Be unique, be you, be a franchise - in choosing a product. Do not be a copy cat - a product, a business like any other

Every generation needs a revolution - an entrepreneurial revolution

It is a common complaint in the Philippines that other businessmen are gaya gaya.   Poor imitators, copy cats.  It is the easiest way to enter into business:   to observe and mangopya -  to copy.  But this is the best way to court failure.  As a commodity, your margins are low because of stiff competition.

Thus we see trending or uso:   dozen copy cats:   pandesalan, kapehan, pares, ramen car wash, grab that blossom overnight and in a couple of months disappear.  

If you must choose a business it must be:

    1.  Unique  - a business like no other walang kaparis

    2.  A franchise -  they will go to you only because you are the only one offering this

    3.  A  physical  feature that is not available to every one  - like a distant location, sea of clouds, waterfall, hot spring, sea, lake view

It could be a unique decor:   lights, fountains, plants.  

Thus in Makati Avenue, they change menu and themes, set up bands every ninety days.  Otherwise, only flies will crowd your establishment

Seith Godin calls this the "Purple Cow"  This is unique marketing and product development. Os there such a purple cow.   

Rather than rely on military strategy for plans, or Michael Porter, or other gurus, just concentrate on being a better product, unique to others.   Like a taxi driver who knows your first name, and who invests in radio, in fragrance, and seat covers to make your riding experience enjoyable.  Or a hotel in a cave, or ice castles or restaurant under an ocean park. 

Sometimes the best businesses are made by nuts/By crazy guys

Strategizing on Kotler's 4ps of marketing

Every generation needs a revolution - an entrepreneurial revolution

No its not the Phil govt program vs poverty  -  Pantawid sa poverty program.  

Philip Kotler popularized the 4ps of marketing:

     Product

     Price

     Promotion

     Placement

Of course, marketing must remember that you sell in order to have margins for future costs.  It is no brainer if you give away your products

A good marketing program is an interplay of these elements, not equal but one or two greater emphasized than others

They used to say that build a better mousetrap, and the buyers will come to your door.  Product strategy rarely works by itself alone  It is true that when you have a quality and durable product people will buy your product.  

But you need this to be affordable also (price)  You cant price yourself out of the market.  

You need to promote -  advertise, give discount, conduct events to make your product to be known to many.

And lastly you have to have a channel:

      .1.  Brick and mortar store

       2  DM

       3.  Facebook

       4.  Affiliate marketing

       5.   Sales force

Again you cant be all to every buyer at the same time.  You cant make a nice product, sell this cheap, advertise this heavily, pay tops in commission to agens Just choose one or two and pour your resources into this.   

Strategy is a choice of resources to employ to achieve your objectives.  

The Du Pont formula for financial analysis and strategy formulation

Every generation needs a revolution - an entrepreneurial revolution

We discussed this this morning in order to expand our understanding of business and why there is outsourcing or bpo.

Objectives:

    1.  To increase our knowledge

    2.  To understand why it is better to outsource -  to focus on our key competencies, lessen headaches and over head

    3.  To help us appreciate why there is a prevalence of bpos and outsourcing

    4.  To understand how various business processes and strategies contribute to higher ROI and to better managers Principle No. 1

Background:

   1.   We suggested that MM and other parties can outsource our interment at following rates:

        MM -  excavation and ISG work at 3,600.

                 We suggest:  whole interment work   P10,000 included ang vault

                                                                                5,000 with backhoe but to be amortized

                Computation:           Revenues:                                                                          P10,000.00

                                                

                                                Expenses:     Vault                       P5,300

                                                Excavation    (with backhoe

                                                       labor   P500.00

                                                      diesel     100.00

                                                      amort   1,000.00                      1,600

                                             Budget for repair  500                          500

                                                          Total                                     7,400

                                             GP                                                                                        2,600   x     40 interments   =   91,000    x 12   =  1,092,000   THIS IS A BIG BUSINESS FOR HER

                              (It should be 12,000 because the labor of other personnel of interment has not been covered)

           (This is in fulfillment of our mission -  giving jobs and employment)

           Kanya ang backhoe at the end of 2 years, we lessen our head ache

What:

