The Cinderella story of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte continues to spawn adherents. If he can, I can. Hence the mad rush to carpe diem and file certificates of candidacy this week. It was reminiscent of the recent surge to purchase lotto tickets.
Has it always been like this? The prospect of serving in elective public office has been quite the distant dream for serious suitors. Yes, for qualifications we have mercifully stuck with basic read and write. But, realistically, we understand the high threshold to compete. It used to be the 3 Gs. Guns, Goons and Gold. Now, a 4th G: Genes. Welcome to the family business.
Help wanted. The upper house has always trumped the lower chamber in campaign box-office. As national leaders, they draw disproportionately more attention and exposure. The Senate is meant to be the repository of the best and the brightest, the safety valve designed to save us from our “overheating passions.” So you’d expect people to place a premium on key candidate characteristics: cool, principled, smart, responsible, brave, earnest – these are a few that come to mind.
But step into the Senate and its as if you’ve entered the set of the Wizard of Oz or, for the millennials among us, that of Wicked. You may get the immediate vibe of battling witches. You may channel Dorothy’s road trip companions to the Wizard: the scarecrow who had no brain; the lion who lacked courage, and the tin man without a heart. Sadly, these archetypes find their parallels in our present roster.
Just like them, we aspire to these three – brains, courage and heart. Specially in our leaders. Most important is courage. I’d prefer a simple but compassionate servant over a vicious genius anytime. But one who stands up for what he believes gets my vote hands down. Even if I disagree with what he believes.
In these trying, interesting times, whether in the public or private sphere, it is critical to have a vision of where we’re headed so we know what’s needed to take us there. We don’t have to search for unicorns. With the three fundamental qualities, our trek can be as magical. I am happy to welcome the thoughts of our regular column spacer, Macky Maceda, on the qualities we need:
Are our children future-ready? In today’s digital world, social media feeds regularly feature stories on artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, drones, nanotechnology, 3-D printing, autonomous vehicles, and many other technological breakthroughs. New business models, and new model businesses, such as Amazon, Alibaba, AirBnB and Uber, have emerged on the global stage, “disrupting” our lives in many ways, in the spirit of progress. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is here and its engine is revving up. In this space, we ask the question: are the Filipino youth – college students, Gen Z jobseekers, young working Millennials – armed with the skills they need to be ready for the rapidly-evolving future that awaits them? Thank you Dean Ernest for allowing me to share some reflections on this subject, borne of recent speaking engagements focusing on skills development.
Skills Seminar @Enderun. At the annual Internship Fair at Enderun Colleges, my talk at the Skills Seminar focused on the so-called “4 C’s” of 21st century learning: Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, and Communication. These are basic human skills that may never be replaced by AI and robots. Critical thinking leads to complex problem solving and balanced decision-making. (In this day and age of fake news, we all use critical thinking ourselves!). Creativity leads to innovation and out-of-the-box solutions. Collaboration leads to higher success for the team – as the old workplace poster says, “Together Everyone Achieves More.” Communication is the foundation for a host of important job skills, such as negotiation, service orientation, and of course, public speaking, business writing, and presentation skills.
Aside from the 4 C’s, I encouraged the students to develop their emotional intelligence, often called “EQ” – perhaps the most important life skill of all. It is what truly separates man from machine. Various studies have shown that “EQ” far outweighs “IQ” as a predictor of one’s success in life. EQ unlocks many other important skills – assertiveness, flexibility, people management, time management, and stress management, to name a few. At the heart of EQ is empathy, the essence of which is best verbalized by NY Times best-selling author Daniel H. Pink: “Empathy is about standing in someone else’s shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Not only is empathy hard to outsource or automate, but it makes the world a better place.”
PCAPI 4A General Assembly. It was a distinct honor to be a guest speaker at this momentous event of the Pollution Control Association of the Philippines last October 17-19 – quite possibly the largest 3-day gathering of sustainability professionals in our country to date. Allow me to leave our readers with some key inspirational quotes from my talk that capture the spirit of the 6 leadership skills/traits that every student should aspire to develop:
(1) LIFELONG LEARNING – “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Mahatma Gandhi; (2) EMPATHY/EQ – “Empathy is really important. Only when our clever brain and human heart work together in harmony can we achieve our full potential.” – Dr. Jane Goodall; (3) ALTRUISM/KINDNESS – “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill; (4) DREAMER (dream of a better world) – “The people who are crazy enough to believe they can change the world are the ones who do.” – Steve Jobs; (5) ETHICAL/INTEGRITY – “It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett; (6) ROLE MODEL – “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi.