Business Is Very Personal

Saying Goodbye.

2012-01-26T07:10:00.001+08:00

"Death is very likely to be the single best invention of life..." ~ Steve Jobs

Advice to a Senior Student

2012-01-26T06:36:00.003+08:00

Saw this in Tom Peters' Page. I like the emotion of diving into the challenge head on.

Rules For Living Life to the Hilt
There is no bigger waste of time than making plans.Any success you have will be the byproduct of having thrown yourself headlong and without reserve into what you were most passionate about—and then ridden the wave you created wherever and at whatever speed it carries you.The greatest long term satisfaction comes from having behaved at all times with common decency.

Consensus and Being Extraordinary are Opposites

2012-01-03T22:40:00.001+08:00

I came upon this video just in time when I have several group discussions scheduled for DEG. Several projects with several stakeholders, with tens of opinions and a couple of people with personality disorders (including myself) haha

BE EXTRAORDINARY. Fuck You to those who want to water it down (but say it in a nice way)

I'm leaving on a jet plane

2012-01-01T22:00:00.001+08:00

Counted my 2011 flights and I total 55.

Fivty-five airplane seats, airplane food, hand shakes, hugs, business, vacation.

Next steps:
1. Need to find an app that records miles travelled
2. I wonder how many for 2012

Sir Ken Robinson on Passion

2012-01-01T13:10:00.000+08:00

Starting 2012 right with a fitting video by one of my favorite speakers Sir Ken Robinson. He happens to be the favorite of Prof Tommy as well.

The question I ask after viewing the video is that does everyone really have a choice? If you're born out of poverty, or of desperation, do you still follow your element, your bliss?

Well, I think you have to live a life of passion, or otherwise live a life that you endure rather than enjoy.

Ken Robinson on Passion from The School of Life on Vimeo.

Saturday Quote

2011-12-03T11:47:00.001+08:00

Any company that aspires to abnormally huge results, must kiss "normal" goodbye.

Creativity & Intuition in Management

2011-11-30T06:58:00.001+08:00

Prof Ed Mo and DEGsters

We just finished our first day with Prof Ed Morato, one of the professors who had a profound impact on how Emily and do things in business and in life.

For me it was a re-awakening. I picked up a lot of new things from him thou most of it I heard from him before. There was always something new to learn!

Emily and I are quite different on how we view things but our decision to invite him to teach in DEG University is on the spot! Very DEG. I now feel more capable of handling the challenges that we choose to engage in.

It's like growing a new brain!

We were all taught in all of our school years that the way to think is by using the logical, sequential left hemisphere of our brains. What a waste of neurons! I can vividly recall from yesterday's lecture the three main tools we can use (but fail to use often)...

Intense Study
Intuition
Dreams

DREAMS?!?!! F*ck! I would have stopped at intuition. Now my dreams help me solve business problems??? It may sound like a lot of mumbo-jumbo wierness. But what if it works? Remember that a lot of the biggest scientific discoveries in the 21st century came from dreams. What if everyone else, all your competitors stop at intense study and you have two other tools. And in one of them you just need to sleep with a pen and paper beside you.

More than strategic differentiation, I think that's a strategic advantage that DEG can master.

My dream last night included missing cars in the carpark, jumping over terraces, and dead bodies from a high-speed accident. Can't wait to interpret what my subconscious is telling me on where to smells money.

Edgeboy's Beer Haus Foundation!

2011-11-25T15:45:00.001+08:00

A few days back, Emily our MOM "Mother of Marketing" in the office came up with the amazing idea of putting up Mom's Cafe. Two dozen types of coffee, tea and whathaveyou for just P35.00. All proceeds go to charity.

Two dozen coffee & tea to choose from!

I say... don't let a good idea go to waste. So here's the challenger!!! Edgeboy's Beer Haus Foundation. Just drop any amount when you had a really heavy day, happy day, sad day, anyday.

Drop any amount for your joy, fears, ecstasy & anxieties

All proceeds go to your beer and sisig.

P.S. Only for TODAY, drop any amound and you get a Portwine chocolate from Japan.
P.P.S. Thanks to Sluggo and Steffi for making my dream come true!!!

3 ways to avoid demotivating people at work

2011-11-25T08:07:00.001+08:00

Simple yet powerful 3 minute video by Jim Collins.

How do you lead so as not to demotivate people?
1. Confront Brutal Facts
2. Engage in Dialogue, Debate & Disagreement
3. Show Progress

Markprof Batch 8 Slides

2011-11-24T21:56:00.001+08:00

Had a great time with some of the Top Marketing students of the Philippines last Saturday. Sharing the slides of my presentation.

Took a while to figure out the "unimaginable."

Dennis 111911 Markprof Slideshare

View more presentations from Dennis Balajadia

Not just Different but Making a Difference

2011-11-24T21:37:00.001+08:00

Brands that will the test of time go beyond Differentiated. That's oldschool marketing.

Our startup DEG Office in China

2011-11-23T15:52:00.001+08:00

Sharing with you the photos of our office in Shanghai. Cholo and Lijia brings us great joy showing the beginning of unlimited opportunities in the biggest market in the world.

Cheers to DEG China!

We'll be very busy soon

An amazing feeling seeing our brands in China

DEG Office Shanghai!

So what if the iPhone is too expensive for most people?

2011-11-09T14:43:00.000+08:00

Nokia may be in the hands of most people in the world, but the riches belong to the non-commoditized, sizeable niche.

Apple has only 4% of the total phone market, but captures 52% of its profits according to Canaccord Genuity analysts T. Michael Walkley and Mattew Ramsay.

Source HERE.

An old habit REBORN!

2011-11-06T14:16:00.000+08:00

One of the old traditions I badly wanted to bring back to DEG is Extreme Saturdays.

These are not-your-everday activities designed to stretch a person's normal routine, maybe touch his or her limits and potentially altering a person's worldview forever.

Contrary to some people's perceptions, extreme saturdays doesn't mean extreme sports. Thou there are those who will find climbing a mountain extreme, there will be a good number that will find painting as an extreme activity (me included).

The goal is to break free from routine, do something extraordinary and be pleasantly surprised. If it sounds like the next breakthrough product, it does because breakthrough work follows the same process and comes exactly from the same source.

I'm so proud of DEGsters yesterday for pulling off a whole day of fun, exercise and learning. Kudos to Ryan our resident divemaster for the passion and energy that made yesterday extra super.

Why is this door closed?

