Update on business travel

Still don't have a confirmed flight ticket to Australia. Fingers crossed!!!

I am so looking forward to this trip. Sure, it's only for four days. But considering the fact that 1.) I have never been to Australia; .) I have never traveled for business (after over six years of working there, and to think there were chances I could've flown); and 3.) I am very new to this company - less than two months!

So, here's hoping everything falls into place. It's all in your hands now, JC.

How's everybody doing? I've been so out of it these past several weeks. Been working at least 10 hours EVERYDAY. No kidding. My team roster has DOUBLED in February. From 8 FTEs to sixteen. That's right, sixteen. Been conducting training for the past two weeks. At the same time, making sure we meet all the "normal" deliverables. On top of it all, I am working on 3 different projects which all involve the upcoming integration/re-organization. It's tough, I have to admit. But enough of work for now.


One of the plus sides is I've been slowly working my way back to hitting the gym (note the word "slowly"). Been doing it once a week for the past couple of weeks now. This week, I will increase the frequency to three times - two times purely cardio (treadmill, bike), once for lifting. The running part, I am thinking of doing it outdoors instead. Legazpi Park is nearby, plus there's always the village park too. Running indoors can be so boring for me. Plus, I realized that I run longer when I do it outdoors. Guess a change in environment can really work wonders. So, for this week, I'll do cardio on Monday (that's today), then cardio/weights on Wednesday, and cardio again on Friday. Sounds like a plan! Let me put that in my planner as well. Okay, done!  :-)



My goal, which I've written down in my other blog, is to go back to 175 lbs by May 2012. I think I have to tweak it a bit - move it up to April 2012, plus achieve a specific body fat percentage (maybe a range to be more realistic). I have to measure my current body fat percentage first. I'm wondering if a 10-12% goal is feasible in less than three months. That means I would really have to go on a virtually fat-free diet, increase my caloric expenditure, and get lots of rest. Wish me luck! I would have to check by visiting my nearest drugstore which has a computerized height/weight/measurement scanner, which includes body fat percentage. After which, I would have to review my goals and re-sharpen my goals if necessary.


That's all for now! Time to tune in to the Grammys.

These are all the many changes...

I knew that this year will bring a lot of changes, challenges, opportunities, etc. It's something that I felt deep inside, like instinct, a gut-feel sort of thing, you know? Plus, the fact that all horoscopes I read corroborate this feeling. They say that the Rooster (which is my sign) is a secret friend of the Dragon (this year's sign), which means that this will be a good year for me. I also read that the "luck" that will come my way won't happen until later this year, and that I would have to work hard first before it comes. When you look at it another way, the universe is telling me that in order for me to receive luck, I must work hard for it. Luck favors those who are prepared, right? So there.

What I didn't realize is exactly HOW much changes will go on during the year. The month's not over, plus it's officially been only a week since the Lunar New Year began, but already I've been through a roller coaster of a journey. From changes that directly impact me and my role, to organizational changes which have either "leaked out" or which I found out from various credible sources, it's amazing how I managed to cope. A friend and I were discussing this, and we were wondering if it was better that we didn't know what is to come,if we just "go with the flow," so to speak. I told her that, personally, while some of the information is pretty hard to swallow, I'd rather that it would be this way - that I find out ahead of others (even if "ahead" here means a few weeks, or even days, ahead). That way, I would have time to think, and rethink, my next steps. I've always felt that it was never easy for me here at work. By knowing what is to come, I could plan ahead.

Change management is "a structured approach to shifting/transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. It is an organizational process aimed at helping employees to accept and embrace changes in their current business environment" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_management). I have to admit, I have much to learn about change management as a discipline. In my organization, I think I am not alone. The company has recently hired a Change and Engage Manager in order to help everyone deal with what is to come in the several months. What we need to emphasize to everyone that these changes are all about improving performance. The ultimate benchmark of performance in our case is customer satisfaction, or CSI. This year, our goal is to reach 8.5, a score which is considered "best-in-class." Coming from barely reaching last year's target of 7.5, this MIGHT seem like a herculean task. After all, here we are with all these changes, restructuring, re-organization, and so forth, and on top of it we have to meet a higher target? What gives, right? But what we need to embrace is this: the fact we are undergoing a lot of changes is to reach our goals. This may sound far-fetched, or even crazy, to some, but I fully believe this is a fact.

Paradigm shift. As a leader, we are presented with these changes almost first-hand (after the managers, of course). Not only are there changes in our roles, but also with how we look at rewards and consequences. We have been raised in a culture of "punishment" - if you fail to do something, there is a corresponding consequence. Take the matter of attendance - if you fail to come to work (whether due to an emergency or health reasons), it will be taken out of your performance bonus and your score. However, the direction right now is a radical change on how we treat non-performers. During a leadership meeting, the plans were unveiled (a bit hastily, it was not part of the agenda but HR felt it was needed at the time, since all questions were pertaining to that anyway), and some found it a bit difficult to swallow. I myself raised a few questions, and a couple of people supported me; but it turns out they were looking at it differently from my point of view, that everything got twisted and screwed up during the discussion. Sheesh. Anyway, my whole point is this: paradigm shift. A change in the basic assumptions. A change in the way of thinking. From a geocentric model of the universe, a paradigm shift occured. Now we know that the sun is the center of our solar system (that is why it is called the SOLAR system, hahaha!).