    1.  What is du pont formula:    Dupont Formula

       1.  This is taught at MBA, and SEC in the annual report does computation of  du Pont

    2.   It is an ROI formula:     Net income / Stockholders equity

    3.  It is however a long formula that covers the entire spectrum of business operations:

         Margin                                     Turn over                                Leverage

        (Patong)                                    (Paikot)                                  (Laway)

      Net Income/                                Sales/                                      Total Assets/

      Sales                                           Total Asset                              Stockholders equity

      When we cancel numerator and denominator, we are left with Net Income/Stockholders equity

               Net Income/                                Sales/                                      Total Assets/

               Sales                                           Total Asset                              Stockholders equity

   4.  The various items can be improved/increased

               Margin                                                               Net Income/sales

              Net income can be increased by                       1.  Advertising

                                                                                        2.  Having more sales personnel

                                                                                        3.  Being in more geographical areas

                                                                                        4.  More product offerings

                                                                                        5.  Value adding to the product -  more uses, more value for money  ----->  price increase

                                                                                        6.  Reducing operational expenses:   utilities, rent,  repairs OH, GA

                                                                                        7.  Reducing COGS   Direct Labor and Materials

           Turn over                                                             1.  Increasing  cash sales -  offering discount for cash sales

                                                                                       2.  Collecting AR promptly

                                                                                       3.  Having a third party finance the purchase/discounting of receivables

                                                                                       4.  Reducing asset size ie by outsourcing

                                                                                       5.  Reducing inventory by just in time, and/or pass through strategy (pasa buy) 

                                                                                       6.  Focusing on trending and fast selling products;  dispose by sales those that are not

         Leverage   -  this is to be practiced only in low interest environment; 

                              focus on service or those that rely more on intellectual capital

       Outsourcing, by reducing the total assets increase the asset velocity by reducing the Total Assets.  The wasteful use of asset that can be dissipated by interest income can thus be reduced.

        Thus if there is an investment of $100 million  and this is leased back to the computer supplier, the  asset is reduced and instantly the turn over is increased.

                  Say         Sales     P200M/Total asset  =   P100 million

                  When the denominator P100 million is removed  the turn over becomes infinity.  What to do with the cash?  Return to stockholders in stock buy back or invest in other products and revenue generating project

     In the Philippines, BPO is equally made tantalizing by various EPZA zones and current business support:

      1.  EPZA offers 5 years RPT free operation

      2.  Gross taxation of say 5%   

      3,  Cheap A -1 fiber optic lines to handle thousands of telephone voice calls

      4.  No need to put up your own building:

           1.  Available cyber offices for lease (built by business men

           2.  FFE for lease:   office tables partitions and computers

    5,  Huge savings for labor and wages    $400 - $500 /month   (P21,600 to P27,000)    tax  free (and attractive to our P14,000 a month wage earners)    vs   $20.00 per hour x 8 hours x 20 days   =  $3,200  (or a savings of $2,700 per month) x 12 =   $32,400 /year /emp

     ITS A WIN WIN SITUATION FOR EVERY ONE.    THAT IS WHY BPO FLOURISHES.  

                                                                                        

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Internal memo on sales marketing, business operations, vision, cash flow, sales cycle, AATR

Every generation needs a revolution - an entrepreneurial revolution

To:      All

Thru:   ; VM MRSS

cc:         RG

Subject:     Regular Posting at Holy Garden Philippines Network and standards

This mail will be read thoroughly  only by passionate individuals,  professionals who want to SUCCEED.  