2011-11-02T15:59:00.001+08:00

DEGsters,

We've PERMANENTLY closed this door (seen from outside and inside) intentionally for all of us to have accidental meet-ups / rubbing-elbows / or maybe 2 bottle invites.

In case of fire, break the glass… or use the fire extinguisher (find it in the photo)

Just another nudge in building our DEG world :)

Dennis

Door from Outside

Door from Inside

DEG's Game Room

2011-10-28T16:04:00.001+08:00

Thanks to Jem, Cherrie & Ryan, DEG's old boring 2nd conference room is now THE LOUNGE!!!

Old and boring Conf Rm 2 BEFORE


Welcome the New Look!


Lots of Open Space!

Music and Games encouraged!

DEG Store

2011-10-28T15:22:00.002+08:00

Part of our fast-prototype-culture-projects is turning trash into gold and use this to give back to the community.

Group 10 presents: DEGstores!
http://degstores.multiply.com/photos

Expect more stuff in the next weeks. Good work Mel, Sluggo and Helen.

Culture is Complex

2011-10-23T09:39:00.000+08:00

I love Hugh's take on culture. Drawing below, brief writeup HERE.

DEGsters,

We talk about Culture and suddenly everything I see is about Culture.

Part of the idea that we attract what we think about. Think about red cars and suddenly you see a lot of red cars on the road.

The difficulty and the complexity in culture makes it one of the strongest competitive advantage in any industry. Others can copy your product, can pirate people in your team, can say what you say but can never easily be who you truly are. Who you are as a company, and the level of authenticity you have towards your shared vision is uniquely yours.

When it's that difficult, it's worth living and working your whole life pursuing it.

Dennis

And I thought Microsoft was boring

2011-10-20T03:35:00.002+08:00

Nothing beats real, raw, primal ENERGY!!! A benchmark of how meetings and conferences should start.

Posting my Internal Emails

2011-10-18T02:13:00.002+08:00

I've been posting my exact emails to my team in DEG for a while now and I'm getting a hang of it. Why.... hmmm... why not?

A better way to fly

2011-10-18T02:11:00.000+08:00

I'm writing this post at 34,000 feet thanks to Virgin America's Wifi. I believe this is the future of flying and I can't wait for the next 5 hours of uninterrupted online work and browing.

But the Wifi is only 2nd to what I experienced today that makes flying a lot lot better. Right before closing the door, when all the passengers have entered the plane, the pilot comes out of the cockpit holds the phone handset and speaks to the passengers.

It's not really the weather forecast, or the flight details that got my attention, but his look - his eye contact to the passengers when he said, "enjoy the flight." He meant it. He cared. And he was in front of everyone to show that he's accountable and I'm sure he'll make it happen.

I hope more airlines and pilots will do this instead of having to wonder who the mysterious, almost robotic-speaking people in front are.

OVERWHELMED like a really bad Hangover!

2011-10-15T01:42:00.000+08:00

DEGsters,

I don't know where to begin.

So I'm just going to write several emails as a form of sharing, until I satisfactory get it out of my system. We went on a Zappos Tour for the whole day yesterday. Got really tired from saying WOW the whole time, plenty of ideas and seeing the impossible. I slept so loooong last night, fully drained.

It can't be. Even Prof Tommy who was with us cursed several times - PUTANG INA nagawa nila…

Honestly, it's almost an hour and I've reached only written this much. It's hard to put justice to the experience by writing a crappy email. I don't even know what photos or videos (I have 250+) to post.

Basically, Zappos is like a good kid who smiles a lot, is himself All The Time, makes a lot of people happy through hard fun work, his service, and authenticity and in the process becomes a Billionaire and the leading online shoe store in the world!!!

I was taught that it was impossible to be this authentic and make a buck. I saw from companies around me that you need to sacrifice some of what you believe in to reach your goals. Or that you need to modulate your voice and speak differently in the office.

I'm now revisiting all the assumptions I didn't know I was blindly making, challenge assumptions, revisit frameworks and systems and make Our Perfect World in DEG.

Disneyland is not the happiest place on earth for me anymore… it's at Zappos… and soon in DEG.

Before I start posting pictures and videos, here's what you will expect in the next weeks:
1. Activation of DEG values like you've never seen before
2. More authentic work
3. More coaching from me and your managers
4. A clearer definition and metric on performance
5. More 2 bottles, interaction between us DEGsters, fun and games
6. More experiments from everyone
7. More food in the office :)

We are at the inflection point in the history of science of business management which for the most part remained unaltered since 1940s.

In other words… Business is Cool. Business is fun and profitable.

Cheers!

Dennis

Cycles Wine

2011-10-13T13:09:00.001+08:00

Whenever and wherever I find a serendipitous (happy accident) connection to our brands... I PURSUE!!! And Amazing Things always happen.

Enjoyed this bottle earlier. Thank you Cycles!

Real good stuff!

The Real Action is Outside!

2011-10-13T00:54:00.003+08:00

Beach Hut surfing event with Rip Curl in Bali

2011-10-12T00:17:00.002+08:00

New Look

2011-10-10T21:55:00.001+08:00

My blog is sporting a new look thanks to an update I've seen on Raffy's page.

I like the magazine view - will be sticking with it for a while. It does have some bugs but I'm sure it will improve over time.

Bias Towards Action

2011-10-10T21:39:00.000+08:00

Nice < 2 min video that captures the thought. Now, GO! Make something happen

Ahhhhhhhh Steve!!!!!

2011-10-08T18:35:00.000+08:00

A World of Possibilites for DEG

2011-10-07T20:39:00.001+08:00

Took the picture while hunting Seth Godin

Dear DEGsters,

Good Morning!

It's 6:30pm in New York and today's cold, beautiful fall weather marks the end of the 2-day World Business Forum Emily and I attended. This is the first time we attended a session of this kind (attendees from 50 countries), of this size (4,000+ attendees) and speakers of this calibre (CEOs, Harvard professors, President Clinton!).

I will give you a more detailed reflection on the lessons I got in the next weeks (through posts and actually the work we will be doing together haha), but allow me to share some tidbits and emotions we felt as we went through the process.

Bill George (former CEO of Medtronics) spent majority of his time reminding us to be ourselves at work.

Malcolm Gladwell argued that game-changers are actually conservative. It is those who follow the flock that are actually taking on more operational risk (Ex: All the Giant Wall Street guys selling junk because everyone else were)

Tal Ben-Shahar pointing out never to let a good crisis go to waste. This is where you learn the most important lessons.

Howard Schultz on Starbucks' 17,000 stores and 200,000 employees - the importance of local management and respecting local culture.

