Let
me start off by admitting that I am quite nervous about giving
this speech for a couple of reasons. First, because I am speaking
at the distinguished Silliman University where my grandfather,
John Gokongwei Sr., went to high school. I never had the chance
to meet him since he passed away when my father was only thirteen.
But I am very honored to be speaking on the hallowed and historic
grounds where he went to school more than 80 years ago.
The other reason I
am nervous is because I am speaking to the 2007 graduating class
of Silliman. Given your Sillimanian pedigree, the world has high
expectations of you. We look forward to your becoming active,
productive, and successful contributors to the community and country
in the future.
Thus, the responsibility
of sharing something relevant and meaningful to this graduating
class becomes even more immense. And so, crafting my message a
few days ago, I thought the task I should take is to talk about
something simple, real and personally true – I will talk
a little bit about the various experiences that have shaped my
life as an entrepreneur and as an individual.
Having been in your
shoes exactly 20 years ago in 1987, I know that today is a big
day. But tomorrow will be an even more important one.
Tomorrow you are on
your own.
No group mates to depend
on. No teachers to be guided by. Dress rehearsal is over and suddenly,
the buck stops with you.
Tomorrow, your quest
to become a success officially starts. And like most people starting,
you will be afraid to fail. You will worry about not meeting expectations.
You will be anxious about making a mistake. And you will be tempted
to take the path that’s been tried and tested… if
only to assure yourself that you’re off to a good start.
Valid and understandable.
However, in my experience,
as a person and as an entrepreneur, let me also tell you that
–
A Bad Start Is Not
Entirely A Bad Thing
I have learned that
in order to become a successful entrepreneur, you will likely
have to “pay your dues.”
As a student, I perceived
mistakes as bad and to be avoided. As an entrepreneur, I learned
to look at them simply as opportunities to learn something new.
The more mistakes I
made, the more I learned and the greater my chance of succeeding
when I tried again.
Success, as I have
realized, is never achieved without errors, failures, or defeat.
Tomorrow, don’t
be afraid to get off on a bad start. Because of such fear, many
never got started on the path toward reaching their goals…
and thus assured themselves of the very thing they were afraid
of – failure.
A bad start for me
is a pre-condition of success. How? Well…
A Bad Start Will Make
You See Things Differently
The Levi’s Jeans
that we all now know was born out of a bad start. During the Gold
Rush in the late 1940s, thousands of men headed to Northern California
in hopes of finding gold and glory. Levi Strauss was one of the
men who left their homes in search of a better life. Like many
others, he wasn’t successful for he found neither.
But his personal failure
did not stop him from keeping his eyes open for more opportunities.
What he originally planned to sell to the miners were tents and
covers for their wagons until one of them commented about needing
stronger pants that will withstand the conditions in the mining
fields. This gave birth to the invention of the denim pants. In
the end, the man who saw things differently was the one who made
the biggest discovery. And the rest is history.
As tomorrow’s
entrepreneurs, you must keep a keen eye for what people really
want. A clear understanding of their needs, motivations and aspirations
that drive them as consumers, in other words, an insight into
human nature.
Much of what I learned
about human nature I discovered because of a bad start.
When I was in third
year high school at Xavier, my eldest sister Robina was kidnapped
on her way to U.P.
Shortly after, she
was rescued. Concerned about our security, my parents shipped
my sister to New York and myself to Singapore to continue our
studies.
At fifteen, too young
and perhaps too self-centered to fully comprehend the wisdom behind
my parents’ decision, I was upset about being uprooted from
my comfortable high school existence. I was doing very well in
school. I had lots of friends and activities in school and what
seemed very important at that time, I was starting to meet a lot
of pretty girls. The young men here know the feeling...
In Singapore, I was
thrust out of my comfort zone. I moved into an apartment and went
to a local high school. I remember that I thought it was really
“corny” that I had to wear short pants and plain white
canvas shoes to school, because at that time, only high school
seniors were allowed to wear long pants. I likewise still remember
the first exam I took in Singapore. I remember it was in biology
– and I prepared for the exam in the same way I normally
did for my exams at Xavier, where I would always top the class.
And to my surprise and embarrassment, I was near the bottom of
the class. I think my grade was like a 52.
A Bad Start Will Make
You Try Harder
Going to Singapore
at the age of fifteen was a much-needed kick in the pants for
me. I had been very fortunate my entire life. As you can imagine
I had a very privileged life in the Philippines. For probably
the first time in my life I was on my own. I was no longer John
Gokongwei’s son, but rather just another anonymous fifteen
year old.
Over my next 2 years
in Singapore, I made many good friends (yes, even a couple of
pretty ones). But overall, I worked harder than I ever had to
in my life. After two years in Singapore, I went to the Wharton
School in Pennsylvania.
Looking back twenty
years, my reluctant move to Singapore was a real blessing in disguise
– I learned the value of self-discipline, hard work, and
keen competition.
Equally valuable from my years in Singapore and the US, I developed
friends from many cultures and realized that there was no single
right way of looking at things. Whether it be discussing important
matters like religion or politics, or simply solving a problem.
My six years studying abroad enabled me to appreciate and respect
other people’s points of view, which is a critical skill
as an entrepreneur operating in a more global economy.
Most importantly, I
developed the self-assurance that as an individual, and a Filipino,
I could make a success out of myself because of my own efforts,
and not because of what I was given on a silver platter by my
parents.
The experience I am
sharing with you here is that sometimes, you have to go out of
the comfortable and familiar to get the best out of yourself.
