Janet Merewether: Maverick Mother

I caught this on TV,broadcast by Australian Network. It was a feel good movie. Janet, a filmmaker, whose biological clock was ticking, decided to have a baby and after trying artificial insemination, got pregnant after a one night stand with a Swedish friend.

It was a well done piece and when I got a glimpse of the story just as it was starting I couldn't change the channel anymore. No wonder it got an award as a Best Documentary film.

Am sure single mothers who have gone through heaven and hell raising a kid on their own will be able to relate to this "reality movie."

JAMES' APPLE STRUDELS

James,our resident chef, has been his honing skills in making desserts while working at the Buon Giorno restaurant located at the Rockwell Business Center beside Meralco. Last Sunday was his second time to bake Apple Strudels for our dessert and this time around he used Granny Smith apples,which gave it the right bite and texture. Before, he used Washington apples and although it was delicious, the apples became a bit soggy after a while. Topping it with vanilla ice cream made it just perfect! Bon Appetit and our compliments to the chef.

" WHAT DO I DO DAD?"

...hardest question to answer!

...specially if you know that it's up to your son to figure out the answer.

TJ arrived home from work looking glum...so I knew something bad had happened at work.

Bottomline is, although he was recently regularized, he wasn't complying with a WFE -thingy (Work Efficiency something) that he had been warned about, and since he still didn't use it, he was given a written warning...with the possibility of suspension, and even termination.

It was one of those moments that I wished I could just wave a magic wand and make his troubles disappear...but I had to walk him through why he was in such a predicament in the first place.

Simply put, he just didn't seem to appreciate the need for doing something that had been prescribed---the WFE, whatever it was. He was also not meeting important metrics like his AHT (average handling time) and CRR ( call return rate.)

What wasn't good was that he was starting to put himself down again---saying something like if he couldn't hold down an easy job like being a call center agent---then what was he good for?

I had to do my best in pointing out that being a call center agent wasn't easy to begin with, and that actually many call center employees have been known to quit even before their probationary period ends. The fact that he made it through 6 months says something about his staying power! (If it was any consolation,even his cousin Bruce had tried working in a call center but eventually resigned.)

The father and son talk dragged on for more than an hour...and I could understand he was feeling real bad, because in spite of the pressure, the job still paid well. So, he felt that losing another job was going to seem like the end of the world!

I could only think of helping him see options that were open to him.

First, he could always salvage the situation by catching up on his stats. (He wasn't so enthused about this because he said any mistake he would make next week would already be counted.)

Second, he could voluntarily resign but check if there are other options within Convergys for him. But even as I said this,I also told him he should make other plans already, like what would he be doing if he was out of work...look for another job? Skill up for his "dream?" (like one of his friends CJ, who had taken a sabbatical to learn game development, and was eventually hired at the Lady Luck gaming company.)

I think mentioning his dream, made the situation a bit lighter..and maybe gave him hope that it wasn't really the end of the world if he resigned from Convergys.

After all too, I didn't really want to see him make a career out of becoming a call center agent!

I didn't let him off the hook easy though. I had to point out to him that the one thing that was always getting in the way of him spending time on developing his skills....was PLAYING COMPUTER GAMES!

And unless he gave up this addiction...it would be the same story all over again.

I told him to write down his plans and set his new objectives.

It didn't solve his problem...but I think it did pep him enough to want to focus on his dream again...and (hopefully) resolve to do something radically different from the way he's been running his life today.

TAKING A LEAVE... IN ORDER TO LIVE: WHY WE SHOULDN'T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS

I had just come from the second floor restroom at the Podium when I saw an Asian man (Korean,I thought to myself) rushing out of the Banana Leaf resto. Following closely behind was his girlfriend (I thought,because she was younger and didn't look like his wife) who seemed like she was pleading to him about something.

As the two made their way down the escalator, a supervisor from Banana Leaf (I thought because he was dressed like one) hurriedly tried to catchup with them. But seconds later, one of the waitresses arrived holding some receipts which she showed the supervisor. When he saw these, he seemed to pause for a while then gave up the chase.

Judging from what I saw,I told myself:" The Korean couple must've gotten away with a free meal. Maybe the supervisor didn't want to make a scene so he didn't call security."