Angela Ahrendts (CEO of Burberry) flipping the organization by putting employees < 30 yrs old in Strategic Innovation Council who's mission is to Dream and those 50ish to be part of Senior Executive Council who's mission is to execute.

Ben Zander challenged us to look at people like Michaelangelo looked at big stones. Inside, he says is a beautiful sculpture and the leader's job is to get a hammer & chisel and take away the unnecessary parts. Not like how most see people as dumb at the beginning and we keep adding and adding.

Patrick Lencioni argues that in building strong teams the most important things to look for in people are 1) humble people, 2) hungry people.

Claudio Fernandez-Araoz says that our brain is old hardware, basic 4Fs - Food, Fight, Flight, Fuck. Making Great people decisions is a craft that must be learned and mastered.

Jack Welch said that after 25 years of promise, technology is delivering. There is a technological revolution that didn't exist before.

Gary Hamel makes the point that the next biggest revolution after the industrial revolution is here, now.

I learned from Seth Godin's talk that as passionate I am on his ideas, there are those on the opposite side who disagree with him completely (based on their body language). This is I guess Seth walking the walk - purple cow.

I am writing to you now as a sort of personal reflection as well and I realized that there is nothing mentioned that Emily and I didn't know yet. I'm sure YOU also know everything that was said there. Nobody said the best assets in companies are their machines. Nobody said that the world is stagnant. Nobody hinted that people with giant egos are the best finds.

I knew this, You know this. The 2-day session is like a series of reminders to have more confidence in what we already know in the first place. You know this by listening to ourselves, and by being a lifelong student of leadership so we can be of service to more. Thou I may have read a book or seen their presentations online, the sessions were like being in a live concert which beats listening to even the best speakers playing CDs.

A lot of lessons learned also from observing the behavior of American executives, foreign ones, and for asking taxi drivers what they thought of New York at present, or China.

Been out for two days pero miss na namin ang pansit sa opis, at palitaw. Be back soon. Got to go and visit the shrine at Apple store. Sorry napahaba ng konte email - can't contain it.

Cheers!

Dennis
P.S. Sabi ni Ems, lagot daw kayo pag balik ko.

Fast Internet = Fast Thinking

2011-10-07T20:38:00.000+08:00

I'm surprised that somehow fast internet means faster thinking for me. Emails are processed faster, photos & videos viewed super fast, websites are experienced as they were designed to be.

What happens when the internet becomes more and more friction-less? When things happen at the speed of thought? When it happens wherever you are - at the palm of your hands.

More and more it becomes important what you do with information and not what the information is.

Thank You Team China!

2011-10-03T09:15:00.001+08:00

Dear Sarah, Dhon, Gina, Helen and Chips,

Thank you for teaching me that it is possible to entrust the opening of the biggest market in the world to a group of crazy, renegade, passionate volunteers in DEG.

I've always been fascinated in applying the Hollywood model of movie making in business - get an actor, actress, director, camermen, etc - work on a project with a deadline and budget - close film - disband group - launch and make money. You showed me that it can be done and in a fun, enlightening and humanizing way.

I don't know if you've noticed, but I was, for several months a bit nervous if you can pull this off in 12 months. It did seem like an almost impossible task - truly a wicked problem! And something of this caliber merits the uncertainty I guess.

And of course your team saw it through... with style.

As an entrepreneur, and a business owner nothing pala beats the feeling of having your team achieve more than what you originally set out to do.

Your journey taught me a lot of things about accountability, faith in your team, the importance of culture, and in trusting the soup. I certainly enjoyed the ride and it only strengthened my resolve that this is what we're set out to do. As an organization, we intentionally lean towards uncertainty. Everything sure is wrong.

Thank you for raising your hands when I asked "who wants to jump into the unknown?" Thanks for braving the sleepless red-eye flights from Shanghai, for juggling two three four jobs, for trusting DEG with a smile, and for making China happen.

You are our heroes in DEG.

Time to launch another movie.

GO GO GO!

Dennis

(L-R) 2010: Dhon, Helen, Chips, Sarah, Gina

Official China (Tsing Tao) turnover to Cholo - DEG's Country Maverick China last week

How do you look like online?

2011-10-03T08:39:00.000+08:00

I've started playing around with Facebook just two days ago.

My biggest discovery is that I can post photos/videos that only my family can see. This is a major plus for me since I'm quite shy sharing my crazy photos too much online... but then...

I started searching myself over Google Images and I realized that it is very very important to post photos of yourself or else someone else will, or in my case another "Dennis Balajadia" is populating the search results.

Post the best photos of yourself otherwise the choosing will be done randomly by the net.

You are what the internet says

Time to Think

2011-10-03T08:28:00.002+08:00

This is very much underrated.

I spent the whole weekend with my sick daughter in the hospital. Overall it was a pleasant experience because she responded well to the care and medication and everything went really smooth. We could've gone home earlier, but we decided to extend as extra precaution.

And that gave me time to think.

Since I know that my daughter was ok, my mind wandered off to the many things DEG can do. The opportunities in front of us, and the priorities we have to make.

I felt that the downtime was so significant that Wandering-Time or Free-Time MUST be part of work routine. This is Google's 20% time. This is 3M's projects.

I am so sure of the results that I'll already experiment with DEG. Key here is OUTPUT. Expect major rocking projects ahead!

The Wall

2011-10-03T08:17:00.000+08:00

This is what I see through my goggles for several years when I was in the swim team.

The Wall.

And like any good coach will say... always... always attack the wall! Instead of slowing down, don't breathe, sacrifice and finish strong.

This is the last quarter of 2011 and I see the last stretch, I see the wall.

2,000 employees can do a lot of LOVE or Damage

2011-09-30T11:56:00.002+08:00

Two news on HR caught my eye today.

The first is the trouble Philippine Airlines (PAL) is in because two thousand of their "to-be-outsourced" people are looking to do a last hurrah rally today.

The second AND BETTER news is Manila Water Co. (part of Ayala group) bags Asian Human Capital award in Singapore.

I'm talking roughly of the same number of employees - about two thousand. The first group is going to make PAL's next two to three quarters a nightmare. I'd argue that Airlines are in the confidence business. Who wants to fly an airline where employees' morale are at rock-bottom. Go buy Cebu Pacific stocks if you can haha

I read a bit about how Manila Water Co. ran their company and the same fundamentals are present:

Define success - have clear metrics. Manila Water reduced water losses from 67% to 11%, 24hr water availability from 26% to 99%. Retention from government run MWSS employees at 97%.
Authentic caring and service to your customers - have customer immersion program for everyone especially those at the top. I like the almost-bit-by-dog story.
Treat your employees as people, not cogs. Give the the tools, build their confidence, welcome initiative, recognize heroes inside your organization. What can I say - business truly is personal.

