Inspiring Speech by Butch Jimenez
UP - University of Philippines Butch Jimenez is the head of PLDT (Philippines Long Distance Telephone Company). Manila, Philippines
This speech was delivered during the commencement exercises of the UPgraduating class of 2003 by Mr. Butch Jimenez, the youngest commencement speaker in the university's history. He once dreamed of doing so, and it came true!!! :-) Students wished they had a pencil or paper to jot down notes during the speech; some even wished they had a tape recorder. Some members of the faculty found his speech practical, refreshing, and funny!
Butch Jimenez, head of PLDT's media and strategic communicationsdepartment, delivered this speech at the UP Diliman Class 2003commencement exercises.
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What's better than...?
By Butch Jimenez
Better than being negative
As college students, you're just about to set sail into the real world. Asyou prepare for the battleground of life, you'll hear many speeches, readtons of books and get miles of advice telling you to work hard, dreambig, go out and do something for yourself, and have a vision.
Not bad advice, really. In fact, following these nuggets of truth mayjust bring you to the top. But as I've lived my life over the years , Ihave come to realize that it is great to dream big, have a vision, make aname, and work hard. But guess what: There's something better than that.
So my message today simply asks the question, What's better than...?
Let's start off with something really simple. What's better than a longspeech? No doubt, a short one. So, you guys are in luck because I dointend to keep this short.
Now, let me take you through a very simple math exam. I'll rattle off acouple of equations, and you tell me what you observe about them. Bemindful of the instructions. You are to tell me what you observe aboutthe equations.
Here goes: 3+4=7, 9+2=11, 8+4=13, and 6+6=12. Tell me, what do youobserve?
Every time I conduct this test, more than 90 percent of the participantsimmediately say, 8+4 is NOT 13, it's 12! That's true and they are correct.But they could have also observed that the three other equations wereright. That 3+4 is 7, that 9+2 is 11, and that 6+6 is 12.
What's my point? Many people immediately focus on the negative instead of the positive. Most of us focus on what's wrong with other people more than what's right about them. Examine those four equations. Three were right and only one was wrong. But what is the knee-jerk observation? The wrong equation. If 10 people you didn't know were to walk through that door, most of you would describe those people by what's negative about them. He's fat. He's balding. Oh, the short one. Oh, the skinny girl. Ahhh, 'yung pango. Etc.
Get the point? It's always the negative we focus on and not the positive.You'll definitely experience this in the corporate world. You do a hundred good things and one mistake-guess what? Chances are, your attention will be called on that one mistake.
So what's better than focusing on the negative? Believe me, its focusingon the positive. And if this world could learn to focus on the positivemore than the negative, it would be a much nicer place to live in.
Better than working hard
We have always been told to work hard. Our parents say that, our teacherssay that, and our principal says that. But there's something better thanmerely working hard. It's working SMART.
It's taking time to understand the situation, and coming out with aneffective and efficient solution to get more done with less time andeffort. As the Japanese say, "There's always a better way."
One of the most memorable case studies I came across with as I studiedJapanese management at Sophia University in Tokyo was the case of theempty soap box, which happened in one of Japan's biggest cosmeticscompanies. The company received a complaint that a consumer had boughtbox of soap that was empty. It immediately isolated theproblem to the assembly line, which transported all the packaged boxes ofsoap to the delivery department. For some reason, one soap box wentthrough the assembly line empty. Management tasked its engineers to solvethe problem. Post-haste, the engineers worked hard to devise an X-raymachine with high-resolution monitors manned by two peopleto watch all the soap boxes that passed through the line to make sure theywere not empty. No doubt, they worked hard and they worked fast. But arank-and-file employee that was posed the same problem came out withanother solution. He bought a strong industrial electric fan and pointedit at the assembly line. He switched the fan on, and as eachsoap box passed the fan, it simply blew the empty boxes out of the line.
Clearly, the engineers worked hard, but the rank-and-file employee workedsmart. So what's better than merely working hard? It's working smart.Having said that, it is still important to work hard. If you could combineboth working hard and working smart, you would possess a major factortoward success.
Better than dreaming big
I will bet my next month's salary that many have encouraged you to dreambig. Maybe even to reach for the stars and aim high. I sure heard thatabout a million times right before I graduated from this university. So Idid. I did dream big. I did aim high. I did reach for the stars. Nodoubt, it works. In fact, the saying is true: "If you aim for nothing,that's exactly what you'll hit: nothing."