I saw the Korean couple later and they still seemed to be arguing.

I forgot about the incident until the next day, I found myself at Banana Leaf eating lunch with my wife Jaja, and her officemates. It so happened that the waitress who served us was the same waitress I had seen the day before. So I asked her what the story was, because I had concluded that the Korean couple had pulled a fast one on them.

On the contrary,she said, the couple had paid their bill.

As it turned out, the man seemed to have had an argument with the girl even before they had started to eat. He must've been upset because,according to the waitress, he got up, went to the cashier and paid the bill and didn't even wait for the change!

The reason the supervisor went after them was to check if they were still going to eat the untouched food (which had cost about P 3K), and the reason she followed with the receipts was to tell her supervisor that they still had unclaimed change!

When we heard the real story, we had a good laugh over lunch. And as a way of livening up the meal, the girls started making up scenarios why the couple had an argument in the first place.

For example, one said that maybe the girl wanted Brown rice but the guy ordered for Nasi Goreng...that's when the fight started.

Moral lesson: "Don't judge me...I'm not a book!" (Melanie Marquez) :-)

COMMENT ON BOO CHANCO'S: FAVORABLE BIZ CLIMATE OPTIONAL

While waiting for my lunch at Pancake House,Katipunan the other day, I picked up a copy of The Star and after checking the price of Jollibee stock (P 74,) I decided to kill more time by reading Boo Chanco's column.

He wrote about Ramon S. Ang (RSA) of San Miguel, who when asked to comment about the poor rating Philippines got re: its business climate, was heard to remark: "Eh di mabuti!" Boo went on to explain that RSA took a different view of things...if the bad climate discouraged foreign investors,then there would be more opportunities for Filipino businessmen to exploit.

It just struck me how maverick types like RSA viewed things, and I guess that's why they're on a class of their own. He seemed to me like an iconoclast, not happy with San Miguel's old portfolio of beer, food etc., he diversified the business, going into businesses that were not within the old SMC's "core competencies" (read: "comfort zones") It appears though that the risk taking is paying off, at least for stockholders, who have seen the price of SMC stock rise since RSA made major changes.

It kind of reminded me of TTC (Tony Tancaktiong) of Jollibee. He was always breaking Jollibee out of its comfort zone so we could rise to the next level.

For instance, when he seriously envisioned that Jollibee would have 100 stores by 1988, no one thought it possible...mainly because our batting average for opening stores was only 2 stores a year. The 100 store vision would demand that we open at least 20 stores every year for three years (from 1985,when I joined.)

But lo and behold! In 1990 and 1991, we were able to open more than 20 stores within a year. The sudden spurt in growth of our store base left McDonald's eating our dust. George Yang didn't know what hit him.

Again, in 1995, TTC declared that we should hit 500 stores by the start of the new millenium. Once more, he was dreaming the impossible because that meant opening about 50 stores a year when our current capability then was only 20+.I remember having to meet my Training staff and telling them we have to re-think our current way of doing things because no way could we keep up with the demand for trained managers if we did things "as usual."

The new direction gave birth to our memorable MDP sessions, which introduced new management programs to Jollibee. Those who went through these eventually became heads of RBUs, and core of the middle management of the Jollibee brand.

TTC has set his sights on Jollibee becoming recognized as one of the top three QSR brands, not only in the Asia Pacifi region, but in the whole world. He and the JFC group are doing that slowly but surely...whether the business climate is good or bad. One of these days, I will not be surprised if one day Boo Chanco will write about Jollibee, as a brand that made it to the top of the world...in spite of the unfavorable Philippine business climate.

TAKING A LEAVE... IN ORDER TO LIVE: Things I've Learned

Some things I learned one month into my free fall into a life without a net...

1. Even if you try to run away from your profession, it somehow runs after you. - Just several weeks after my contract ended,I was back in action conducting a Teambuilding session for a Regional Business Unit of Chowking (North Luzon.) Two weeks after that I was contracted to do targetted interviews of applicants for the Peace Equity Foundation.

2. There are many backpacking consultants like me scattered all over the place. They usually hang out at Starbucks where you can hold meetings for hours for the price of a tall java (and the Starbucks crew don't seem to mind.) I discovered that the Starbucks beside the Makati Stock Exchange has one of the cleanest restrooms. And at the Starbucks Anson's along ADB Avenue, you can access the free WiFi from Podium.