You know this.

We all know that if you serve your customers and employees well, be authentic to your customers and employees, LOVE your customers and employees things will do very very well for you and your company.

BUT it's NOT EASY.

It's not automatic. It's something you have to work on everyday, every minute at work. It's like a great marriage - there's alignment in personal values, respect for each other, continuous dates and surprises, and of course amazing sex.

Being of Service

2011-09-27T15:57:00.001+08:00

I love my job

This is a picture of me serving wine to my team last night.

What you don't see in the photo is the face of our waiter, as I effectively took away his job for the night. But that's ok, this is in fact one of my highlights for the night. It always feels good being of service to others - especially pouring really good wine.

I was taught service in La Salle, but I took it like how other students took it - a bunch of nonsense.

I had a glimpse of service again in my first job with the big boss. On the few times I had a chance to eat with him, he would always literally serve food on our plates. I thought it was a Chinese thing, until I saw another big boss past-presidentiable non-Chinese do it as we lunched.

I am blessed to have the chance to do it with my team. And now I understand. LSGH was right, my boss was right - being of service rocks!

Now, hmmm when do we wine again...

(Thanks Dhon for the twitpic)

Insights Insights Insights

2011-09-26T06:39:00.000+08:00

My trip to the beach gave me more than what I asked for.

It was work, but I had enough free time to observe the market, dip in the ocean and unexpectedly end up answering some of the most challenging questions we had at work.

I'm soooo ready to start sharing this week!

Philippine Tourism is Looking Up

2011-09-26T06:37:00.000+08:00

Just got back from Boracay and was surprised of how nice Caticlan airport is now. The night prior, I had a chance to see the new Department of Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez talk about his new post.

I am positive that things are going to improve for the better. I thought he'd be talking about the Philippine tourism ads being an ad guy himself, but rather he spoke about the need for better infrastructure and the basics.

Searching further online he says:

"I think any tourism program should consider at least five basic things: (1) product, (2) transportation, (3) accommodation, (4) facilitation, and (5) marketing."

Marketing is what you do when your product sucks. Start with the core.

This is what I signed up for

2011-09-24T07:59:00.001+08:00

Six years and I'm still addicted to the beach.

My work recently brought me back to the beach. A few days back it was Bali, Indonesia and now Boracay, Philippines.

I know it is work, but this is exactly the work that I love doing. I watched the old movie Unbreakable last night starting Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. It felt strange when they were talking about knowing what you're in this world for - and not knowing it you'll have a hard time waking up in the morning.

Well here I am, been up early today, ready to go to work. Ready to go to the beach. The energy I find in the beach is unlike any other. Some people get it on top of mountains, some on penthouse floors in tall buildings - mine is under a shade.

Bali, Indonesia

Boracay, Philippines

Commander-In-Chief Emily in Inquirer Article

2011-09-23T12:23:00.000+08:00

An entrepreneurially-inspiring article by Tony del Carmen Entrepreneurs Innovate to Create Wealth

Power of Passion

2011-09-23T10:10:00.000+08:00

I had two reminders yesterday of the immense power passion. The first was in an interview I made with an applicant and the second on Caroline Casey's TED talk.

I left the interview room yesterday with a bit of a headache. I interviewed someone so passionate with her current craft that it reached a point that she gets hot tempered and can't be around those who will never share the passion. Totally agree with her when she said...

you can't look at your job as just a job otherwise you'll be unhappy.

The second reminder is the TED talk below which really made all the obstacles, walls and challenges I am facing D I S A P P E A R. It is that powerful. I am now here sitting typing with a sense of "jumpiness" found in people with crystal clear resolve. Nothing will get in the way. And I think that's important - and the only thing that gets things done.

We Are All Weird

2011-09-22T07:00:00.001+08:00

The Face

The latest book of Seth Godin didn't come in as strange as all. I guess being part of the "Seth Godin Tribe" this is exactly what I expected from him. Consistent in shock, coining of a word, and a challenging manifesto.

Mass market is dead.

We are part of small tribes, the world is evolving and it's going to go this way for many many years. I'm rereading the short book again because I want to see how much we can apply for developing countries. I understand the US perspective having been there several times. People seeking something new - not normal, very good logistics and online commerce.

But things are a bit different in developing countries like the Philippines. A lot of establishments (mass-marketers) are luxuries, logistics and mail are inefficient and costs a fortune, the long tail's weapon - the internet commerce is still an embryo.

It will be interesting what I can learn further from this to apply in our projects.

And yes, We Are All Weird is our song in the office.

Happiness

2011-09-22T06:51:00.000+08:00

Turns out that whatever we do, we do it because we seek happiness. Otherwise, we're lost and unfulfilled.

Today two of my kids celebrate their birthdays - Erika turns 8 and Reena turns 3.

It's hard for me to find more joy, meaning and happiness as compared to spending time with my family. Through the years I may be confused with taking on this job or that, going deep into financial industry, manufacturing, or marketing. Buying this gadget or the other.

Happiness seems to be elusive except at home.

Which is why I believe work needs to accept and adjust around our true sources of joy. Otherwise, we risk losing it all.

Saigon Motorbike Scene

2011-09-08T08:59:00.000+08:00

Saigon never fails to amaze me.

Parking lot is full!

Kindergarten dismissal

More and more white people on the road

Boss, I think I know what you forgot from the office?

Perfect Buko

2011-09-08T08:53:00.000+08:00

Had this in Saigon. Met my standards for a Perfect Buko:

Very Cold
Shaved to the core / nice shape
Can stand on its own
A lot of buko juice inside

How do you say no to WOW?

2011-09-08T08:48:00.000+08:00

Wow Sarap!

Focus & Overwhelm

2011-09-08T08:46:00.000+08:00

I was probably in 4 airports in the last 2 months and I saw Citi Premier Miles massively advertised in all of them.

I suspect they don't have other ads in other media channels (haven't seen any) - concentrating all their resources in airports, ignoring radio, print, broadsheets, and the rest. Brilliant yet simple. Where do you find travelers who value airplane miles - A I R P O R T S. And in doing so, time and operations are also concentrated.

Focus like the laser and don't do the shotgun approach. This particular ad was taken in Manila, and there's even a text number - call to action. I hope it's working now, it wasn't a month back (sayang).