But there's something better than dreaming big. Believe me, I got shockedmyself. And I learned it from the biggest dreamer of all t ime, WaltDisney. When it comes to dreaming big, Walt is the man. No bigger dreamswere fulfilled than his. Every leadership book describes him as theultimate dreamer. In fact, the principle of dreaming and achieving isthe core message of the Disney hit song, "When You Wish Upon a Star".
"When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are; anything yourheart desires will come to you. If your heart is in your dream, no requestis too extreme. When you wish upon a star, as dreamers do," as JiminyCricket sang.
But is that what he preached in the Disney company? Dream? Imagineering
Well, not exactly. Kinda, but not quite. The problem with dreaming is ifthat's all you do, you'll really get nowhere. In fact, you may just fallasleep and never wake up. The secret to Disney's success is not justdreaming, it's IMAGINEERING. You won't find this word in a dictionary.It's purely a Disney word. Those who engage in imagineering are calledimagineers. The word combines the words "imagination" and "engineering."
In the book "Imagineers," Disney's CEO, Michael Eisner, claims that"imagineers turn impossible dreams into real magic."
Walt Disney explained there is really no secret to their approach. Theyjust keep moving forward-opening new doors and doing new things, becausethey are curious. And it is this curiosity that leads them down new paths.They always dream, explore and experiment. In short, imagineering is theblending of creative imagination and technical know-how.
Eisner expounds on this thought by saying that "Not only are imagineerscurious, they are courageous, outrageous, and their creativity iscontagious."
The big difference with imagineers is that they dream and then they DO!So don't just be a dreamer, be an imagineer.
You must have all been given a lecture at one time or another about theimportance of having a vision. Even leadership expert John Maxwell saysthat an indispensable quality of a leader is to have a vision. The Biblealso makes it very clear that "Without vision, people perish." So no doubtabout it, having a vision is important to success.
But surprise! There's something more potent than a vision. It's a CAUSE.If all you're doing is trying to reach your vision and you're pittedagainst someone fighting for a cause, chances are you'll lose.
The Vietnam War is a classic example. Literally with sticks and stones, theViet Cong beat the heavily armed US Army to surrender, primarily becausethe US had a vision to win the war, but the Vietnamese were fighting for acause.
In the realm of business, many leaders have visions of making their companyNo.1, or grabbing market share, or foreverincreasing profits. Nothing really wrong with that vision, but take theexample of Sony founder Akio Morita. He did not just have a vision tobuild the biggest electronics company in the world. In his biography, "Madein Japan," he reveals that the real reason he set up Sony was to helprebuild his country, which had just been battered by war. He had a cause hewas fighting for. His vision to be an electronics giant was secondary.
What's the difference between a vision and a cause? Here's what sets themapart... No one is willing to die for a vision. People will die for acause. You possess a vision. A cause possesses you. A vision lies in yourhands. A cause lies in your heart. A vision involves sacrifice. A causeinvolves the ultimate sacrifice.
Just a word of caution. You must have the right vision, and you must befighting for the right cause. In the end, right will always win out. It maytake time, and it may take long. But if you have the right vision and arefighting for the right cause, you will prevail. If not, no matter howsincere you are, if you are not fighting for what is right, you willultimately fail.
Two final quotes
Allow me to end with two quotes that I have lived by ever since I steppedout of UP.
The first comes from the Bible, which says, "To whom much is given, much is required." Having been given the opportunity to study in UP, no doubt, much has been given to you in terms of an excellent education. Don't forget that in return, much is now required of you to use that education not just for
yourself, but for others.
And as you move up and start reaching the pinnacle of success, even moreill be required of you to look at the welfare of others, of society and ofthe country.
Though I have often dreamed of addressing any graduating class of UPDiliman, I never really thought it would happen. This brings me to thesecond quote I have held close to my heart as I traverse the destiny Godhas laid out for me.
"There is no destination beyond reach of one who walks with God." Mystanding in front of you today, as the youngest commencement speaker of this esteemed university in 92 years, is proof of how true that quote is.
A final review:
· What's better than focusing on the negative? Focus on the positive.
· What's better than working hard? It's working smart.
· What's better than dreaming? Imagineering.
· What's better than doing something for yourself? Doing something
for your country.
· What's better than a vision? A cause.
· What's better than a long speech? Definitely, a short one.
Thank you and congratulations, UP Diliman graduating class of 2003
