The Vocation and the Ripple

When I was a child, I used to dream of becoming a doctor, realizing later on that this is not my dream at all.  As much as I want to save lives, I can’t stand the exposure to blood, or be accountable for not saving someone else’s life.     I chose to take another path…a business course.    I thought all the while that the job in the corporate world is not as critical as with the doctor’s job.  I thought all the while that being in the corporate world, I will not be directly involved in saving someone else’s lives.  My theory was wrong.  Every action of either the employer or employee, or both, may save the lives of the immediate stakeholders, and can be further rippled to the wider society.  For example, by merely employing someone, providing a fair compensation and benefits, and a safe work environment, an employer is not just saving his employee’s life, but his family or beneficiary as well.  The daily needs of the family members can be purchased from business and commercial organizations, which in turn also provides jobs to other people.  Taxes paid on income and purchases are then contributed to the government, which in turn builds infrastructure and ensures public safety for the common good of the society. 

It is therefore important for the companies, especially the business leaders, to properly reflect on the ripple effect of every action, before making a decision and implementing a change.  The book Vocation of the Business Leader: A Reflection, has pointed out 6 guiding principles for businesses to integrate LIFE, VIRTUES and business practices for the benefit of the society.   Almost all of these guiding principles were practiced by one company that I have worked for, which was led by a true Christian Business Leader, which I would like to call as Mr. J.  Mr. J is the president of Company ABC, a group of companies with distribution and retail businesses.  The Filipino translation of Company ABC’s real name is “human being”, and the Chinese translations are ‘way’, ‘path’, ‘doctrine’, and ‘principle’.  Below are some examples of how Mr. J has actually lived by these 6 guiding principles.

Meeting the Needs of the World through the Creation and Development of Goods and Services

1.      Businesses that produce goods which are truly good and services which truly serve contribute to the common good.

      One of the subsidiaries of Company ABC used to handle distribution of cigarettes.  This subsidiary is one of the biggest and top profit earners among his subsidiaries.  Despite this, he later on decided to drop this business.  Not because it is declining or starting to lose its market share, but because he believed that the product harms the people’s lives. 

2.      Businesses maintain solidarity with the poor by being alert for opportunities to serve otherwise deprived and underserved populations and people in need.

      Another subsidiary is handling retail of health supplements, targeting the middle and high-end market.  Realizing that he also needs to touch the lower market, he acquired another health supplement retail company to cater to this market. 

Organizing Good and Productive Work

3.     Businesses make a contribution to the community by fostering the special dignity of human work.

Mr. J’s primary mission in acquiring a company is to give jobs to the community.  Some people may be challenging him or recommending to him not to acquire Company B, an existing and almost bankrupt business, which has about 100+ employees.  Consultants and counsels believe that the return of investment will take a long time.  Despite these advices, Mr. J continued acquiring the business, not because of the desired profit, but to give jobs to the existing employees. 

4.    Businesses provide, through subsidiarity, opportunities for employees to exercise appropriate authority as they contribute to the mission of the organization.

In Mr. J’s head office, he has hired disabled female personnel with a very pleasing personality to be the receptionist.  In my 12 years of working experience in 5 companies, this receptionist showed the sincerest “good morning”.  This is actually one of Mr. J’s ways to remind everyone in his business community that all of us were created equal. 

Creating Sustainable Wealth and Distributing It Justly

5.      Businesses model stewardship of the resources, whether capital, human or environmental, that they have received.

6.      Businesses are just in the allocation of resources to all stakeholders: employees, customers, investors, suppliers, and the community.

      All employees under his community have fair compensation and benefits.  His businesses, big or small, are all housed in a safe working environment.  Mr. J has also established a foundation, which aims to “improve the state of public education in the country” as well as to support public sports programs and promote Filipino music.  This company has also partnered with DepEd to promote a technology-enhanced alternative delivery mode of learning.  Since 2010, its foundation was able to deploy this mode of education to 4 public schools in Luzon and Visayas. 

With Mr. J’s way of running his business and a mantra of “giving back to the community”, I realized that business leaders are also “doctors” of the society.  It may not be on a medical perspective, but business leaders can also save the lives of the employees, his family, and the community.  The profits and benefits of a business organization ripple to the stakeholders and to a wider society. 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11)

References:

Company’s Ripple Effect
http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp0304/04RP04

Vocation of the Business Leader
http://www.pcgp.it/dati/2012-05/04-999999/Vocation%20ENG2.pdf

Reflection on the Life of St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle

“Real wealth is the ability to think and feel and not being possessed by possession”.  These are the lines that really struck me in the middle and end of the film, “Who Are My Own”, featuring the life of St. La Salle.  I had been a La Salle alumni but it is only now that I have really reflected the life of St. La Salle. St. John Baptist de La Salle was born in a wealthy family.  He might have lived a very comfortable life, with power and popularity. But he chose instead, serving the poor children by giving them a free education.  St. La Salle’s vision is to build a number of Christian schools and teach young and poor children. Although St. La Salle is known for being the patron saint of educators, some of his traits may also apply and hopefully be emulated by our modern-day corporate leaders and entrepreneurs.   