Did their campaign work? Yes - I am now a proud owner of the card :)

Commodities are Commodities

2011-08-31T06:47:00.000+08:00

The more a category hits commodity status - the more players, the more competition, you'll surely see a drop in prices. If this can happen to Big Screen TVs, what more colognes, lotions and other common stuff.

My Kind of Brand Obsession

2011-08-30T11:49:00.001+08:00

Taken in the 1930's. Husband and wife test technology of bullet proof glass. And of course, the wife holds the sheet.

Don't leave success to chance

2011-08-30T10:44:00.000+08:00

Just finished watching Waiting for Superman, a documentary on the dysfunctional state of American education system.

It struck me because I can relate to the question of education - I have five kids, all of them but one go to school daily.

We've all been romanticized by the stories the media told about college dropouts becoming billionaires and bringing much change in industries. And these are exactly that - romantic stories. Watch the film and see the direct correlation between bad or no education to poverty in the richest country in the world.

It goes back to basics - really great teachers, a school with the correct culture and values and ultimately the hours spent inside classrooms. These are the basics. We owe it to our children, their future.

It made me think about my kids and not skipping classes for vacation. My parents were right all along - school first. It made me think also about my responsibility as business owner to my employees - giving them the opportunity to send their kids to the very best schools. Made me think about my relatives in the province who are stuck - education is priority.

Following the exact path of college-dropout now industry magnate is wrong and stupid. I wouldn't recommend leaving the kids' future to chance.

The Wheel of Great Leadership

2011-08-24T09:28:00.003+08:00

Killing Giants

2011-08-24T08:41:00.001+08:00

I had fun with this book.

A lot of the things we do in the office revolves around giants. So much so that it is include din DEG's WHY: We believe in the Joy of challenging the goliaths...

Stephen Denny compiles 33 different stories and 10 different strategies that makes you wanna go out and pick a fight with the industry giants. That said, it really doesn't become a fight, it becomes play.

The following are the 10 strategies:

Thin Ice
Speed
Winning in the Last Three Feet
Fighting Dirty
Eat the Bug
Inconvenient Truths
Polarize on Purpose
Seize the Microphone
All the Wood Behind the Arrow(s)
Show Your Teeth

Can't wait to get out and experiment with a couple of items on the list!

Will you buy this company?

2011-08-18T11:39:00.000+08:00

Apple ad circa 1970s

Nobody knows what will work early on. Key is to keep on pushing, keep on learning, keep on churning. Who would have thought Apple will be what they are today.

An interesting collection of Apple Ads from 1970s to Present.

DEG in Events

2011-08-14T13:52:00.000+08:00

I now have 90% less meetings. Very liberating! :) Tell you more about it next time.

The extra time I have will be spent in more important things like going to see our customers, coaching my team, spending time in our events.

Photos below were taken last Saturday in an event in Rockwell. What surprised me is the level of volunteerism in DEG. I expected a few people who were "required" to be there, instead I saw a big part of our team. Working with such passionate people really turns me on!

Surprised to see DEGsters swarm the event!

Only the best for our babies

Can't tell whether we're hanging out or working

Maybe once in a lifetime opportunity

2011-08-12T18:50:00.000+08:00

Trin, our Country Maverick in Indonesia made me gasp at this article referring to Indonesia's growth.

I don't care if you're a big team with 200 employees, or a small outfit of 2 people. Post this graph on your wall and cook something up.

My Source of Energy

2011-08-03T23:33:00.000+08:00

I'm abroad for five days and counting. My energy level is unusually low and I need to consistently pump myself up.

I realized that my family is my energy source. Being away from my wife and kids just doesn't make anything worthwhile. I'm sure it's different for each person. For myself, that's it.

Miss the kids and home badly.

Working extra hard now and in the next days to give me the ability to not be away from them.

Bye Bye Macbook

2011-07-21T08:43:00.000+08:00

We recently bought a few for the office and now it's collector's edition! Apple apparently killed this laptop in favor of the Air - something we can all learn from.

I hope we get to kill some of our brands and variants as brutal and strangely elegant as they do.

Good News Bora!!!

2011-07-20T11:45:00.000+08:00

Thrilled to find Boracay debuting at # 4 at Travel+Leisure 2011 Top 10 Islands of the World!!! I couldn't agree more.

Got to prepare Beach Hut for more beach-loving people in Bora coming the next 12 months. Hmmmm I wonder what else we can do in Bora?

Re-thinking MEETINGS

2011-07-20T08:46:00.000+08:00

Tom Peters shares some very enlightening points to a subject matter a lot of us bitch about: MEETINGS.

Get the short Powerpoint HERE

Making Brands MORE Personal

2011-07-19T06:47:00.000+08:00

Hmmm... thinking of doing this for future products. Go where your competitors cannot, will not and should not go.

We can.

Sounds simple yet very true

2011-07-18T11:42:00.005+08:00

Seth Godin: make great stuff, stuff thats easy or urgent to talk about and that matches a wide but vital worldview. Then share it with people who have given you permission to talk about it.

We'll Miss You Super Lolo

2011-07-12T15:03:00.004+08:00

I hope I get to blow a similar cake 58 years from now

My lolo passed away early today at a good and ripe age of 91 years and 10 months. We're not really close-close. We never had conversations longer than 10 minutes, and mostly small talk.

But I will cherish the days when my kids would have someone they can call Super Lolo. That they have a sense of where I came from, and where my mom came from. To see three generations in front of them.

I'm bringing them today to his wake. First time for them to see someone they know in a box. I hope this makes them cherish life more, to realize how great it is to be alive to be able to do amazing things and touch a lot of people, to that understand that we all have expiration dates - we just don't know when.

Thanks lolo for the talk about "tira lang ng tira," and other funny stuff.

Rest in peace lolo.

Personal Financial Education

2011-06-30T08:40:00.002+08:00

I'm actually referring to the simple "magaling sa pera" mindset. I felt a bit disturbed yesterday that several people in the office had outstanding loans in SSS with so much interest and charges that there was one where the penalties were actually more than the principal loan amount.

Some would argue that I don't have the same problems as they have with money so I wouldn't understand. That may be valid, but what concerns me more is the long term effect of people with poor personal financial education.

The success of a company ultimately depends on the individual successes of its people.

DEG cannot talk about triple-digit percentage growth when its people are thinking about how to pay the bills next cycle. DEG cannot talk about new opportunities, when its people concern themselves with hiding from financial sins of the past. DEG cannot create a culture of learning and global best practices when everyone's concern is addressing the family's basic needs. DEG cannot walk the talk on intrapreneurship, when its people are trapped in a vicious cycle of debt.