1    As per VISION Cash flow and sales business model, in order to reach:

                    VISION   you need Cash Flow

                    CASH FLOW  you need sales

                     SALES to achieve this you need

                             1   AVAILABILITY

                             2   AWARENESS

                             3.  TRIAL

                             4  REPEAT SALES

2   For awareness you need:

                  1.  Advertisement

                  2   Promos

                  3.   Events

3   For AWARENESS you need

                 Above the line tasks:

                     1  Paid media

                         TV 

                          newspaper

                          outdoors

                      2  soc media

                          FB

                          twitter

                          blogger

                          Google ads

                   Below the line

                        events

                        influencer

                        WOM

4. No awareness, no SALES NO VISION

    A business without sign (ads or tarp) is a sign of no business

5.  For FB - FB is THE MARKETING PLATFORM.  It is omnipresent it is UBIQUITOUS, OMNIPRESENT AND POWERFUL

                1  No one reads the newspaper anymore, news can be had at Google discover or Yahoo news

                2  No sees the outdoor billboard anymore;   during travel on the road every body stares at their android (except the  driver)

                3 Less TV time, more you tubers and Netflix users

   WE MUST THEREFORE MAXIMIZE USE OF THE ANDROID AND OF FB (Whats App)

6.   We must use the CP, the smartphone,, the android as a potent tool for marketing and sales (as criminals no longer use guns and knives to steal

       money  -  only CP

7.   When we post on the CP (android smartphone) we must strive to stop the gaze the attention on our post as he navigate the cellphone

       How? do you catch stop the scrolling

       YOUR POST MUST BE UNIQUE, MESMERIZING OUTSTANDING AS YOUR PRODUCT IS 

      1.  Use an interesting  picture of a famous person, flower, pet, place   Post something unique.   Repost use of stock picture, or from internet is a no no

           Use a recent picture that is related to your topic or product..  Put a label or description,   (Sometimes you dont have to so that the reader

           scroller can be engaged

      2  Ask question, an intriguing question that will make him think and or be interested

     3.   Use an AIDA approach when you post or write a copy

            Attention -  the picture or headline

            Interest -   The body of the copy which piques or attracts the reader

            DESIRE -  put an offer which the reader cant refuse -   free, discounted,  limited offer, limited  stock

            ACTION -    call now, text or DM these numbers

           Magic words:   free economical, efficient, money back guarantee, instant replacement if defective, used by many

      4    FB posts

           1  Frequent and regular posting

               You get increase in visibility and number of likes and follower.   (We have noticed that a large number of sbus do not conform or obey this

               As per our memo made by RG, schedules of posts are:

              1.  Saturday -  videos of interment,  of paburol.   Videos and or reels, tiktoks draw in a lot of attention.  Share story too

              2.  Sunday  -  obits - express your sympathy as label of the pics

              3.  Tuesday -  all other best pictures

              Post at the core page -  #Holygardensphilippine network, and post subsequently at the Group.   The core posting count   The main page is devoid

              of posting by sbus.

         2.  Tags -   We see tags as green shirt, best pictures, pictureofcustomers etc    The hashtags are just like tagging a friend or relative, ie to let him see

                           the  picture you posted  Thus we must hashtag correctly.  It must be directed to well known posts or entities so that your post will

                           get noticed   A memo has been sent on this  The tags that might be worthwhile are on the posts you see   The default hash tags are:

                          #holygardensgroup

                          #holygardensphiiippinesnetwrok

                          #justremember

                          #celebratelife

                          #(your sbu)

                          # (your city  town)

                          We have included #dangwa flowers   What are other useful hashtags you can ad

      5.      Why do people buy:?

           1.  Emotional  not facts or data   As a car is bought not because of technical detais  or fuel economy but because it is big fast, sexy and is a status

                symbol

           2.  Scarcity -   stock is limited, special offer not available else where

           3.  Extreme emotions that border on fear and terror if product is not bought

                   1.  Will you allow your family to freeze to death if you had a brown out and you did not have this device

                   2.  What if somebody launched an rpg at your office and your glass does not have this armour all film

                   3.   What is the security of your family if you go through an end of life process and you do not have a plan or insurance

8  Understanding the theme of a product or business

           It is usually expressed as a mission statement and summarized in a theme or tag  say:    Just remember, Loving is remembering 

           Celebrate a life  Understand that, put this into your heart and rally behind that   Your write ups, sales talk and actions should  revove 

           around that theme.

