2011 was so far the worst. I have failed left and right. The worst failure was not being able to sell any of products for more than 6 months. Monthly expenses such as utility bills and salaries were eating me alive. That is why I do not have any choice but to cut some of  those expenses by minimizing electricity and water consumption, as well as downsizing.

A number of people in my workforce resigned because even though they like their job, in the end it is about the food they provide on the table. They were greatly affected by delayed issuance of salaries.

I accept failure and only get myself affected by it. But to see people suffer because of my failures, that’s the worst feeling ever. I have to stand for my people but I also have to protect the company. The least I could do was to let go of people who wants to go and treasure those people who are willing and loyal to the company despite the situation. I will surely make it worth for them.

I understand we, entrepreneurs, managers, leaders are only human and is bound to commit mistakes. We are just about 60-70% to make good decisions. But what matters most is how we react on bad decisions.

I may let 10% of my employees down. I’m sorry.

But I will work harder for the 90%.

He is a kid who’s not yet good with failures.

But I believe Sean’s behavior is completely normal. I too sometimes is guilty of that.

There is a game in Nintendo DS called Brain Age 2. It’s about playing a series of test, and the game will grade you by giving the age of your brain – according to the result of your tests. The ideal brain age is 20. The lower the number, the better.

When I reached a brain age of 25, I thought I got a pretty high grade, and stopped playing the game. The reason? I got comfortable with my success that I fear I may fail the next game, and would get an older brain. Since then I never played the game until recently…..got an age of 46.

The truth is we are so afraid to fail that we actually Fail.

It is OKAY to fail, and there is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.

But there are two failures that are not acceptable: Failure to TRY and Failure to LEARN from your failures.

To close this post, let me leave you with 3 of my favorite quotes about Failure:

“Success is a lousy teacher.” – Bill Gates

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

Photo by rachelsmarties

The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.

We all only have 24 hours a day, and sometimes the difference between success and failure lies thinly on how effective you spend your day. In my current position as a general manager and part-time entrepreneur, 8 to 12 hours of work seems like not enough to carry out all my day’s tasks. I have tried to restructure my daily routine ever since.

I read tips from various articles online and practiced which one works for me. I have formulated a simple routine, that I am using for the past 3 weeks, which gave me better productivity.

1. Before going to bed, Ponder on important tasks that will be accomplished the next day.

By doing so, it will align your mind with your tasks and will greatly help you be more organized the next day. Being organized saves you a lot of time.

2. Divide your day in 2 halves. First half, with routine. Second half, free-for-all.

I usually have my routinary work when I got to the office until lunch time. After lunch I spend the rest of the day: spreading the word about my products, getting involve in trainings, developing our website, meetings, planning and conceptualizing, etc. Basically it depends on my mood, whichever I enjoy doing.

3. Accomplish everything in Bursts. Avoid multi-tasking.

Give pure 10 to 15 minutes in every task. If you’re checking your emails, then just check your mails. Do not invite another task that may intervene with the  current one. This way, you are clear about your task’s progress.

The first thing I do when I arrive my office is to check and reply emails. Then open our company’s Chatter to get updated with what happened yesterday and if there are any pending tasks. Then go to our company’s Facebook or Twitter to see if there are any queries. After accomplishing all those online stuffs, I then go ahead to offline matters. It starts by checking out my incoming documents that is needed for review and signature.

After accomplishing those, the number 4 item is what I do next:

4. Delegate.

There are corresponding responsibilities for every department in the company. Be sure to delegate those tasks that are applicable to the department. This not only workout the company’s system, but it also helps you proceed to the next task.

5. Pray.

No matter how good and organized a routine is, your day may be ruined by a single unexpected problem. Be sure to always backup your plans with a prayer.

How about you? How do you make your day effective? Share!

God Bless!

It resulted to:

Delayed issue of salaries.

Failed to fund a couple of checks.

Suppliers withdrawn their products.

Cracked business relationships.

Employees resigning.

and so on..

I think I just hit rock bottom.

It’s sad. It’s tough.

But I should never lose hope.

Should find a way to turn these things around.

I know there’s a way.

I should keep fighting.

It is not the end.

I want to have a happy ending.

An inspiring ending.

Ending it with success!

Because one day I have to tell my story.

To my children.

To my grand children.

Or the public.

How boring and less inspiring it would be if it was pure success from beginning to the end.

On the other hand, it would be just a complete waste if I did not make this story end with success.

Today is the part where the story gets interesting.

Tomorrow is where it will be an Epic!

*

One day we all are going to tell our story. How will yours go?

—

“I believe man was designed for accomplishment, engineered for success, and endowed with the seeds of greatness.” – Zig Ziglar

Sabi nga nila, Ang bida ay nagpapabugbog muna sa simula. Toinks!