Wealth is a mindset.

We lent assistance on SSS condonation program for everyone interested. We made a short-term fix. More importantly I saw the need for greater personal financial education as a priority.

Corporate wealth generation starts from personal wealth generation.

Lessons Learned from the Hudson River

2011-06-30T08:20:00.000+08:00

Here's one of my favorite TED clip, a five minute talk by Ric Elias on the most important things in life.

Truly an idea worth spreading.

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

2011-06-29T08:47:00.000+08:00

SuperSize Me for the Marketing World! I'm still searching where to buy.

Sell Nuts to Squirrels, Not to Dolphins

2011-06-29T08:28:00.001+08:00

We don't have squirrels here in the Philippines - at least not in Manila. But I have seen some in other parts of the world but unfortunately I haven't seen them with nuts, something I believe they love.

The comparison Seth Godin makes of selling nuts to squirrels hits the spot! for me. I work with a bunch of crazy people with several Amazing Projects in the pipeline and it's easy to think that success is a matter of doing your standard work.

It is so easy to fall into the trap of aiming for the sweet middle of mass market and to ignore that we're working with people's established worldviews.

The formula looks simple, a few of your customers are squirrels. A lot are dolphins. Ignore the dolphins (you have nuts remember and not fish) and talk to/live with/hug/dance with your squirrels. Your squirrels will, over time convert your dolphins into changing their usual diets from fish to nuts. Sounds impossible - it is for you but not for the squirrels.

It's Time Every Juan Flies... and Does International Business!!!

2011-06-28T15:33:00.001+08:00

Great article on Cebu Pacific's story in Forbes Asia.

I'd argue that because of them, flying is now cheaper than ever making it easier for all of us to sell our wares, our services, our ideas abroad.

small small World

2011-06-28T15:28:00.000+08:00

Turns out that the photographer in our previous shoot was my classmate in college, our newest endorser was classmates with previous endorser, several of us were loyal customers of the caterer/resto, talent manager is our neighbor...

It doesn't stop. You can f*ck up at work, never f*ck up on people.

Business lessons from DEG's Biggest Loser

2011-06-24T10:26:00.000+08:00

Publicly posted near the front door

The game started as a small fun bet, a LOT joined in, we're now picking up lessons from unexpected places.

1. Intrinsic Motivation trumps Extrinsic Remuneration - Almost five weeks into the challenge, nobody knows how much the pot is. We all know it's decent, but its vague how much you exactly bring home if you win. Still, people in the office are working out, eating right, some even going into starvation mode. The desire comes from inside first, and not the pot.

2. Measure Measure Measure - Unlike Season I where we weighed ourselves monthly, this time we do it weekly making everyone aware of where they currently stand vs their goals and their peers.

3. Make it Public - The current standing of everyone is posted "offline" and placed near the door of the office for everyone to see. Transparency and Peer pressure has a unique way of pushing people further.

4. Always make it FUN - Aside from a healthier office, I can see that the program lifted the atmosphere of our quirky office.

Now, given that we have several projects - more traditionally business related than Biggest Loser, we're starting to apply the lessons learned. We're going after more challenging projects, posting numbers/milestones more, measure more often, and making things a lot more FUN :)

My Brain is Literally Connected to the Internet

2011-06-24T10:08:00.000+08:00

The internet connection has been choppy the whole week at the office. AND I CAN'T WORK. Even if I consciously know that the current work on my plate doesn't require the internet.

The internet allows you to work at the speed of thought - like a million assistants/researchers in a second. I don't my condition is necessarily bad... but acceptance is key. Next step is to make sure internet at the office becomes stable and more importantly redundant.

I Lost 15 lbs in 1 month, here's how

2011-06-24T10:00:00.000+08:00

I'm not selling you anything like those bumper stickers. I'm just sharing because I've never had this much success in a weight-loss program and I'm enjoying it. And I'm going after losing 20 more pounds! It's not so much as a "diet" program as a lifestyle change. I still get to eat what I want to eat and with the right food I have more energy and less sloppy.

To the rest of the DEGsters in DEG's Biggest Loser season II (which is very very competitive). I follow the Tim Ferris' 4-Hour Body Program - website HERE. The e-book is in our office Kindle.

I've also started another blog that documents EVERYTHING I EAT. Looking at it, I'm surprised I'm still losing weight. I also put here all my workouts.

Check it out here: http://degbiggestloser.posterous.com/

News-Worthy vs Making News

2011-06-24T09:45:00.000+08:00

Below is the headline of Philippine Star today.

Coke's "green" billboard.

And that's the lesson on how to get yourself to Front Page. Do something radical, something unexpected, something new, something the public hasn't seen before.

We're working at present at a PR campaign, and I need my team to be B R A V E. Have an authentic story that's worth spreading. Otherwise you'll drown with all the products trying to make news that is not really news-worthy. This is especially important in the age of social media.

Key I think is not in the head but in using your Gut and your Heart.

Two Ways to Get to TED2012

2011-06-22T10:06:00.000+08:00

Saw the page and immediately fell in love with it. TEDGlobal2012

There are two ways for me to get inside a Ted Conference - first is to pay US$6,000.00 and the other is to be one of the speakers.

Hmmm... I don't have spare dough so I guess I need to get more RADICAL!

Little Bets

2011-06-22T09:31:00.000+08:00

I've been using this term for several days now in the office. Just finished the book Little Bets last night and it might just land in the ESSENTIAL READS for the office. Yup, it's that good.

Talks about masters of their craft - comedian Chris Rock, Steve Jobs, architect Frank Gehry, takes you behind the scenes, describes their thought processes and how they rocked it! The military was right all along in saying that no battle plan survives contact with the enemy.

Given the impossibly-fast business cycles (and getting faster), real sustainable advantage is in becoming an organization that performs BETTER the more volatile the market becomes. This is what I believe in and what we're trying to do in DEG. Intentional Volatility faster inside the organization than outside. Some call it creative chaos - I call it rocking it!

Braveheart: A Lesson on Purpose

2011-06-22T09:13:00.000+08:00

I watched it again, in chunks and finished it last night. What struck me was how clear having a Sense of Purpose bigger than oneself can make one happy.

If you recall, Robert the Bruce can have all the land, title, riches, people, and throne but still it was empty. People followed him only because he had "assigned" power. The sons of Scotland bled for William Wallace because they believed. They believed in the his ultimate purpose of freedom.

Every man dies, not every man really lives.