           The other term for that is the main value proposition   (mvp)      What pain does the product tend to remove and what gain does it give

           the customer?   We have to understand that so that we can sell

8.     What does a memorial park intend to do?  (the boasting rights, the brand)

                                  GAIN to had                                                     PAIN removal

                                 less preparation                                                sadness

                                 less worry for any eventuality                           loneliness - of losing a loved one

                                 assurance of burial ground                               technicalities and hassle of dying (dapat tayo                                                                                                                na kukuha ng death certificate)

                                 among friends and relatives                            aayusin ang damo at marker

                                 special and well maintained place                    food preparation to be taken care of

                                flowers and ceremonies to honor the beloved

                                obits tent, tributes, announcements

    It is not just about awareness, it is about availability.  The roads  drainage, gutter, grating are complete.  

    There are:

                          CLEANLINESS

                          ORDERLINESS

                          BEAUTY

                          SECURITY SERENITY AND SAFETY

                         which our gt isg must work hard to deliver and provide persistently and daliy.   It cant be just talk talk  There has to be action

                         and solid support from the staff to keep our MVP (our brand alive)

     NB    All cmos in charge CSS please read and email your understanding  by February 12

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Some execs will remain as second in command and cant be strategists nor business owners

Every generation needs a revolution - an entrepreneurial revolution

Rizal Philippines
March 26, 2017


Some execs will remain as second in command and cant be strategists nor business owners/entrepreneurs.  Thats what the chairman of a large business told me.  He told me of  former senior officer he just got to run an operation.  From the way it looks, they are engaged in a constant debate or struggle, about the direction the business is to take.

How could that be.?"

Until I talked to the guy. He was sort of mayabang and kept on harping about his achievement. But take note that his former company closed in a big and embarrassing way and even boasted how he sold off some of the assets (for which he got some handsome commission). Despite his brilliance though, he cant see the big picture and aping the words of his chairman, which he could not fathom well.

I also observe my fellow panelists and their questions are shallow and often focus on the form (the scoring the matching of scores of this table with that table) and are not in depth analysis of the strama defense which must be searching, focusing on the critical thinking of the MBA candidate.

At the end of the day, and this is the defect of the course, the students come out with generic strategy that are more of the same, less of the same, that merely perpetuates administer the existing business, and in the strictest sense of the word, not really brilliant, strategic or game changing.

Some are country managers of multinationals. But their thinking is really that of subordinate who must report to a superior abroad.  

PREPREHO.

Strama defects - most writers can not connect FS and analysis, and strategy

Every generation needs a revolution - an entrepreneurial revolution

I was in 2 strama sessions this week:  one in the medical school last Tuesday, and yesterday at AGSB

I have seen this time and time again, students committing the same mistake, out of inexperience or lack of skills in financial. (as most do) It is only after 20 years of MBA that I learned the value of FS.

Thus the student will propose a plant or improvement, it no changes in FFE, in Balance sheet and cash flow, and no interest expense in P and L.  They all come together.  I

If they understand that strategy is about choice of resources and processes to reach an objectives, or a story of where am I now, where am I going, how do I get there, then they should see the totality of their work and connect, even the FS to their story

Did the business school have better outcomes with new processes/procedures?

Every generation needs a revolution - an entrepreneurial revolution

Rizal Philippines
December 18, 2016

I have not been teaching for the last several months because of my inability to comply with the 7 days deadline for the submission of grades after the end of sem;  and rightly so.  Some erring profs were sent memo for their insubordination even those who were on foreign travels.

It is just a big disappointment too that 2 years ago in  faculty conference in Alabang, the incoming leaders were asked as to what was the elephant in the room -  (every one anticipated that the Loyola people would replace the current staff) and the managers were silent and non committal.  Today  they are doing just that - to replace the current faculty with doctorate and academicians.

I asked the current faculty, the chair of the panel which I attended (I braved the horrendous traffic just to attend to this chore, to honor the panel and the students defending their strama) said that as a whole the school is doing well but not the GSB.  Enrollment is down, the good professors have joined the rival schools.   DLS has moved to BGC;  what is the move of the school?  (Nawala strama for the grand moves/strategy to be competitive;   baka irrelevant ang mga new policies, nitty pricky or rubbed the ertswhile strength of the GSB - the professional at work profs  (whom I understand are happy with their consultancy work or businesses)

Who is afraid of OPM/leveraging - using UOPM (Using Other Peoples Money) to the max!