St. La Salle as a Risk Taker

One of the most common traits of successful entrepreneurs is the ability and willingness to take risks.    This is true even for new and small entrepreneurs – leaving the day-job or giving up the stable pay-checks to venture into its own business; spending personal time and capital to run a business with various uncertainties, etc.  St. La Salle has taken risks in several clips of the movie.  One of the biggest risks he has undertaken was when he decided to resign his canonry, gave up his fortune and inheritance from his wealthy parents, devoted his life instead educating the poor children and living with his fellow teachers and “Brothers”.   Relative to this, the brotherhood formed by St. La Salle, a new religious institute, was opposed by some ecclesiastical authorities.  Despite these resistances, not to mention their diminishing financial resources, St. La Salle and his fellow brothers risked and continued with their mission.  Fast forward, De La Salle community has now spread to various countries, and a number of schools and universities were already established; truly a high reward for a high risk taken centuries ago.   

St. La Salle as an Innovator

In today’s business and corporate world, innovation is one of the keys to success and to keep abreast with the market competition.  Although not an entrepreneur nor a corporate man, St. La Salle has also demonstrated his innovativeness.

Forming a new religious institute, now known as the “De La Salle Brothers”, or “Christian Brothers”, is an example how St. La Salle has demonstrated being an innovator.  This brotherhood was the first Roman Catholic teaching religious group that did not include any priests.  Instead, this group is mainly composed of lay teachers whose primary purpose is to give a good Christian education to the poor children. 

St. La Salle’s innovativeness has also transformed the educational system on some informal schools.  A clip from the film presented how one school educated the children one-on-one, while the rest of the students are either playing rough games, gambling, or doing manual labor.  The old system was a chaotic, and St. La Salle has transformed the system by providing more formal lessons, teaching good values and refining the manners of the students.  With St. La Salle’s innovativeness, he was considered as the founder of the first Catholic schools, and thereby naming him the patron saint of teachers.

St. La Salle as a Mentor

Another key to success, particularly in a corporate world, is to have someone to inspire and guide you in your journey, in your career --- a mentor. 

Andre, one of the film’s characters who used to be a theft and a trouble-maker, turned out to be one of St. La Salle’s mentee.  His life has completely changed, when he decided to join St. La Salle’s journey.   Andre, along with the other lay teachers and brothers, were inspired by St. La Salle’s vision and teachings.   St. La Salle went out of his way to pursue his plan of training the lay teachers.  During the times of their financial difficulties in sustaining their educational institutions, as well as criticisms from the society, relatives and even some religious institutions, some lay teachers have doubted and some have given up on their mission.  Despite those trials, St. La Salle has remained grounded and has kept his faith in both God and their mission.  This strong faith was shared to his fellow teachers and brothers, to keep walking in achieving their ultimate goal – to provide Christian education to common and poor children. 

St. La Salle as a Servant-Leader

A Servant-Leader, according to Robert K. Greenleaf, is “SERVANT-FIRST…It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.” (Wikipedia)

With St. La Salle’s inherited wealth, he may have lived a rich and powerful life.  He may have pursued business, or may have had a high position in the religious order.  However, this path was completely out of St. La Salle’s primary mission --- to serve and educate the poor children.  Aside from the poor children, St. La Salle has also served his fellow teachers and brothers, by giving them more formal trainings and resources…and all these were shared out of love and passion and not for profit.  He is indeed an epitome of a true Servant-Leader.  Service to others, especially for the unfortunate children who were deprived of a good education, is certainly what St. La Salle considers as “Real Wealth”.   He believed that if he can open the children’s minds, if he and the teachers can reach beyond the boundaries, if they can open the children’s minds to this light, our world especially these children will have a brighter hope, closer to peace.  

My First

I've been wanting to create a blog.  I feel that I have a lot to share, but I must admit that I'm not really good in putting my thoughts into writing.  Hopefully this will work, and will push me to become a better writer.  This blog will be about my journey as a mother, as a runner, as a student, as an employee, and my other roles and passion in life.