3. The 4th floor lounge at the Podium is an ideal office if you are into backpacking consultancy. I jokingly call it my posh office. Imagine,I've got airconditioning, security, P45 all day parking, clean restrooms, free WiFi, piped-in music and a lot of eating places to choose from. I usually kill time in the afternoon at Cinnabon because for P 75, you have a humongous cup of coffee that can last you 3 hours. And if you're in need of a good foot massage, you can go down to Lotus at Basement 1.

4. There's a quick route to the SM Megamall Chapel via the Healthway Clinic. Jaja's been using this shortcut for ages and it's a wonder the security and elevator boys don't suspect she's just been using their facilities to go to Mass. Actually, this has been one of the greatest fringe benefits of my freelancing...I get a chance to have coffee, lunch and Mass with my wife!!!

5. Never try to ride the MRT at rush hour! (5:00 PM onwards) We tried once to go to Quezon Avenue via the MRT for a meeting,but the coaches were all jammed with people, we couldn't get in without getting squished.

There's just an abundance of LIFE out there...I guess one just has to change one's perspective in order to see it!

TAKING A LEAVE... IN ORDER TO LIVE

My contract with Chowking ended on December 31,2010. Actually, I told CK HR Director Alfie Suarez,that I didn't see a need for me anymore since the Training department's team leaders were already taking charge of things, so I wasn't adding any value really.

By then, I had been with Chowking for 10 years (originally intending to stay only for one,) and I had seen the brand recover from being a bleeding company (PHP 10M in 1999,with 140+ stores) to becoming a formidable contender in the QSR industry with over 400 stores and over PHP 10B in sales.

For the past two years though,Chowking had been experiencing declining samebase sales and transaction counts,which eventually led to changes in top leadership...first with Erwin Elechicon,taking over from Raffy dela Rosa in 2008, then Ariel Fermin replacing Erwin in August, 2010.

The 12B benchmark we had been trying so hard to reach remained an elusive target.

I knew I could help in any way I could, but I also knew that in hard times,any reduction in expense would help the company terribly in keeping it profitable...and I was such an expense. The way I looked at it...from any angle...it made good business sense that I leave.

What I didn't realize was that taking a leave from corporate life, which was how I viewed my new journey...would allow me to "live"---and appreciate life in a way I hadn't experienced it.

Unlike 1999, when I first resigned from Jollibee,and planned on going it on my own as a consultant, this time around I made no plans. I just wanted to take a different path, and see where life would take me.

Unlike before, when I really worried about where the money would come from to finance my kids education (since they were still in high school then,) now, I wanted to test how far my faith in God's Foundation would go! Would He, as the Matthew Bible verse on God looking after the birds of the air,really look after my needs without me worrying about them?

What I immediately realized when I knew I didn't have a job,and that I didn't need to rush to work everyday...was that I became more attuned to what was going on around me. I paid more attention to the sights and sounds...to the people around me...to what they were saying and not saying.

I found myself wondering what their individual stories were about, and it hit me hard that while I was cooped up for so many years inside the comfort of my cubicle,something called Life was taking place outside.

For example, when I took it upon myself to drive my eldest son TJ to work (he works as a call center agent at Convergys) at 3:00 in the morning, I realized that many of the working class heroes were already up and about struggling to earn a living.

In fact I viewed what TJ was doing in a different way. He was in a job (that he didn't really like) but kept at it because it was a step towards a dream of perhaps working at a leading game development company in the USA. With this realization came more respect for him.

I never dealt directly with customers, but TJ was facing them everyday,albeit virtually, trying to find ways to solve their technical problems,while at the same time trying to meet some seemingly unattainable metric called AHT (Average Handling Time.)

For several weeks,on my way back home via the Skyway, I could see the girls inside the toll booths trying to stay awake just so they could take the toll payments of early morning travellers like me.

Then there were the vendors pushing their karitons on the way to Bicutan market with their goods, just so they could get a good location before buyers arrived.

During the next few weeks of my "taking a leave...in order to live" I would really be just that...More Alive!