Every generation needs a revolution - an entrepreneurial revolution

The advice of my late mother in business is to avoid debt as much as possible.  It is like the Dutch philosophy in business - to grow business like a tree slowly but surely.  Avoid the path of mushrooms which grow overnight and be gone the following the day.  Dont be like a meteor that burns itself out.

She even hid from me a Title to large commercial building at the heart of the town because she was afraid I will hock it to the max (despite the fact that I helped her build her little fortune by my strategies.)

Lately, I came across captains of the industry in chemicals, education, and  finance.  The strategy is all about leveraging.  Borrow borrow to grow.

1.   A school purchase I witnessed involves the hocking of the property to be bought using their own real estate holding company.  The monthly amortization for ten years will exceed the monthly cash flow of the loan.

2.  They are to pay off a personal loan of a principal.  Strategy involves transferring the TCT to the corporation, borrowing against the property P100 which is worth P200 million .  The P100 million will be used to pay off the loan which could be settled at P70 million and P30 million to start the development of the property.

3,  To clean the credit of a principal, they will do the same.

And so

A business school must practice what it preaches especially that it espouses heroism and being a man for others, spirituality

Every generation needs a revolution - an entrepreneurial revolution

Officially or unofficially I am out of the teaching staff of the school, thus I could not be accused of disloyalty as I touch unpleasant things in this post. I cherish the years that I was a part of the teaching staff.  I value the friendship and the knowledge I gained from the colleagues and the encouragement of the former leaders and managers.

Lately and I am disappointed with management and leadership of that school:

1.  Despite the meetings, the current boss is far removed from the teaching staff and never really get to know them/us.  I think he thinks only he is the best and can never be wrong.  The cluster heads are not much different.

2.  Despite the presence of young blood in the management, I never saw any innovation nor any change in the school. The balding senior leaders of yore were much much better than the young dynamic(?) leaders now. From what I know despite the restructuring, enrollment was halved, and great teachers have all ready left.in droves (I included?)  Despite the strategic knowledge that in the school, the CSF are the experienced teaching staff.

3.  Despite priding itself as a school that is an expert in strategic management, it missed the strategic intent and issues and thus is now lagging behind other business schools.

4.  Despite the vaunted courses on leadership and management, only a secretary told me that my time is up since I am 65.  I did not see my cluster chair, my program director about this changing moment in my life at the school.  Where is the HR Or the Leader of the School?  I did not even get a goodbye or pat in the bank?  Too busy with the University of the Bun?  It all could end like this. Where are the men and women for others? Where is the Ignatian spirit and leadership that we are teaching?  There is a great divide between what we teach and what we practice?

Thanks to all my former students and colleagues.

Quality education with fewer students?n Careless whispers going around the school

Every generation needs a revolution - an entrepreneurial revolution

A security guard recently commented while I was going up the elevator at BI that there are much fewer enrolls now and most rooms are vacant and if there are occupants not so full.  I do not know why he made such comment. This is not the first time I heard whispers of this type of remarks.  May be this is part of the move to make education at the school level up.(not to mention great professors who are no longer around teaching)

Some careless whispers say that from 4 figures the number of students enrolled now is down to 3 digits.

The leadership and management of the school would be the one responsible and know the answer and solution to this.decline.  If the goal is to reduce enrollment, then they are successful and have better quality education then they are successful.

As a school teaching marketing and strategy, the professors can bang their heads together and find the answer. or solution if such exists

Some notes on a strama defense

Rizal Philippines | June 9 2014

I witnessed a strama defense late last week on beauty industry

I saw some difficulties in the strategy paper:

1.  The business in engaged in 3 sub businesses:  skin, spa, beauty products.  Hence there is no strategy b
because strategy means focus on an objective.

Can you describe Strategic Thinking in one sentence?

As an entrep student, and one who knows the strategic thinking process, can you answer this one:  
Subject: Can you describe Strategic Thinking in one sentence?