Mass Market Radio

2011-06-21T08:33:00.000+08:00

I've just realized that my team and I grew our business without tapping the mass market. Some may see this as a weakness - you're not marketing to the sweet spot.

My take is that you can't force your way into the sweet spot - takes too much time and takes too much money. It is better that you naturally go towards the sweet spot with your passionate customers leading the way.

The radio stations we are using don't even come up in the rankings. It is our current universe right now. It excites me to know that there are a lot more people, a lot more work, a lot more business ahead of us. We've only began scratching the surface...

Why We Buy LIVE!

2011-06-21T08:28:00.000+08:00

I've always been a fan of Martin Lindstrom. Read his books and now looking forward to listening to him in person.

Biggest lessons I take from him is in using the senses in communicating your brand - I find the consistency of doing this to be very very important. Also, the brain science behind why we buy - most of it validating what we already observed as marketers/anthropologists.

Hmmm... wondering who in the office can join me in September.

Creating Passionate Users - The Blog

2011-06-08T10:38:00.001+08:00

There are probably only two or three sites that made a big impact on me. One of them is Creating Passionate Users which discontinued last 2007!!!!!

Kathy Sierra discontinued her blog but I still go back to her site once in a while to get inspiration. It is the clear language and thought-provoking visuals that kept me hook. I think she's one of the reasons why I continued blogging.

Visit her site and you'll know why. Oh, I'm mentioning her blog today because I remember it from gapingvoid.

Below are some of my favorite lessons:

"Projectize" It!

2011-05-27T08:39:00.000+08:00

Had a discussion with my team yesterday and urged, pushed... no forced everyone to START SOMETHING. That's right, do not ask permission, stop planning, stop theorizing, procrastinating, DO IT!

I suspect that since DEG is becoming more scientific in its ways a lot of people get stuck. Afraid to make mistakes and be focused on during our scheduled discussions. Scared to be the nail sticking out.

Guess what... I actually like mistakes. I like nails sticking out.

GO. START. NOW!

P.S. DEGsters stuck - borrow from Manny Poke the Box and Do The Work (we have 2 each in the library)

Marketing Gurus in Unlikely Places

2011-05-24T07:36:00.006+08:00

I'm sure you know about the supposedly Big (& final) Event last May 21st. Since you're reading this now, Judgement Day - End of the World May 21, 2011 didn't happen.

Harold Camping was wrong. BUT... I think he is one of the greatest marketers around. I totally disagree with his cause and purpose but he took on a huge task of spreading an idea - and succeeded in making my neighbor barista ask me about what I'll be doing at 6pm doomsday (GMT +8).

How did he do it? How did his crazy idea spread far and wide while your "very good" product or service can't even be remembered by your officemates? What can we learn from Harold Camping?

Start with a Crazy Idea - The question above states the answer... don't be boring.
Work on Credibility - It's not Harold stating an opinion, it is written in the Bible.
Polarize People - There are people who passionately believe in the Apocalypse EVEN before Harold arrived and there are those who think this is complete bullshit.
Ignite the Believers - Harold didn't convert those who didn't believe (that's almost impossible so stop wasting money converting people), he sought those who already believed and gave them more of what they wanted to hear and then gave them tools helping them spread the idea.
Use Other People's Money - Super-passionate believers sold their assets and donated it to Harold's Cause. The funds were used to unite more believers and the cycle continued. Crazy but true.

We're Going (back to) All Mac Starting Today

2011-05-20T07:04:00.000+08:00

The Unconventional Recruit

2011-05-20T06:57:00.001+08:00

Recently, we found a very passionate customer of Bliss. You know, Emmanuel.

After chatting with him over dinner, a few FB exchanges and a final talk yesterday, I invited him to join DEG full time to champion the brand. Apparently he belongs to another industry for several years but yearns to be a marketer.

Will this work? Will brand passion trump over learned technical skill? In extreme cases, the answer would be yes. A person who has pure heart and determination will beat a heartless knowledgeable person in most fields because it is passion that drives change.

But most of the time it's somewhere in between. To succeed, you need both the art and the science of things. The science to know and understand the fundamentals of what works and the art to give you the courage and conviction to reach for the stars.

Being of Service and Grabbing Opportunities

2011-05-19T08:46:00.000+08:00

Great picture of a 7-11 convenience store open for business in a disaster-hit zone

This photo stopped me on my tracks. This is a perfect example of being of service to your community and at the same time fast-response to addressing opportunities in the marketplace.

I'm sure that when this city (and 7-11) opens, it becomes more than a store, it becomes an institution - a hero.

Can you imagine yourself being of service and grabbing opportunities when it is the most difficult?

Source: Garr Reynolds

Permission Marketing in Kindle

2011-05-18T08:25:00.000+08:00

Seth points to Delivereads.

It sends you some of the best articles found by Dave Pell, an internet hero directly to your Kindle. Only the best. Automatically. FREE.

If I like the article, I will continue the service, will start to trust Dave (he was referred by Seth) and my thinking will be influenced by him. If I don't like it, I discontinue, maybe look for something else.

One of the articles featured is on Manny Pacquiao.

Beach Hut Featured in flippish.com

2011-05-07T05:23:00.000+08:00

Thanks flippish.com for making us part of your summer programming! Make sure to be protected in this very hot hot hot summer.

Watch HERE

Statistics as Art

2011-05-05T13:34:00.000+08:00

My favorite statistician Hans Rosling talks about the world's catch-up on the US and on being a possibilist.

What Makes Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurial?

2011-05-04T05:10:00.001+08:00

During our rest days (when I'm not doing the roller-coaster-loops with the kids) I find time to read and study on topics dear to me. One of the striking short articles that blew me away is an article entitled What Makes Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurial by Saras D. Darasvathy from University of Washington.

Click on the link above to read the article. The version posted is one with comments from Vinod Khosla - one of the original founders of Sun Microsystems and visionary of the silicon valley. Clearly an authority on entrepreneurship and totally hilarious as he speaks his mind when he comments on MBAs and Bullshit.

My interest on entrepreneurship stems from the fact that my folks are totally entrepreneurial, reaching enormous level of success without the usual boxes, frameworks and lines drawn in business school. I want to understand them more to relate to them in business better. I also feel that as DEG grows (and any other company for that matter), it becomes less entrepreneurial. This has to be fought because I believe that real, substantial and sustainable wealth generation comes from a truly entrepreneurial team. Lastly, I want to know more so I can find the words to teach my kids what my parents taught me on the value of work and value creation (now on steroids because of the internet and wireless devices).

I hope DEG employees and partners read through the article to understand how we operate more and also where we are going next (hint: it's UP, but nobody knows exactly where).

