Apr 27BBM & Leni (and PH politics in general) were living rent-free in my head. I evicted them. Here’s how I did it.Like it or not, this madness called Philippine politics is going to continue far beyond the May 9th elections. I am going to walk you through my thinking about this contentious subject matter so that you, too, can hope to live a less exhausting life throughout 2022 and beyond. This…5 min read
Published in Dispatches from the Far East·Nov 5, 2014I’d rather drop dead from all that running than cross the finish line walkingOriginally published on 17 September 2012 — Or I’ll crawl my way to the finish line. Walking is not an option. Already on my fifteenth km, feet and knees hurting, I kept repeating that line in my head. I can be really cruel to myself. I guess that’s the point. I’d drop dead on the road if…12 min read
Published in Dispatches from the Far East·Nov 1, 2014Off the gridOriginally published on 15 October 2012 — “Iwan nyo lahat dito. Tsinelas din. Baka matangay sa current.” That was what one of them said. These guys, my two Kapampangan cousins and their surfing buddies, have been here countless times. The concept of not bringing anything was new to me. When heading out, I have to bring something…2 min read
Published in Dispatches from the Far East·Oct 30, 2014Why people lack ambitionOriginally published on 19 January 2013 — In most corporate offices around the world, the last quarter of the year is set for employee performance appraisals where an individual’s performance is reviewed. On the following quarter, the first quarter of the following year, is where individual performance expectations are set. Inclusive of these meetings and discussions are…4 min read
Published in Dispatches from the Far East·Oct 29, 2014How I write my emails a.k.a. lecture on the 7 parts of a letterOriginally published on 28 March 2013 — As I was skimming through my emails last night, I noticed a pattern that I could almost say is due to my own email practices. I’ve been in my current company for close to five years now and it would be a shame if I have not driven any influence…6 min read
Published in Dispatches from the Far East·Oct 23, 2014It all boils down to who makes the callOriginally published on 28 August 2012 — First, I want to stress the point that every organization has to truly understand the concept of the directly responsible individual (DRI). Apple has a taught us this lesson last year when Forbes revealed this in an online article. The accountability mindset extends down the ranks. At Apple there is…3 min read
Published in Dispatches from the Far East·Oct 22, 2014Why I don’t do charity [yet]Originally published on 30 March 2013 — Last week, I was invited to a “birthday charity” event. I’m not really sure what’s the term for it but it is when the person celebrating his or her birthday would observe it in a place of charity or whichever location where recipients of charity would be there in attendance…4 min read
Published in Dispatches from the Far East·Oct 18, 2014You can’t be right the whole time. Even if you’re actually right. The whole time.Originally published on 16 July 2013 — There is this big misconception that the team leader, project manager or the CEO has to be right each time. That he has to be the all-knowing, prescient Jesus-cum-Moses in the room. No. My biggest lesson was that you could be technically right and management wrong, and I learned that…3 min read
Published in Dispatches from the Far East·Oct 17, 2014Editing lifeOriginally published on 14 July 2013 — I’m not sure if this was a result of turning 31 and realizing I am half way in this journey called life (assuming life expectancy at 58 to 65) but I found it more and more important to ‘edit’ my life and my family’s. Now. To understand what I mean…5 min read
Published in Dispatches from the Far East·Oct 16, 2014The best pair of productivity appsOriginally published on 23 July 2013. — Let me get this out of the way first. I am a corporate hack and had been this way for close to ten years now. I am not an entrepreneur. I am also not an engineer nor a designer. Most of my days are spent in meetings with individuals, groups…3 min read