It should be easy;   it is choice of resources and activities (processes) to reach an objective (strategic)  That is it. Nothing more nothing less

SMART in strategy

APS, Makati, Philippines

I was at Strama defense early this week.  It was a reoral.   The earlier paper needed a lot of rework because of the lack of understanding by the student of how the business, an insurance broker operated, as we went through the external and internal analysis.    She could not tell, or clarify as to where the Insurance Brokerage gets its customer:   from open market or from the bank.

This time she could not convince the panel, as to whether the 50% growth in sales  (her planned strategic objective) which tops at 21 billion pesos next year could be achieved.   The inputs, the thhroughputs, the outputs, the 4ms, the enterprise delivery system were not clear or some were not available/written donw

Or what is magical about the product/service that would:

1.  draw in a lot of agents;

2.  Have people buy the products/service.

It was not very SMART (specific, measureable, achievable, realistic, and time bound)

Can you describe strategic thinking? Or Strategy (from Linked In discussion)

From Linked in Groups

How would I answer the question:

It means the ability to think through on how to use the available (little or none) resources, and with a set of activities/choice of activities to meet a desired goal nothing more/nothing less.

This involves though:

1.  Having your nose close to reality and changing environment;

2.  Being aware of competitive pressure/forces

3. Thinking clearly

4.  Being relevant always to the goal

Find out if I come close to the Linked In thoughts.

Special Report by Rocky Gabatin

 #special report, slideshare

Hi Prof. Jorge,

Please find the slideshare link to my special report:

http://www.slideshare.net/rgabatin1/blue-ocean-strategy-31262616

Regards,

Blue ocean strategy from Rocky Angelo Gabatin

Our main concern with standard strategic tools and analysis is that the output is me too business/products

I had some discussions with some Spentrep students who are currently taking up Strama.  For them, being the final paper, the Strama is the subject.  Spentrep is an elective.  I have pointed out and even Prof Fagan of HBS (who worked for BPI as a consultant) that we need applied or practical strategy.

After listening to  to Jaime Mandejar's BOS, we can say:

1.  If we look historically at products and company history, then we will continue to be in the red ocean, have price war, and red ocean competition.;

2.  Then if it is driving forward using a rearview mirror;  then, what you come out with strategy will be maybe moving backward or sideways?

3.  BOS says that most businesses now did not exist 5 years ago.  Therefore, new businesses that are compelling and differentiated would be your best bet.  Blue Ocean business that exist in new market space will flourish.  That could not happen with traditional strama tools and analysis.  BOS means sometimes abandoning the current business models  (Schumpeters destructive creation)

4.  Also if we use the same tools, same analysis leading to the same conclusion, why are we wondering that we come out with stale or me too strategies?

I will have my entrep students with their creative synthesis, new products with compelling MVP beating the best strama paper..  I would like to see them, think creatively rather than err hmmm strategically.  In the confusion of the terms and tools, they sometimes get confused or do not get the straight clear  meaning of the word itself.

They might have missed  Lidell Hart, Sun Tzu, Hannibal, Clauzewitz and lately that of Gen Vo Nguyen  Giap at Dien Bien Phu

Please view my presentation on the subject matter:

Old school strategy is dead

Applied Strategy

Strategic thinking by entrepreneurs

Gen Vo Nguyen Giap, brilliant military strategist of Vietnam dies at 102

From BBC News | October 4, 2013


                       
                            Fidel Castro and Gen Giap


The brilliant military strategist of Vietnam who caused the defeat of France at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and the withdrawal of US from Vietnam, Gen Vo Nguyen Giap, recently died at age of 102.

For the battle of Dien Bien Phu, he prepared to ambush the French by having cadres drag howitzers piece by piece up the mountain overlooking the French camp.  Who would think, as (Hannibal did that he would attack Rome from the Alps) that he would do that?  And to overcome the air superiority of Franch (with the Mirage bombers) he hid the guns in the caves.

For the defeat of Americans, he masterminded the network of tunnels to negate the superiority of air power the napalm and the carpet bombing of B-52. It is worth noting so that the spy plane and satellites would not detect their supply chain:  he made sure that bridges were under water (the river) and underneath the canopy of trees and rain forest.   Thus the supply chain was (and we know that military runs on a strong supply train as MacArthur, Eishenhower, and Schwarschopff have advocated, was intact most of the time.