Below is a sample of the article that I have reblogged from Entrepreneur.com which have been fed to the app.

How Business Planning Leads to Better Management

Here are three steps to help get you planning better, and putting those plans in motion.

By: Tim Berry

In my experience leading dozens of business planning workshops in countries all over the world, I’d say only about 10% to 15% of teams I’ve encountered have an effective business planning process. Sounds low, doesn’t it? What many business owners fail to understand is that good planning equals good management.

Let me explain. Planning is about managing resources and priorities in an organized way. Management is related to leadership, and it’s related to productivity.

Here are three steps to get you planning better and, in turn, improving your management.

1. Devise a plan. As the business owner, you start by writing important details down. You don’t need to sweat every detail of creating a long document. Instead, jot down essential points as bullets, and tables, and bare explanations. The strategy element of planning is to focus on what you’re good at, what matters, which people are most important to you and what you can do for them. It’s about positioning, determining your target market and product focus.

It’s important to document these details in order to communicate your vision to employees. If you don’t have a team, there’s value in referring back to your original thoughts regarding the path for your business and comparing them to actual results.

2. Define success. In order to chart your path, you’ll need to define long-term goals. Think broadly about how you see your business in several years.

From there, get specific. You’ll want to establish milestones for when you want to accomplish certain goals, and know who you will want to carry them out. Go beyond sales, costs and expenses, and look at what really drives your business. It might be conversions, page views, clicks, meals, trips, presentations, seminars and other engagements.

Then, establish a review schedule — when you and your team review changed assumptions, track results and make changes as necessary.

3. Put it in motion. Can you see the management brewing? Tracking and analyzing numbers can help you manage the work behind the numbers. You’ll be in a better place to recognize and highlight what’s working and what isn’t working for your business and your team.
Suppose traffic is up, but conversions are down. You collect your data, review it with your team and develop a plan to make changes toward reaching your goals. That’s management.

Managing your business successfully requires more than just praise and pats on the back. Sometimes it means focusing attention on problems, helping people solve them if possible, discussing and embracing mistakes, and, in the worst case, weeding out people who don’t care about bad results. This can all be accomplished more efficiently when you have a plan in place.

Either way, whether results are better than expected or worse, the planning and tracking makes your follow up easier. The process itself adds commitment and peer pressure to the team. Highlighting good performance is easier when there are agreed-on numbers to define it. And, probably most important, dealing with poor performance is always hard, but not quite as hard when you can focus on the specific numbers instead of personalities or office politics.

Which brings me back to where I began: Planning is management. Without planning, your management is at a real disadvantage.

***

If you wish to download the app, here is the QR Code for your convenience:

That’s a really sweet statement coming from the boyfriend.

But if I would be the boyfriend, I will definitely make her work. Whether she likes it or not!! [And this is the part where I should do the evil laugh.. ]

…Anyway, here are some of my reasons why I would encourage her to work rather than just staying at home and be a plain housewife:

LET HER EARN HER OWN MONEY

With today’s lifestyle, or cost of living for that matter, it would be just practical if the wife at least works for her own personal budget were in she could buy her own stuffs like bags, shoes, clothes, or whatever. It would already be a great help for me and the family.

Sharing with the household expenses would be entirely up to her. I, as the husband, would not pressure her to do so, but if she is willing to share I will greatly appreciate it.

By letting your wife earn her own money, you are giving her the opportunity to:

• Experience how it is like to work for the family, and appreciate every centavo you put in.
• Learn to manage her own hard earned money.
• Feel that she is part of the game. – not just a benchwarmer or part of the cheering squad who just hopes and pray that the team would win the game.
• Reward herself.

Husbands, DO NOT be discouraged if your wife earns a little more than you do. Just take it and be happy for her. Run your own race.

LET HER STAY SHARP

Your wife might have studied for almost 20 years of her life, and you just want her to stay home and get dull? That’s a BIG NO for me. Let her mind work. Let her think. Let her use her talent, her skills. It’s unique and you wouldn’t want to put that asset to waste.

I don’t think taking care of the kids, doing laundry, washing the dishes, or cleaning the house day after day would make her stay sharp. Hire a helper to do those things instead.

Encourage her to pursue the career of her dream, and support her all the way.

LET HER ACHIEVE

Since the husband is working, at some point in his career, he may be named: Employee of the month, top salesman of the year, listed in top 10 entrepreneurs, and so on… The husband may have plenty of achievements, but that is something that can’t be totally shared with the wife. At the end of the day..it’s the husband who achieved it. Not the wife.

If the husband took up master’s degree and eventually graduated from it, it is the husband who got the degree. No matter what he does, there’s no way for him to transfer that degree to his wife.

