveled, bought a new gadget here and there. Maybe bought a bag to replace my one year toddler, my everyday (and already tired) YSL bag that I got over a year ago in Paris. More money, no problem.
But I did. I decided to leave Globe. And there a ripple of effects was born.
Everyday I second guessed myself: can I do this? Can I handle this? I doubted myself if I could really do it. You know, facing clients who think they’re better than you is a problem for someone who has superiority complex. I will not deny it, it takes a lot of patience to listen and swallow your pride granted that you’re not part of the decision, you are the one at the mercy of a decision.
Then I always think of my revenue targets. It isn’t my first time to deal with revenues. At least at Globe, I was mandated to manage cost, to manage my expenses not revenues. Over at Zing.vn, I was mandated to bring to market a new service and manage my cost for bringing it to market. At Level Up, I had to manage my revenues, but the revenues were manageable, not crazy.
At Burnett, I woke up with it, I slept with it. I thought: Is this the track to being a general manager? I’ve always wanted to head a company and put everything under my control. I knew it was my training to becoming one. I have a lot of ideas on how to run companies effectively, efficiently, and how to inspire employees around a vision and how to create an atmosphere of friendly competition in order to achieve goals. And I knew this was my training. Something bigger is out there and I have to train for it.
Maybe I am dreaming too much. But this is where it all started: a dream. So be it.
I never thought 2011 would end on such a high note. Two weeks ago, I was doing my revenue tracking and I was literally harassing my leadership team over their revenues. I sent templates and called each of my staff’s attention to how much *more* we needed to generate in a few weeks’ time. Then I got a call from our comptrollership saying that as of that moment we were already hitting 108% of our revenue commitments.
I was caught in my own disbelief.
There were tears swelling in my eyes. That was an affirmation of, more than anything, that I could do it…. that I could turn around a company that was swelling with a lot of baggage. That I could inspire, that I could help others become what they want to be from a seven-year hiatus from the industry. That we are alive, we are a real large-sized agency *in* business.
So that’s how that story ends. Victorious.
Sometimes the opportunity cost is to be feared. I might have earned more had I not left, but the opportunity cost is less valiant when placed in comparo with the higher wave one could ride and risk.
Everyday I face personal challenges that I always promise to rise above. Some caused tears of anger, of pain and of pure stress. But it *is* bliss to see people smiling, people inspired to do and be more.
That is the highest order of commitment for me: to make people win, achieve, and be more. That is my promise in 2012. Nothing less.
To the best team, cheers!
Succulence here, there, and everywhere.
A personal dialogue on daring to live succulently.
Filed under Leo Burnett …
What planning sessions are made of
My LB Arc leadership team goes on business planning for 2012.
Our first planning exercise was held when I was just less than a month old at work – when I was still the new kid on the block. Some of the guys who are now with our group weren’t in the first planning session… But much has changed.
Our first planning session was made of dreams, hopes and wishes… And some baggage, which was expected especially that this ain’t a start up, it is an agency that has been built over years of hardworking and perseverance from my predecessors and of those who are still part of this proud agency that I am now leading. Our first planning was fun, honest and hopeful and this is where we carved out what identity we want for the group we were renewing.
After eight months, much has changed… We are still hopeful, proud, and strong but all these are now more strongly grounded on experience that we will carry with us as we move into 2012. Quite challenging, I must say, especially that we have set pretty high standards for ourselves next year in terms of revenues, industry presence and quality of work.
But much is yet to be done. For one, much of these aspirations require massive support from all sources possible — management, peers, clients, even from the industry. Sometimes I wonder whether our dreams could even be supported if not only by ourselves and those who wish for us to succeed. But real faith doesn’t wither. Hope can only stem from a strong belief that ‘things’ will happen if we will them to.
Planning sessions are not only made of numbers, it is made of clearly drawn hopes, wishes, and even desires; all of which must be grounded on reality and the sincere, deliberate choice to not be simply caught by inertia, but by the choice to move and make things happen ourselves.
Potential energy vs kinetic energy… Inertia vs motion. The answer is clear. Planning sessions need to be about motion, force, and direction; the very same ingredients of success required to win next year.
Happy birthday, #MargotTorres!
I seldom discover people whose career and passions I would like to somehow live, emulate, and become. One of the great opportunities that came to me this year is when I met Margot Torres, VP Marketing of McDonald’s Philippines, as a client.
First heard of Margot through Minette; it turns out they’re very good friends from their Unilever days (not sure if their friendship dates back from the Ateneo). Minette always has good words for Margot and I wondered then if I would meet her in the future.
Immediately as I took my post at Leo Burnett, I got excited at the prospect of servicing Margot’s account because based on what I’ve heard from people, she is a great client you could learn lots from. I know I have much to learn from her: never worked in Unilever (and I never pictured myself there), did hardcore brand management twice but both in a start up environment (which I hope doesn’t make me just a start-up kind of Career Joe)… and besides, McDonald’s is a staple at Colt, so much to learn about the brand we eat after our wine nights!
It has just been months since I started working on the McDonald’s account but I know Margot and I are on an exciting road to making digital big, compelling and memorable for the brand. I have much to say about digital for McDonald’s and it’s just even more exciting when I look at how Margot adds value to that. She always says she’s also learning a lot about digital, I would say, there’s also a lot I’m beginning to learn more of because of her.
Happy birthday, Margot! 
margottorres.com is my team’s gift for you together with the hashtags from your friends, colleagues, and loved ones! A marketing icon like you deserves her own .com and more!
Leo Burnett / Arc Worldwide Philippines first print ad on digital
Our aspiration is to be the world’s best creator of ideas. Bar none. This print ad that is on Adobo Magazine Digital Showcase’s back cover this month and is the first print ad of the agency to push digital. This I consider is a move on my part to officially re-launch LB Arc as a premiere digital and CRM agency in the country.
Once the QR code is scanned, your browser will load the Leo Burnett & Arc Worldwide Philippines website which is going to be launched in full in the coming days.
Maybe people expected to see a ‘more digital’ print ad, like I did when I did a first pass on the material, but I realised that this is consistent to my group’s purpose which is that we exist to make digital and CRM simple, fun and easy.
While I look forward to gaining new business leads through this print ad (somehow an irony for digital), what I am more excited about are the various opportunities for my group to come up with digital experiences that do not just sell or advertise, but also add value to people’s lives.
