Take time to read this ... What's better than...?

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09/11/03 Take time to read this ...

What's

12:45 PM better than...?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manila, Philippines

This speech was delivered during the commencement exercises of the UP

graduating class of 2003 by Mr. Butch Jimenez, head of PLDT's media and

strategic communications

department, delivered this speech at the UP Diliman Class 2003 commencement

exercises. the youngest commencement speaker in the university's history.

He

once dreamed of doing so, and it came true!!!

Students wished they had a pencil or paper to jot down notes during the

speech; some even wished they had a tape recorder. Some members of the

faculty found his speech practical, refreshing, and funny!

----------

What's better than...?

By Butch Jimenez

 

Better than being negative

 

As college students, you're just about to set sail into the real world.

As you prepare for the battleground of life, you'll hear many speeches,

read tons of books and get miles of advice telling you to work hard, dream

big, go out and do something for yourself, and have a vision.

 

Not bad advice, really. In fact, following these nuggets of truth may just

bring you to the top. But as I've lived my life over the years , I have

come to realize that it is great to dream big, have a vision, make a name,

and work hard. But guess what: There's something better than that.

 

So my message today simply asks the question, What's better than...?

 

Let's start off with something really simple. What's better than a long

speech? No doubt, a short one. So, you guys are in luck because I do intend

to keep this short.

 

Now, let me take you through a very simple math exam. I'll rattle off a

couple of equations, and you tell me what you observe about them. Be

mindful of the instructions. You are to tell me what you observe about the

equations.

 

Here goes: 3+4=7, 9+2=11, 8+4=13, and 6+6=12. Tell me, what do you observe?

 

Every time I conduct this test, more than 90 percent of the participants

immediately say, 8+4 is NOT 13, it's 12!

 

That's true and they are correct. But they could have also observed that

the three other equations were right. That 3+4 is 7, that 9+2 is 11, and

that 6+6 is 12.

 

What's my point? Many people immediately focus on the negative instead of

the positive. Most of us focus on what's wrong with other people more than

what's right about them. Examine those four equations. Three were right and

only one was wrong. But what is the knee-jerk observation? The wrong

equation.

 

If 10 people you didn't know were to walk through that door, most of you

would describe those people by what's negative about them. He's fat. He's

balding. Oh, the short one. Oh, the skinny girl. Ahhh, 'yung pango.Etc.

 

Get the point? It's always the negative we focus on and not the positive.

You'll definitely experience this in the corporate world. You do a hundred

good things and one mistake-guess what? Chances are, your attention will be

called on that one mistake.

 

So what's better than focusing on the negative? Believe me, its focusing on

the positive. And if this world could learn to focus on the positive more

than the negative, it would be a much nicer place to live in.

 

Better than working hard

 

We have always been told to work hard. Our parents say that, our teachers

say that, and our principal says that. But there's something better than

merely working hard. It's working SMART.

 

It's taking time to understand the situation, and coming out with an

effective and efficient solution to get more done with less time and

effort. As the Japanese say, " There's always a better way. "

 

One of the most memorable case studies I came across with as I studied

Japanese management at Sophia University in Tokyo was the case of the empty

soap box, which happened in one of Japan's biggest cosmetics companies. The

company received a complaint that a consumer had bought a box of soap that

was empty. It immediately isolated the problem to the assembly line, which

transported all the packaged boxes of soap to the delivery department. For

some reason, one soap box went through the assembly line empty. Management

tasked its engineers to solve the problem. Post-haste, the engineers worked

hard to devise an X-ray machine with high-resolution monitors manned by two

people to watch all the soap boxes that passed through the line to make

sure they were not empty. No doubt, they worked hard and they worked fast.

 

But a rank-and-file employee that was posed the same problem came out with

another solution. He bought a strong industrial electric fan and pointed it

at the assembly line. He switched the fan on, and as each soap box passed

the fan, it simply blew the empty boxes out of the line.

 

Clearly, the engineers worked hard, but the rank-and-file employee worked

smart. So what's better than merely working hard? It's working smart.

Having said that, it is still important to work hard. If you could combine

both working hard and working smart, you would possess a major factor

toward success.

