One of the most respected business speakers in the country, Francis Kong has been featured in many leadership conferences both here and abroad. He was a recipient of The Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) Award in 2014. He is also a columnist. His column at the Philippine Star was awarded as the best business column for multiple years. Among his many recognitions include the Hall of Fame Award by the Catholic Mass Media Awards, Anvil Award for Excellence for the Dr. John Maxwell Seminar Series, Gold Quill Award for Best Public Speech category given by the International Association Business Communicators, Top 100 Filipinos on LinkedIn Hall of Fame Award, and Top 1 in the inaugural Philippines’ Top 30 Leaders on LinkedIn 2022.

As an experienced entrepreneur, he is well-versed in the field of manufacturing and retail. He ran a famous garment brand successfully for 17 years. He is currently the President of Success Options Inc. and Success Options Publishing Company, Inc. As a business consultant, he is an adviser to many of the country’s top business corporations. As a personal coach, he has mentored many of the top business leaders in the country.

As a broadcaster, he has an award-winning radio program called business matters at DZFE-FM 98.7. As a speaker and trainer, he averages more than 300 talks, seminars, and training both here and abroad yearly. Finally, he is a best-selling author of multiple books.

Challenges will always be there whether you are holding responsible positions of leadership or not, Francis said. It’s just that when you’re in a position of responsibility, your challenges seem to be bigger. He said every time he finds himself in the middle of something very challenging, he always considers these two things: First, “Is this something within my control? Or “Is this something outside my control?” The mind has to operate fast to get to the reality of assessing the situation. Second, “Is this the result of something stupid that I have done?” The response to these questions requires different skill sets and mindsets. If it’s something beyond his control as the Covid 19, he will just manage it. If it’s a result of a wrong decision, he’s going to look back, accept it, own it, face it, deal with the consequences and then move on to becoming a better and wiser person.

Ian asked him about his thoughts on the Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting phenomena. "I’m never for quiet quitting. If you do just the bare minimum kumbaga sa test, you’re pasang-awa", Francis replied. He added by saying, "The reality of things is that the Great Resignation in the West is now giving way to the Great Regret to the same. That they themselves had to let go of a lot of people. He said 400 brick and mortar stores had to close so they had to do it. Letting go of people is a very hard thing to swallow." 

He then went on and described balance. If you go deep down on the meaning, balance means equilibrium. What is 50% life and 50% work? You will never arrive at a position wherein you become an expert in something.

He closed by encouraging people to take part in leveling up the leadership, mentoring and helping people widen their reach so more people can be helped.

Episode Highlights:

01:42 - 02:40 - Introduction of Guest

03:37 - 06:45 - How to handle challenges and the tools to use

08:16 -16:13 - Advice to Leaders experiencing the Great Resignation & Quiet Quitting Phenomena

25:06 - 29:55 - How to build resilient teams in times of uncertainty

31:20 - 37:10 - Francis' ways of dealing with Stress, Anxiety and Pressure

38:22 - 40:41 - How to put realizations into actions

40:45 - 42:40 - Building habits through association

38:40 - 41:45 - Invitations of upcoming events

Connect with Anda Goseco and Ian Santos

https://linktr.ee/resilienceinleadership

Email:

resilienceinleadership@gmail.com

Boris Joaquin is one of the country's top-ranked public speakers and trainers for leadership programs and other soft skills. He is a seasoned management and marketing professional, being involved in various industries both from multinationals to locally owned enterprises for more than two decades now.

Presently, he is the President and CEO of Breakthrough Leadership Management Consultancy, Inc. (the company behind Salt & Light Ventures). He is also the Master Trainer and Country Representative of the Lead Like Jesus Training Program (a program designed by Ken Blanchard) and the founder of Project Purpose Philippines.

Boris also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Family First Philippines, and The Bible League Philippines. Because of his practice of leadership gifts through these humanitarian involvements, the University of Santo Tomas bestowed upon him the distinguished Manuel L. Quezon Leadership Award for two consecutive years.

He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the People Manager Magazine, the official publication of the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP), and contributes regularly to the career/lifestyle section of Rappler.com. He is the author of the best-selling book, Practical Wisdom to be Happy at Work and used to write a regular column for PhilStar.com and Inquirer Libre.

Nobody really knows any best practices towards what we’ve experienced during the global health crisis. But as a change management consultant, Boris always talked about the dynamics of change and living in a VUCA world. He said he needed to put all these principles into practice in the last two years.

One of the things that he learned was ADAPTABILITY— the ability to adapt. He mentioned that in 2018 even before the pandemic hit, he read a report that said, “Technology is on an uphill trend”. It’s so fast that humans can't catch up. Without a doubt, we needed to upskill in so many ways.

