One Cebu Business & Sustainability Summit~Lessons

I was very much fortunate to be able to attend the One Cebu Business & Sustainability Summit once again. Compared to last year, this year's One Cebu Business & Sustainability Summit 2011 was off the charts! I learned far more than I expected and imagined! You can check out what I learned last year (One Cebu Sustainability Summit ~ Lessons).

The Business and Sustainability Summit‘s theme is “Innovate Entrepreneurship: Paving the way to a sustainable economy “and will focus on sustainable business practices and social responsibility.

I learned a lot from all speakers from their varied and different experiences, perspectives and areas of engagement in advocacy and business:

Obra Negosyo Eskwela showcase: These students are really lucky in being able to qualify and participate in such a program that bridges the gap between education/academe and industry whilst helping the country-side entrepreneurs and students.

Innovative PPP (Project-Private-Partnerships) by Mr. Eruc Cruz, VP Infrastructure, Housing & Construction-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry - I was able to learn more about how PPPs work in the Philippines-setting; It's a way of assisting government and nation building (You can choose from Soft, hard or social infrastructure projects); the difference between BOT RA7718~Build-Operate-Transfer) & PPP was also discussed.

IN-novations for Better Governance by Andrew Hodges, Director for LGU, Microsoft Asia - Was focusing on productivity softwares and Cloud computing for governance (Ex.Citizen Service portal). I found this very interesting but I think our LGUs & people in government aren't ready for it yet.

The GoNegosyo Quest by Mr. Mon Lopez, Executive Director, Go Negosyo Foundation - The GoNegosyo Programs, accomplishments and practices were highlighted and what they are doing is not necessarily business development, but more on focus on influencing paradigm shifts, knowledge-examples-experiences sharing and 'mindsetting'.

The Aspirant: Building the Entrepreneurial Character by Mr. Jorge Noel Wieneke III, Ateneo Graduate School of Business - Every decision starts in the mind, your outlook, analysis and attitude (positivity) comprises one's mindset; You may be presented with the same situation but you can see the difference in the decisions made by a person's mindset and that is what separates entrepreneurs from workers.

Current Challenges in Family Businesses by Prof. Enrique Soriano III, Head (Marketing) Ateneo Graduate School - This talk blew my mind; every subtopic and samples was totally new to me, but relatable. This presentation showcased the BIG Difference in creating, running, maintaining and transferring family businesses. Conflict resolution strategies were discussed, balancing family and business life; creation of family and business rules (Family Constitution) to create limits on emotion and the like. This has become One of my favorite talks and topics!

Out of the Box Marketing by Mr. Donald Patrick Lim, MRM Worldwide Philippines - Another talk that made me think, it humbled me and I realized that I have still lots to learn and a long way to go. In the short 30 minute talk, I realized that I still have much to learn about Marketing (Social, Digital, ROI and Creative aspects); From the 4Ps to the 4Cs of Marketing [Consumer wants and needs (vs. Products); Cost to satisfy (vs. Price); Convenience to buy (vs. Place); Communication (vs. Promotion); & perhaps there is that consideration of 'Culture' as well.

Entrepreneurship with a heart: The story of Human Heart Nature by Mr. Dylan Wilk, Vice President Gandang Kalikasan Inc. - The Irony is, here's a foreigner telling us how beautiful and rich our country is; well I know that most Filipinos think otherwise but I totally agree with him, and that he is doing his part and sharing his knowledge to us Filipinos through his own NGO. It's always good to see how an outsider observes one's culture for from there we can work on our shortcomings so we can grow and be better.

Innnovative CSR: The SCOPE WAY by Mr.Philip Tan, Vice Chair Visayas EXECOM, Philippine Business for Social Progress - This talk was about the framework of PBSP and how other business can take advantage of it. I learned a lot about PBSP and perhaps take advantage of their programs in the future? :D

Spotting Business Opportunities by Dean Francisco 'Pax' Lapid, Go Negosyo Angelpreneur - This where I realized that the Pareto Rule in which I despised was applied in many ways; In education, learning, Planning and execution. Dean Pax showed us that SMALL is GOOD, since most Filipinos want FLASHY, immediate success and BIG BUSINESSES immediately - do not underestimate small ventures. "Sometimes Opportunities come in small numbers but in big volunes."

Innovative Entrepreneurship by Ilac Diaz, Executive Director, MyShelter Foundation - This is the 2nd time that I have listened to Ilac and I always get inspired and amazed by his ventures & talks. He did a recap of his firm's ventures such as the Bottled Schools, earthen structures and now also showed a cheap & sustainable way to light up a home.

Me with head of RLCOMM.org :D

Experts agree that making the shift to a sustainable business economy is critical to the future of the Philippines and the world. Without making that leap, the environment we so cherish will continue to deteriorate at an increasingly rapid pace, which in turn will affect the quality of life for all of us. by taking on the challenge of “Becoming Sustainable“, we as a business community can reverse that trend and truly create a lasting legacy of sustainable long term growth for business, our community and the natural world around us.

With a friend from YMA/ALEx, Jezreel Ezer Archival, who was part of the Obra Negosyo Eskwela Program

"A great thing that a lamp can do that a Sun cannot do is to have a light at night. It is not about size but of purpose."