He was also known for his famous Tet offensive vs US troops

But Giap did not have formal military training.  (An equivalent of a successful entrepreneur who is college drop out - Mark Zuckerberg perhaps?)

They also made sure that political offensive was carried out in Washington.  The protracted war caused many widows and orphans to dislike the war and thus Washington was left with no choice but to leave the SV allies

Do you think that he is a really brilliant strategist?

Does his work clarify the meaning of strategy?

From NBC news

Our case analysis last night at Sentrep

Room 402, AGSB Salcedo, H de la Costa St., Makati City Philippines | January 29, 2013

We had the first individual oral case analysis last night.  I would consider that the performance of the student in critical thinking, grasping the facts cogently, is the acid test of whether an MBA student can really be called a master.  I had to explain again the critical thinking process from the slideshare lecture on Personal Mastery.

I had to explain the SPADA process (which many still are stranger to and PPA - Potential Problem Analysis)

The typical case analyses are that these a are functional problems:   marketing - that the owner should market the abattoir;   that the entrepreneur should market his lechon burger.   Financial -  that he could not borrow because of previous problem with the bank.

Others pointed out that this a case of which of the business is most profitable.

One suggested that this is really a strategic problem (which was good observation) however fell of the cliff when asked what is the right choice.  She said that it is the buying and selling part.  But how much is the margin?  What is the downside.

Other suggested that the protagonist is confused and does not know his direction for having so many businesses.

The class sec said that is about value chain.  The owner collects/connects business units in support of the ultimate value chain.

Which side are you on?

The potato straw penetration challenge <--->entrepreneurship and strategy

                   The goal is to penetrate the hard potato with a soft ordinary straw through and through

I get the students interested in positive thinking. in can do mindset, in learning to do with the potato straw penetration exercise. I got this from Mr. Silverio who owns and runs the Guadalupe Commercial Complex. He was our guest entrepreneur at ADB MBA entrep class.  He made the class do this.  I adopted this ever since.

This is strategic and entreprenurial.  Why?

The goal of this exercise is to penetrate the potato.  How do you do this?  You device various means (and this the whole idea of strategy/entrepreneurship)   In entrepreneurship, your  goal is to make a dream come true with little or no resources using a set of entrepreneurial skills and activities.

Strategy is achieving an objective selecting a set of resources and activities.

In order to penetrate the potato the various means were:

l.  Penetrate one side, when the straw became softer, bore at the other side using the other side of yet still stiff straw;

2.  Benchmark the others, imitate what they are doing.

3.  Use force;

4.  Do it slowly, screw the potato slowly

5.  Push and pull slowly  ('that is how JP describes it)

                                  Alvin did it first

                                   Working hard on the challenge

   

                                  Evan and Athens came in next

                                   JP, Nelle and Lea

                                  I got the potatos back;  to be used for potato salad

Special report_strategy by HA

Dear Prof. Saguinsin,

Good evening!

I noticed that our reports were not yet posted on your blog. Just to make sure, I am re-sending the links for my Special Report on Strategy, our Group Reports on Micromarket Analysis and Mock Up ID. 

http://www.slideshare.net/hannahabellera/strategyspecial-report 

http://www.slideshare.net/hannahabellera/micro-market-analysis-coffee-shop-group-3-14820599 

http://www.slideshare.net/hannahabellera/mock-up-id 

Thank you very much.

Hannah Abellera

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Hannah Abellera <hr_abellera@yahoo.com>
To: "profjorge.entrep.ateneo@blogger.com" <profjorge.entrep.ateneo@blogger.com>
Cc: hannah abellera <hr_abellera@yahoo.com>
Sent: Sunday, October 7, 2012 2:17 PM
Subject: special report_strategy

Dear Prof. Saguinsin,

The link below is my Special Report on Strategy.

http://www.slideshare.net/hannahabellera/strategyspecial-report 

Thank you.

Hannah Abellera

Micro market analysis coffee shop group 3 from Hannah Abellera

Strategy_Special Report from Hannah Abellera