He added that AQ is the new EQ. Everyone needs an Adaptability Quotient to succeed. He also said that anybody can adapt, anybody can pivot and anybody can recalibrate. It is really how you react and acknowledge the reaction and pull back that matters. It is acknowledging and managing the current situation, not devalidating it. It’s having an open mind and being innovative.

Agility comes to play. You ask yourself these questions now: How do you not procrastinate? How do you pivot as fast as possible?

Change can disrupt us. It could make us feel awkward, anxious, afraid, and angry. But if you can accept that and navigate, you’ll be able to survive and thrive.

He shared how he navigated Breakthrough Leadership in what we call “the new normal”. Breakthrough Leadership is a learning service provider. They earn millions from one of their biggest products — event conferencing.

Boris ended on this note: “You can’t really lead unless you learn.” Leaders are learners. The gap between learning and doing is significantly greater than the gap between ignorance and knowledge. The more leaders address this gap, the more transformation they will see in the lives of others.

Episode Highlights

01:27-03:13 - Introduction of Guest

04:12-06:13 - Boris' Definition of Resilience

06:28-08:50 - How important is Adversity Quotient to leaders

09:43-14:26 - How he is navigating Breakthrough Leadership in the new normal

15:05-18:05 - Boris' Resilience Tool Kit

20:12-24:20 - How alignment helped Boris in taking on several roles

26:23-29:31 - What do leaders need to have for them and their people to succeed

31:55-33:30 - Final Tip for Leaders

Connect with Anda Goseco and Ian Santos

https://linktr.ee/resilienceinleadership

Email:

resilienceinleadership@gmail.com

Paulo Tibig is one of the most celebrated Filipino motivational speakers in the Philippines today. He is renowned for his “Learnjoyment” brand of keynotes and workshops.

He is a real corporate/business practitioner with solid on-the-ground experience in managing companies and businesses such as the award-winning V Cargo Worldwide and Paulo Tibig Corporate Trainings for more than two decades, making him relevant and in touch with the real workplace conditions that many see as his competitive advantage.

He is the bestselling author of the book “Strategies of a Champion Entrepreneur” and the recently released “STANDOUT: How to Lead Without Losing Your Values”. He is also a go-to regular resource person on national TV, radio shows, and programs.

Very recently, Paulo was part of the Inaugural Philippines' Top 30 Leaders on LinkedIn.

When Paulo started V Cargo, they knew very well that it was going to be challenging. The industry they were getting into was dominated by multinational players. The competition was tight, so what they did was create services and solutions that will make them stand out. They wanted to be resilient. At that time, they had two options — resist or absorb what was happening in the industry. They chose the latter! It wasn't a piece of cake. There were a lot of struggles — financial, operational, and more. Competing head-on wasn’t the best course of action.

Then, the pandemic hit! Paulo learned that "We are like coffee beans. When we are dipped in hot water, we know exactly how strong and intense we are. Similarly, as an individual or organization when we are faced with problems and uncertain situations, we can see what the true character of a certain individual is.” All these prepared them to grow and thrive. Had they resisted, they could have not won and thrived.

How did he make his company stay strong? How did he, himself, become strong?

According to Paulo, even before the pandemic happened, they already knew what their market was. They had already developed some flagship products/services — logistics marketing services. They understood the pain point of the market well. They took into account the competition and the opportunities. Paulo says that in every crisis, there's a business opportunity. Focusing on the peculiar need of the times is the resilient strategy he employed 22 years ago, and has continued to evolve and work until now.

Ian found it very interesting since he's also in the FMCG industry. He mentioned V Cargo worldwide being awarded by Philippine Airlines recently the Diamond Awardee Partner, the highest award.

How was he able to win an award in the midst of the pandemic? How did he keep his employees engaged?

Paulo also emphasized paying attention to culture. He shared the mindset, which is also their famous #dugongponkan. The culture that they want to embrace. Be the orange among the apples. The secret sauce of V Cargo. He explained that the principle behind this idea is if you try to compete based on the same platform, pricing model, and operational model, you won’t win. There's a need to stand out. Create your own market space.

He ended with his note, “The world needs ethical leaders.” Take the opportunity to be with people and see how you can lead and help them. 

Episode Highlights:

01:27-04:14 - Introduction of guest

04:15-05:19 - V Cargo’s history

05:20-07:45 - Paulo’s and VCargo’s learning during the Pandemic

07:46-12:52 - The key to staying strong

12:53-17:48 - V Cargo Worldwide won the Diamond Awardee partner by Philippines Airlines

17:49-20:12 - Explanation of "Be the orange among the apples"

20:13-26:04 - Drilling down the mindset #dugongponkan

26:05-30:54 - Being an Ethical Leade

Connect with Anda Goseco and Ian Santos

https://linktr.ee/resilienceinleadership

Email:

resilienceinleadership@gmail.com