Sunday, June 8, 2008

I wish to share an inspiring speech delivered during the commencement exercises of the UP graduating class of 2003 by Mr. Butch Jimenez, the youngest commencement speaker in the university's history. Though its a long one but worth giving a read.....
He once dreamed of doing so, and it came true!!!:-) Students wished they had a pencil orpaper 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! Butch Jimenez, head of PLDT's media and strategic communications department, delivered this speech at the UP Diliman Class 2003 commencement exercises. What's better than...? By Butch Jimenez As college students, you're just about to set sailinto the real world. As you prepare for the battle ground of life, you'll hear many speeches, read tons of books and get miles of advice telling you towork hard, dream big, go out and do something for yourself, and have avision. Not bad advice, really. In fact, following these nuggets of truth mayjust 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 inluck because I do intend to keep this short. Now, let me take you through avery 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 totell 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 percentof the participants immediately say, 8+4 is NOT 13, it's 12! That's trueand they are correct. But they could have also observed that the 3 otherequations 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 ofthe 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 andonly one was wrong. But what is the knee-jerk observation? The wrong equation.If 10 people you didn't know were to walk through thatdoor, most of you would describe those people by what's negative aboutthem. 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 andnot the positive. You'll definitely experience this in the corporate world. You do a hundred good things and one mistake-guess what? Chances are, yourattention 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 thisworld could learn to focus on the positive more than the negative, it wouldbe a much nicer place to live in.
Better than working hard? We have always been told to work hard. Our parents saythat, our teachers say that, and our principal says that. But there's something better than merely working hard. It's working SMART. It's takingtime to understand the situation, and coming out with an effective and efficient solution to get more done with less time and effort. As the Japanesesay, "There's always a better way." One of the most memorable case studies Icame across with as I studied Japanese management at Sophia University inTokyo was the case of the empty soap box, which happened in one of Japan's biggest cosmetics companies. The company received a complaint that aconsumer 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 theproblem. Post-haste, the engineers worked hard to devise an X-ray machine withhigh-resolution monitors manned by two people to watch all the soap boxes that passed through the line to make sure they were not empty. Nodoubt, 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 possessa major factor toward success.
Better than dreaming big ? I will bet my next month's salary that many haveencouraged you to dream big. Maybe even to reach for the stars and aim high. Isure heard that about a million times right before I graduated from thisuniversity. 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 fornothing, that's exactly what you'll hit: nothing." But there's somethingbetter than dreaming big. Believe me, I got shocked myself. And I learned itfrom 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. Everyleadership book describes him as the ultimate dreamer. In fact, the principle ofdreaming and achieving is the core message of the Disney hit song, "When YouWish 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 yourdream, 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. Kind a but not quite. The problemwith 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'ssuccess is not just dreaming it is IMAGINEERING. You won't find this wordin 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 alwaysdream, explore and experiment. In short, imagineering is the blending ofcreative imagination and technical know-how. Eisner expounds on this thought by saying that "Notonly are imagineers curious, they are courageous, outrageous, and theircreativity 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.
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 doubtabout 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 toreach 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 for ever increasing profits. Nothing really wrong with that vision, but take the example ofSony 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 between 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 causelies in your heart. A vision involves sacrifice. A cause involves the ultimate sacrifice. Just a word of caution. You must have the right vision, andyou must be fighting for the right cause. In the end, right will always winout. It may take time, and it may take long. But if youhave 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. Two final quotes Allow me to end with two quotes that I have lived byever since I stepped out of UP. The first comes from the Bible, which says, "To whom much is given, much is required." Having been given the opportunity to studyin 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 ofothers, of society and of the country. Though I have often dreamed of addressing any graduating class of UP Diliman, I never really thought it would happen. This brings me to the second quote I have held close to my heart as Itraverse the destiny God has laid out for me. "There is no destination beyond reach of one who walks with God." My standing in front of you today, as the youngest commencement speaker of this esteemed university in 92 years, is proof of how true that quote i s.
A final review: What's better than ...?
* 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? Imagine ring. * 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, ashort one. Thank you and congratulations, UP Diliman graduatingclass of 2003 "Excellence is not a destination; it is a continuous journey that never ends."

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