 

Better than dreaming big

 

I will bet my next month's salary that many have encouraged you to dream

big. Maybe even to reach for the stars and aim high. I sure heard that

about a million times right before I graduated from this university. So I

did. I did dream big. I did aim high. I did reach for the stars. No doubt,

it works. In fact, the saying is true: " If you aim for nothing, that's

exactly what you'll hit: nothing. "

 

But there's something better than dreaming big. Believe me, I got shocked

myself. And I learned it from the biggest dreamer of all time, Walt Disney.

 

When it comes to dreaming big, Walt is the man. No bigger dreams were

fulfilled than his. Every leadership book describes him as the ultimate

dreamer. In fact, the principle of dreaming and achieving is the core

message of the Disney hit song, " When You Wish Upon a Star " .

 

" When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are; anything your

heart desires will come to you. If your heart is in your dream, no request

is too extreme. When you wish upon a star, as dreamers do, " as Jiminy

Cricket sang.

 

But is that what he preached in the Disney company? Dream? Imagineering

Well, not exactly. Kinda, but not quite. The problem with dreaming is if

that's all you do, you'll really get nowhere. In fact, you may just fall

asleep and never wake up.

 

The secret to Disney's success is not just dreaming, it's IMAGINEERING. You

won't find this word in a dictionary. It's purely a Disney word. Those who

engage in imagineering are called imagineers. The word combines the words

" imagination " and " engineering. "

 

In the book " Imagineers, " Disney's CEO, Michael Eisner, claims that

" imagineers turn impossible dreams into real magic. "

 

Walt Disney explained there is really no secret to their approach. They

just keep moving forward-opening new doors and doing new things, because

they are curious. And it is this curiosity that leads them down new paths.

They always dream, explore and experiment. In short, imagineering is the

blending of creative imagination and technical know-how.

 

Eisner expounds on this thought by saying that " Not only are imagineers

curious, they are courageous, outrageous, and their creativity is

contagious. " The big difference with imagineers is that they dream and then

they DO! So don't just be a dreamer, be an imagineer.

 

Better than a vision

 

You must have all been given a lecture at one time or another about the

importance of having a vision. Even leadership

expert John Maxwell says that an indispensable quality of a leader is to

have a vision. The Bible also makes it very clear that " Without vision,

people perish. " So no doubt about it, having a vision is important to

success.

 

But surprise! There's something more potent than a vision. It's a CAUSE.

 

If all you're doing is trying to reach your vision and you're pitted

against someone fighting for a cause, chances are you'll lose. The Vietnam

War is a classic example. Literally with sticks and stones, the Viet Cong

beat the heavily armed US Army to surrender, primarily because the US had a

vision to win the war, but the Vietnamese were

fighting for a cause.

 

In the realm of business, many leaders have visions of making their company

No.1, or grabbing market share, or forever increasing profits. Nothing

really wrong with that vision, but take the example of Sony founder Akio

Morita. He did not just have a vision to build the biggest electronics

company in the world. In his biography, " Made in Japan, " he reveals that

the real reason he set up Sony was to help rebuild his country, which had

just been battered by war. He had a cause he was fighting for. His vision

to be an electronics giant was secondary.

 

What's the difference bet ween a vision and a cause? Here's what sets them

apart... No one is willing to die for a vision. People will die for a

cause. You possess a vision. A cause possesses you. A vision lies in your

hands. A cause lies in your heart. A vision involves sacrifice. A cause

involves the ultimate sacrifice.

 

Just a word of caution. You must have the right vision, and you must be

fighting for the right cause. In the end, right will always win out. It may

take time, and it may take long. But if you have the right vision and are

fighting for the right cause, you will prevail. If not, no matter how

sincere you are, if you are not fighting for what is right, you will

ultimately fail. The Bible, which says, " To whom much is given, much is

required. "

 

Having been given the opportunity to study in UP, no doubt, much has been

given to you in terms of an excellent education. Don't forget that in

return, much is now required of you to use that education not just for

yourself, but for others.

 

And as you move up and start reaching the pinnacle of success, even more

will be required of you to look at the welfare of others, of society and of

the country.

 

A final review:

* What's better than focusing on the negative? Focus on the positive.

* What's better than working hard? It's working smart.

* What's better than dreaming? Imagineering.

* What's better than doing something for yourself? Doing something for your

country.

* What's better than a vision? A cause.

* What's better than a long speech? Definitely, a short one.

 

Thank you and congratulations, UP Diliman graduating class of 2003

 

 

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