There will come a time when people will see that the husband has achieved so much and the wife hasn’t.

Husbands, do not let this thing happen to your wife. You should treat your wife as your better half. Literally.

Let her achieve. Again, as I mentioned earlier, DO NOT be discouraged if she has achieved more than you. Do not compete with each other. I will say it again, run your own race.

If your wife achieves something because of you, consider it as one of your greatest achievement.

LET HER BE PART OF THE TEAM

Life has its ups and downs. And when crisis strikes, it will boil down to how good the couple’s teamwork is.

But I think you cannot consider it as real “teamwork” if the wife is only there to cheer the husband up. She can cook him delicious food, give him a nice massage, tell him some jokes or whatever. It will be very much appreciated, but at the end of the day, there are still no solution to the problem.

In sports, cheer leaders are not considered part of the team.

Let your wife be part of the solution. Let her contribute. Let her do her part. Device a plan, and include her to the plan. Explain your role and her role in the plan. Pray together. And trust that she can do it.

LET HER BE CAPABLE STANDING ALONE

Just in case anything happened to the husband, the provider of the family. How ready is the wife to step up?

I have friends and relatives who lost their husbands, whether passed away or went on with another woman, and left them powerless. No knowledge how to run the business, No steady stream of income.

So husbands if you are planning to leave your wife, be sure to train them to run the business first. *Kidding*

Kidding aside… One very wealthy family we knew, faced their biggest challenge when the husband had a stroke and went on comatose for more than a decade..then eventually passed away. The wife, their kids, no one knows how to run the business. Now that the wife is on her 70′s and the “kids” are now on their 50′s, still no one handles the business. They are still using their reserves up until now. Or perhaps from the reimbursement they got from the Life Insurance, or other insurances. Who knows? Insurances quotes a lot these days..

It will give you peace of mind knowing that whatever may happen to you, your wife is capable of running the business – or at least provide for the children.

THE WIFE OF NOBLE CHARACTER

You may open up your Bibles and turn it to Proverbs 31, verses 10 to 31 to read verses about the Wife of Noble Character.

I will highlight some verses in which I think the Bible encourages us that a wife should work: New International Version (NIV) 2011

Verse 13:

She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.

Verse 14:

She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.

Verse 16:

She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

Verse 17:

She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.

Verse 18:

She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.

Verse 19:

In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

Verse 24:

She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.

Verse 27:

She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Verse 29:

“Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”

Verse 31:

Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

From Merriam-Webster: to put off intentionally and habitually; to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done.

During my elementary, high school, to college days.. I never heard about the word Procrastination. I first heard, or rather, read about it was when I became enthusiastic about blogging. I’m assuming the reason why the word “procrastination” became relatively usual among bloggers it’s because it is one of the common hindrances a blogger must face in his/her blogging career.

Procrastination is not a good word. It is something that will make you less productive. It’s like a hole in your hourglass that wastes away your time. And what’s dangerous about it, is that most of us doesn’t even notice that we are already procrastinating. Even worse when it becomes a habit.

I can personally say that I have been a big time procrastinator before… But I didn’t know. When I was still a student, I remember that I was studying for an exam…then the next thing I knew I’m doodling all over my notebooks and books – then doze off without me knowing. In blogging, whenever I’m in the process of writing a post, I usually checkout other blogs for inspiration… but then I ended up pimping my site instead, because I felt inferior about how other blogs looks so nice. And another instance is when my mom or dad would ask me an immediate favor.. I would always say: “Alright. Later.”

Today, I’m still not 100% procrastination free; never will be. To take it a little further, I think no single person is totally procrastination free. It would be an unending battle between you and procrastination. Even my grandfather sometimes procrastinate before taking his medicines.

When I think about it now, Failure is not your obstacle towards success.. it’s Procrastination.

We Chinese entrepreneurs values friendship especially on business. We patronize and prioritize our friends’ or relatives’ product first before we go outside of the circle.

Example: I need brand new tires for my car. I will check-out first if any of my friends or relatives are in tire business. If so, I will patronize their product even if he’s price is a little higher than the outside supplier. This is how we show support with each other.

But as they said, everything has a weakness except God. Even that strong bond among Chinese entrepreneurs can be defeated…if the supplier or the merchant handles customer relation outstandingly.

This is my personal story.

I was looking for a back-up sensors to be installed in my car. One of my friend owns an auto shop so I sent him a text message asking for his price on two eyed buzz type sensors. At first it was going good, he replied “It costs PHP1,000.00. If you want, you can add a little so you can also have the indicator.” Then I replied, “Oh thanks! Does installation included or for a fee.” Then he replied “Yes included.” Then I asked, “Do you do home service or I will go to your shop?” He replied, “Come to my shop.”

