Change Management | Sonnie's Porch

Make 2009 A Better Year

January 1st, 2009

3 comments

As we celebrate the new year with festivities, in another part of the world, they are observing it with air raids, bombs, fear, and uncertainty.

Blame it not on Israel for it’s continued air raid and ground assault, neither the Hamas for the rockets fired. This conflict had it’s root from the decisions made by one man.

A look at history will help us make better and conscious decision for 2009.

Both the Arabs and Jews look at Abraham as their father, and both are monotheist. But why are they at war with each other?

The problem goes beyond the establishment of the nation Israel on what the Palestinians claim as their land.

It goes back to the ancient times when God promised Abraham that through his seed, God will establish a great nation (Gen 15). The promise, from the Jewish perspective, becomes a reality through Isaac and Jacob. On the Arabs perspective, the promised became a reality thru Ishmael .

To Change Output, Change Your Input

January 7th, 2008

No comments

I hope all is well with you at the start of a working week. Please allow me to blog about the teaching we received from church yesterday. T’was so value adding and I can’t let this pass without discussing it here.

We were encouraged to set goals in 4 areas, (1) relationship with the Creator, (2) relationship with family, (3) goals on personal success and (4) service. Then we were guided to plot our action plans to create a standard day, standard week, standard month and standard year. This is to establish a “pattern” that will usher us to reach our goals.

But before this, we had some fun but serious discussion on “patterns”.

People live the life they live because of the pattern they saw.
- Young men learned how to be men thru the patterns he saw from his father. In the absence of a father, young men will follow the patterns set by his peers or society, i.e. movies.
- Young women learn how to be a wife and mother from the pattern she saw from her mother, similarly, in the absence of mothers, an alternative pattern will be provided by peers and society.
Employees acquire their skills from the pattern they saw from their bosses.
- Leadership skills are learned from the patterns set by their leaders.
- Teaching skills are learned from the patterns set by their mentors.
Culture are acquired thru the patterns people observed in society.
- In the west, kids can call the police if their parents spank them. But this is not acceptable in the Philippines.
Brands are established by the pattern instituted by a company.
- Starbucks (brand) standards (coffee and service) are one and the same anywhere in the world.

Filipino Entrepreneurs On Innovation

October 15th, 2007

No comments

“A business [should be] dynamic. It must be flexible and attuned to the changing times. It must not stand still or be passive. It should continually search for progress and improvements. It must regenerate and reinvent itself.”

–ROLANDO HORTALEZA, Splash Corp.–

“You have to adjust to the flow of business. If you’re not open to change, your business can’t move on.”

–SOCORRO RAMOS, National Bookstore–

Change Management (2)

October 11th, 2007

No comments

On April of this year, I introduced the subject of change management. Initiating and leading his group to change is one of the inevitable tasks a leader must do. However, change management is not an easy task. Time and again, in the middle of a change process, the leader may create enemies and/or lose good people.

Though handful of materials can be found on the net, I would attempt to add another value by sharing a time tested principle from the Bible, and apply the same in our modern day life.