Saturday, March 28, 2009

Gov. Ed Panlilio Answers Three Key Questions

I was able to attend the dialogue with Gov. Ed Panlilio at held at Patrick Pantaleon's residence in South Forbes where he was asked for his stand on declaring Marcos a hero, Reproductive Health bill, and whether he would prosecute Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

To all three questions, he gave clear and, especially on the last one, "definite" answers. Direct from the "horse's mouth:"

http://1-vote.org/downloads/Marcos-RH-Arroyo.mp3
.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

By Accident or On-Purpose?

Seneca wrote that:

If a man [or woman] knows not what harbor he seeks, any wind is the right wind.

Indeed that's how a lot of people chart their lives. John Maxwell, the respected leadership guru, drives home the point with this picturesque description:

Not knowing what long-term direction they are heading for, they bounce around like a ball in a pinball machines. They live reactive lives based on what happens to them , rather than proactive lives based on what values are in them. They live their life "by accident" rather than "on-purpose."

The challenge then is for us to be "live wires" rather than mindless pinballs.

...

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Real Leaders and Powerpoint

I would like to share with you a thought-provoking book review I just read:

The book title says it all: "Real Leaders Don't Do Powerpoint."Published just this month, the new book will quickly makes its mark among the best leadership communication books. But don't let the title fool you: this is more than a book about PowerPoint. By author and speech coach Chris Witt, it's a total book about what leaders need to do to sell themselves and their ideas.

Realleaders


First, though, about PowerPoint and why Chris Witt rightly doesn't trust it to do the job for real leaders. "In the first place," he writes, "it is best suited for presenting information, not influencing or inspiring an audience." And there in a nutshell is the entire argument.


Real leaders, Witt says, should only give three speeches:

  • To identify - tell audiences who they are or who they can become
  • To influence - shape the way audiences think and feel
  • To inspire - make audiences want to act


Unfortunately, PowerPoint is only good for one thing: presenting information. He's right. Anyone in the organization can present information. It's the most basic type of speech. Yes, sometimes leaders do have to do these. In front of special audiences like financial analysts who thrive on detailed slides of graphs and charts.


But that part of a leader's job is limited. They should aspire to more, an argument Witt makes convincingly for both the leader and leader-to-be.


"Remember," Witt writes, "audiences don't want leaders to speak like everyone else. They hold leaders to a higher standard, demanding more of them."


But as I said, that's a small part of the book. Don't think this is a 200 treatise against PowerPoint. It's also a primer on how to construct and deliver a speech.


Witt covers everything from audience analysis to the importance of storytelling and from why structure is critical to how to handle the inevitable question and answer period.


Consider it a good addition to your bookshelf.


Source: http://thespeechwriter.typepad.com/onspeechwriting/2009/02/real-leaders-is-the-real-deal-for-leaders.html


Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Meeting with Amb. Amable R. Aguiluz V

March 11, 2009.

Together with Ptr. Romy Salcedo, Dr. John Ayudtud and Ptr. Jojo Gonzales, I was privileged to have met Ambassador Amable R. Aguiluz V, at his office at Suite 3501 of the Raffles Corporate Center in Ortigas, Pasig City.

Meeting with Amb. Amable R. Aguiluz V at Raffles Bldg., Ortigas Center



An amiable gentleman, Amb. Aguiluz is the Special Envoy of the President of the Philippines to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states (Kingdom of Bahrain, State of Kuwait, Sultanate of Oman, State of Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates).




Friday, March 06, 2009

"The Reason for Being" Seminar at the P.U.P.

Last Tuesday, March 3, Dr. John Ayudtud conducted "The Reason for Being" seminar for graduating students at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. (You can click on the photo or caption below to view the entire web album.)

Reason for Being Seminar at P.U.P. 2009.03.03

You can visit The Reason for Being website here.