After a couple of days I again sent him a text message, saying that I’m ready to go to his shop and have my sensors installed. After texting him, he didn’t reply. I went to work and after two hours, I again sent him a text message. Finally he replied, “Ok boss.” But after that something came up so I postponed the installation.

The next day, I’m now having those sensors installed so I sent him a message again. But again, no reply. I called him, not answering the phone. I find him very cold in attending my queries, and channel of communication is unreliable that I grew impatient and search for a new supplier.

I came across CCRV, located at Masambong, Quezon City. And man, they’re so easy to talk to. They’re married couple who has kept their shop for 11 years. They attended my queries very well, and they even gave me discount. Though their price is a little higher than my friend’s, I don’t mind paying extra to them.

Ms. Rose (I call her “Ate” (sister) Rose) who serves as the cashier told me that if I became a regular customer I can even pay them with post dated checks. They also have credit card terminal for them to be more buyer friendly. Mr. Bong (“Kuya” (brother) Bong), Ate Rose’s husband, has personally installed those sensors for me. They even served me Coke as I wait.

Because of their outstanding customer service, I was very delighted that I also let them install Platinum Magic Black tints on my car.

If this deal was a battle, Ate Rose and Kuya Bong is the winner. They defeated their opponent, even he is my friend, because of outstanding customer relation.

..........

A lot of business establishments were suppressed during the day of Typhoon Ondoy. Mostly likely, your business were also affected. You don’t have any choice but to close your shop early and call it a day.

The Good News:

Though you have sacrificed a day last week, this week was a great week. Especially when your nature of business are in the Car Wash & Detailing, Automotive Services, Laundry, Grocery, Pharmacy/Drug Store, and Food.

Massive amounts of affected individuals are seeking for your products and services. Perhaps you are now breaking your sales record – probably your all time highest.

The Dilemma:

You saw two opportunities to exploit:

First, you realized that the demand for your service/products is extremely high. So what you did was you raised your rates/prices to maximize your profit. One Time Big Time.

Second, you saw a lot of affected people needs your products/services badly. As a Christian Entrepreneur, you feel what these people are going through so you gave discounts just like what Toyota, Globe and Smart did. You showed true compassion and realized that this is not a good opportunity to maximize sales, but build long term relationship – for hopefully, repeat customers.

The Question:

Which Opportunity would you choose?

******************

Lesson 1:
A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her
shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a
towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the
next-door neighbor.
Before she says a word, Bob says, “I’ll give you $800 to drop that
towel.” After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands
naked in front of Bob After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves.

The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she
gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, “Who was that?”
“It was Bob the next door neighbor,” she replies.
“Great!” the husband says, “did he say anything about the $800 he
owes me?”

Moral of the story :
If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with
your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent
avoidable exposure.

******************
Lesson 2:
A priest offered a Nun a lift. She got in and crossed her legs,
forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After
controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg.

The nun said, “Father, remember Psalm 129?” The priest removed his
hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again.
The nun once again said, “Father, remember Psalm 129?”
The priest apologized “Sorry sister but the flesh is weak”
Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way.
On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129
It said, “Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.”
Moral of the story:
If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great
opportunity.

*****************************
Lesson 3:
A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to
lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie
comes out.
The Genie says, “I’ll give each of you just one wish.”
“Me first! Me first!” says the admin clerk. “I want to be in the
Bahamas , driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.”
Puff! She’s gone.

“Me next! Me next!” says the sales rep. “I want to be in Hawaii ,
relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of
Pina Coladas and the love of my life.”

Puff! He’s gone.

“OK, you’re up,” the Genie says to the manager.
The manager says, “I want those two back in the office after lunch.”

Moral of the story:
Always let your boss have the first say.
*****************************
Lesson 4
An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him,

Can I also sit like you and do nothing?”
The eagle answered: “Sure , why not.”
So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a
sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story:
To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high > >> up.

******************************
Lesson 5:
A turkey was chatting with a bull. “I would love to be able to get to
the top of that tree,” sighed the turkey, “but I haven’t got the
energy.”
“Well, why don’t you nibble on some of my droppings?” replied the
bull.
They’re packed with nutrients.”
The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him
enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day,
after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally
after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of
the tree.
He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.

Moral of the story:

Bull might get you to the top, but it won’t keep you there.
***********
Lesson 6:
A little bird was flying south for the Winter. It was so cold the
bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying
there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him.
As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to
realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He
lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.

A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate.
Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung,
and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Morals of the story:

(1) Not everyone who s on you is your enemy.
(2) Not everyone who gets you out of is your friend.
(3) And when you’re in deep , it’s best to keep your mouth shut!

THIS ENDS THE 5-MINUTE MANAGEMENT COURSE

Source: http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/34583/5_Minute_Management_Course_.htm