You may have graduated from the top university in the Philippines
– Silliman University, but tomorrow there is another day
and another challenge. Feel free to reinvent yourself, explore,
and challenge yourself. It will re-invigorate your spirits and
build your self-confidence.
More than 10 years
ago, I became the General Manager of Universal Robina Corporation
or URC’s Branded Consumer Foods Group. I made it a priority
to enter the beverage market to complement our strength in the
snack market – where we were market leaders because of the
various Jack n’ Jill brands like Chippy, Piattos, and Nova.
My brilliant idea was
to develop a product called Yahoo. Yes…Yahoo. I’m
sure you must have heard of Yahoo, the very popular Internet portal.
Unfortunately, I invented Yahoo, the juice drink. I’m sure
you’ve never heard of it and for very good reasons. My strategy
was very simple: imitate the product features of Zesto, the market
leader.
The result was understandable.
No one bought it.
But we kept working
on it. Instead of copying the competition, we created a product
that is unique and totally different from the competition.
Today, only on its
third year, C2 is already URC’s single biggest selling product,
and definitely has been the most successful product introduction
in the Philippine beverage market in recent years.
The main ingredient
for C2’s success, the same ingredient for any success, is
a fresh approach, real customer insight, and a fearless commitment
to innovate.
A Bad Start will Build
Your Character
At 31 years old, I
found myself facing the greatest challenge of my professional
life when a tragedy struck Cebu Pacific’s Flight 387 in
1998.
Looking back to this
event, I am reminded of a passage attributed to Helen Keller.
“Character cannot
be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial
and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambitions
and success achieved.”
Running Cebu Pacific
was a childhood dream come true. But Flight 387 made me realize
that when a dream turns dark, you can either lose your resolve
and give up; or you can muster your strength to face adversity,
and rise again.
I found my strength
to rise again from my team at Cebu Pacific who stood by me, and
allowed me to see that in the midst of tragedy, avenues of support
and inspiration arise. Over two hundred members of the Cebu Pacific
team volunteered to go to Cagayan de Oro to assist grieving family
members, as well as assist in search and rescue operations. Others
took unpaid leaves in order to preserve the company’s financial
resources during this difficult period. Many phoned or wrote me
letters of encouragement to restart the airline – for they
believed in Cebu Pacific’s mission of making air travel
safe, affordable, and reliable to Filipino consumers.
Today, we are the Filipino’s
leading domestic carrier, serving over five million people annually
with a brand-new fleet of fourteen Airbus 320s. In fact, we have
just announced an order for up to twenty more Airbus 320s, which
will make us among the five largest low-cost carriers in Asia
by 2012.
The message here is
that despite the challenges we face in life, there is always hope.
Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished
by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope
at all. Don’t allow yourself to be dragged down by problems,
or by people who don’t have your best interests in mind.
In my case, I was fortunate and found strength in a team of people
who shared my goals and believed in the mission of the airline.
At the same time, I
also believe that things are never as good as they seem. Take
the time to recognize and celebrate successes with the people
around you, but always keep in mind that the events and circumstances
change. As they say, the world is round. “Bilog ang mundo.”
No one example illustrates
this adage, “bilog ang mundo,” better than someone
I have had the privilege of knowing since birth.
My father, John Gokongwei
Jr., too had a bad start. At the age of thirteen, his father passed
away from typhoid. Soon after, World War II erupted in the Philippines,
and my father was forced to take responsibility for his widowed
mother and five other siblings.
Mr. John, as we fondly
call him, started his business career in the wake of seemingly
insurmountable problems: the onset of war, the early death of
his father, and the heavy responsibility of providing for his
family: a classic bad start.
But his unbound optimism
and his basic values of hard work, frugality, humility, and integrity
came through. He slowly built his business for over sixty-seven
years.
Today, the Gokongwei
Group is one of the leading businesses in the Philippines and
Asia.
Mr. John, as we call
him, not only built his businesses on these values. But together
with my mother Elizabeth, he has even taken greater care in imbuing
his children with the same values. I still remember his basic
rule: “If you don’t work, you don’t eat.”
All in all, I think
he is a prime example of a wonderfully lived life, after a bad
start.
At this point, as you
are about to leave the world of the academe, and enter the world
of business and professions, I just leave you with the parting
thought that bad starts, mistakes, and failures are all part of
this process we call living life. I would not be so bold as to
say that starting with mistakes and failures is a good way to
start your career. But based on my own experience, I would say
that trying to live life while avoiding all mistakes, or avoiding
new experiences, or taking some chances would be a bigger mistake.
A Bad Start Will Make
You Look Back
I’ve had the
privilege of learning from mentors, particularly my parents, who
have been supportive and understanding of this natural learning
process. Learning from their cumulative wisdom and previous experience
is certainly a faster, less painful way to learn.
When I was twenty-one,
I sometimes did not always see it that way. At the age of forty,
I still sometimes do not see it that way. But all in all, I’ve
avoided many bad starts by keeping my parents as my inspiration,
and their lives’ experiences as my guide.
Trust the experience
of your parents or mentors, after all – they must be successful
for they brought you all the way to this point – as graduates
of the great Silliman University. As you celebrate this milestone
in your life, that is certainly a Success worth celebrating.
Again, my heartfelt
congratulations to the successful parents of the graduating class
of 2007; and certainly to the Graduates of 2007. I wish you a
life full of success, happiness, fulfillment and of course, mistakes.
Daghang Salamat Kaninyong
Tanan.