I need to end this article now, and so I leave you with a paragraph taken from an article on the web. The link is http://www.taketheleap.com/define.html, and I hope you like this:

"In conclusion, for millions of years we have been evolving and will continue to do so. Change is difficult. Human Beings resist change; however, the process has been set in motion long ago and we will continue to co-create our own experience. Kuhn states that "awareness is prerequisite to all acceptable changes of theory" (p. 67). It all begins in the mind of the person. What we perceive, whether normal or metanormal, conscious or unconscious, are subject to the limitations and distortions produced by our inherited and socially conditional nature. However, we are not restricted by this for we can change. We are moving at an accelerated rate of speed and our state of consciousness is transforming and transcending. Many are awakening as our conscious awareness expands."

Just a few (work-related) updates

I know I have not been updating my blog this past couple of weeks, so here I am, desperately trying to catch up. :) Here's what went on the past week, as well as what is to come. Most stuff will be about work, so consider this a head's up.

Visual Management Content - aka VMC, or VMS (Visual Management Systems), or Kanban. Like my previous post, I have been in a visual management frenzy, what with our  competition which happened on Friday, November 4. According to the criteria set by the manager, it should reflect what is going on, stats-wise, but on a team level. It should also be sustainable - materials used should be found in the office, plus it should be sustainable. So for my team, after reading a ton of articles online about this whole visual management, I decided to keep it all about the content. I formed a team of four who will be in charge of the board - its design, of couse, but most especially, its upkeep. I informed them I want to see the board being updated DAILY, and that we will be having daily huddles around the board. This way, we would not lose sight of where we stand, and we would know how to get to where we need to go.

I must say, I am VERY proud of my team and what we have done with our board. We were the first (among 12 teams) to finish making the board, and we have started using the board as a tool days before the judging began. Aesthetically, it is very simple and straightforward. We have decided to make a motel theme, for reasons unbeknownst to outsiders. We all know that motels have taken a lot of flak here in our country, and there have been occasions when we were swapping "mot-mot" stories. Some teammates even have a "I heard" disclaimer - that is, they're claiming that they have not been to mot-mots themselves, they just heard the story from a friend. Hahaha! Anyway, back to the board. As far as content is concerned, it is very clear and easy to understand. We have statistics for the past 3 days, the past 3 weeks, as well as on a monthly basis (starting on the 3rd quarter). We got the sustainability part covered, too - we stuck to using the whiteboard as a whiteboard, and the stats on a weekly and monthly period covers everything until year-end (we just update using pens and markers). I say whiteboard as a whiteboard because some teams covered their entire boards and resorted to having their data printed. Each to his own, of course.

And what I feel most proud of is the fact that we have started conducting daily huddles. We discuss what went on the previous day, what will happen for today, and other updates from the center, RDS, etc. I have tapped one of my teammates to conduct small activities, and he obliged. We had sharings about our fears, saying something good about the other person, and even answered random sets of questions, beauty-pageant style as another teammate said. But it's all in good fun. So the challenge is to maintain consistency. Let's go!

Training on Coaching - I have a lot of catching up to do. The deadline has been extended until Wednesday close of business. I have two more assignments left to do. During the close out call last week, we were asked to share any challenges we had in doing the pre-work. A lot of people said it's the time given to complete these. I was like, "Dude! We were given almost two months to complete everything!" Besides, all activities were spread out on a weekly basis, so it is really up to us to finish everything on time. Part of being an effective leader is being able to organize as much as 80% of your tasks/meetings, both on a weekly and daily basis. I know, I know, I am ineffective in that sense too - I was not able to complete my pre-work on time, right? But hey, at least I admit it. It's the first step to maturity. Hahaha!

Virlanie Foundation visit - we have finally started the groundwork for this, and I am REALLY hyped! Been too long since our first visit (Feb 2011). I even asked my team member to consider having us booked in advance for 2012 - maybe 3 or 4 visits throughout the year. My goal is to ensure continuity and making our presence felt with these kids. Anyway, I have a feeling this will be a very memorable one for us. I can't wait to go to Divisoria and buy our supplies. This is going to be awesome!

Dayshift on Tuesday - one of the little things I look forward to, to be in honest. I have a Global Anti-Bribery and Corruption Training going on, so my Monday would extend to Tuesday morning. After the training I will report back to work on Wednesday evening. But I think I would still go back Tuesday night, if only to have our daily huddle and to make sure things are in order. Still undecided on that - I got a whole day to figure it out.

October stats and coaching - have to finish the stats TODAY and start the coaching sessions TODAY as well. Whew! Wish me luck!

Anyway, I am off to meet a friend in Pasig - we are going swimming! Hopefully the traffic is light, considering it is a holiday today. Laters.

Visual Management

Been caught up in a visual management frenzy these past couple of weeks.

Since we now have our own visual management system (aka bulletin board, VMC, kanban, etc.), I felt re-energized and motivated. I wanted to use that as a tool to really make our goals as a team visible. It is in synch with the One Minute Manager Principle, in that the goals must be clearly spelt out. I also started becoming more communicative to the team, especially when it comes to informing them of my whereabouts, my itinerary, meetings, etc. Of course, I still have a long way to go. I can feel my patience wearing thin at times, and I know that it is obvious to them as well. I have to learn how to look people straight in the eye more often. The latter has always been my thing - I sometimes tend to look anywhere but in the eyes of the person with whom I am conversing. Baby steps - like what I said, I'm getting there.

I just hope I could finish the reprieves so I can look forward to a great week. I am thinking of having everyone work the same schedule - think that would create more cohesion as a team? Let me sleep on it first. I can't wait to do my 1:1s with my staff - WAY OVERDUE. But in order to start doing that, I need to have the data prepared. So help me JC, please!!!