Some highlights:

In general in MBA programs across the world, students are taught CAUSAL or predictive reasoning - in every functional area of business. EFFECTUAL reasoning, however, does not begin with a specific goal. Instead, it begins with a given set of means and allows goals to emerge contingently over time from the varied imagination and diverse aspirations of the founders and the people they interact with.
Effectual Reasoing: 1) Who they are 2) What they know 3) Whome they know
Effectual Reasoning: Plans are made and unmade and revised and recast through action and interaction with others on a daily basis.
The evidence shows that as an entrepreneurial company grows beyond a critical size, effectual reasoning has to be supplemented with and even replaced at times by causal modes of thinking.
Seasoned entrepreneurs, however, know that surprises are not deviations from the path. Instead they are the norm.
While casual reasoning focuses on expected return, effectual reasoning emphasizes affordable loss.
CAUSAL reasoning is based on logic, To the extent that we can predict the future, we can control it. EFFECTUAL reasoning, however, is based on the logic, To the extent that we can control the future, we do NOT need to predict it.

Was a really good read - went Old School and even borrowed my kid's crayon

On Vacations

2011-04-27T15:47:00.000+08:00

As I type my 3rd is trying to sleep beside me... that's third child to those with crazy minds out there. I don't exactly recall when was the last time she snuggled up to me like now. Yesterday it was my second child.

As often as I want to do this very important sleeping thing, I always find an excuse when I'm back in Manila working like a maniac. Safe to say it's on reverse the next days as I will be a maniac dad and a bit of work here and there.

It's just my third day and I have a million ideas I'd like to do. I'd like to implement. Rest is like that, it's as important as work.

Our Growth Strategy in a Picture

2011-04-15T09:22:00.001+08:00

Do you have a Maker's Schedule

2011-04-15T08:09:00.000+08:00

You probably have a manager's schedule. You may not be a manager, but you surely act like one.

This post by Paul Graham made perfect sense to me as I tried to wrestle with the fact that there's something wrong with the traditional 1-hour-calendar-segment scheduling.

I'm a hunter by nature. And I'm sure there's a hunter in you too. It's in the hunting when we find innovations that are outside the box. It is here where we bring home mammoth wins and at the same time numerous empty handed failures.

Hunting can't be in 1-hour segments. Tried it. Can't. It requires around a whole day. April starts another quarter and another work-life experiment for me.

Meetings are for manager's schedules. You need something else for makers.

We Found EMMANUEL!

2011-04-08T18:50:00.000+08:00

You may recall we were looking for Emmanuel - the amazing caller in Good Times With Mo Podcast (GTWM) who used Bliss with his food.

Well, we found him!!! Now there's a face behind the WOW caller hehehe

I took the opportunity to go out and have a chat with him last Wednesday. Really nice guy! I learned a ton from him on how to make people happy :) He was with his girlfriend and I was with members of my team.

Of course the night will not be complete without Bliss as our official sauce for the night! YUMYUM!!!

Where else but in Heat Edsa Shang

Lovely (gf), Emmanuel, Me

Our Sauce of the Night - Bliss FIRE!

Generously poured over amazingly delicious steaming siomai

HOT HOT HOT!

Cherrie and Sarah helping me with the meetup! Bliss Fans as well :)

Group picture to cap the night

Thanks again Emmanuel. It was an honor for myself and my team to meet one of our favorite customers. Cheers to you and Lovely!

The Adventures We Have With Our Brands

2011-04-03T21:16:00.001+08:00

Here's a bunch of photos I got just now. It was Good Housekeeping Fun Run 2011 held earlier today at Manila Ocean Park. I wasn't there because I was at another event this morning. It's totally summer season we're running left and right, adrenaline is high!

Hey! Holy Seat made them look Cleaner already :)

3am Setup! When do you sleep?

Runners ready!

Cherrie with Chico (of RX) and Dog

Thanks for the amazing photos Cherrie!

A Better Solution in Firing People

2011-04-03T19:54:00.000+08:00

I agree with Seth Godin's post that a rogue tribe member represents the tribe well (specially now in a hyper-connected world).

If people were spare parts of a machine, it would be very easy to remove a part and replace it with something else - a better, a more stable and performing part. Unfortunately, we are working with people with a heart, with a family, and with mouths to feed.

So if I agree on the expelling part, and on the humane nature of organizations what's the solution?

It turns out that the solution exists three years ago. In hiring the very best people you can. People who are experts in their fields, who would like to evolve with you, who share the values you keep and who signed up with you not only because they need a job but because they believe in your cause.

A Million Experiments A Year

2011-03-16T21:55:00.002+08:00

I'm sure you remember how you discovered hot and cold. When you were a child you got burned (hopefully not with a stove) and you got surprised that you can't hold an ice cube for more than 10 seconds.

That's how you learn. Really learn.

I'm sure you also know about Thomas Edison and his thousands of prototypes leading to the light bulb.

Or of Abraham Lincoln who faced 30 years of continuous challenges before becoming the 16th President of the US.

You experiment, make mistakes, learn, and over time with prayers and luck hit jackpot! That's what we're doing now in DEG. A million experiments coming from everyone... from me, managers, drivers, etc. That's what we want.

Just 3 experiments every single day leads to a Million Experiments. Actually a thousand but multiplied by everyone in DEG, I'm sure we can reach a million! And with a million experiments we can have the best chances of grabbing opportunities wherever the market wants to go and however the market wants it. Just make sure it is fast and cheap. Fast and Cheap.

Currently we have the following experiments:

three new brands this year
private label business model innovation
our first ever China full time employee (more on this later)
@degster.com powered by Google
email payslips
more adventures getup in the office

Most organization fear the ever-faster business cycles of today. I'd like to believe that we're building Dragon Edge Group (DEG) to be designed precisely for ultra-consistently-fast changing environments.

Startup at 400 Business Units 50,000 Employees

2011-03-16T21:42:00.000+08:00

Richard Branson, one of my heroes, talks about how to remain "small" while being big.

A three-minute read that talks about having fun at work, loving it, listening, including everyone (including truck drivers) in decision making and doing Amazing Work.

Read HERE.

What's worth more than Billions of Dollars in Assets

2011-03-09T17:44:00.002+08:00

I am usually hesitant in listening to motivational speakers because I believe true motivation comes from within and the external environment (people) is superficial and temporary.

But when a real success-story, 468th richest man in the world talks about keys to success - I LISTEN.

An amazing video, truly a gem

Steve Wynn's Competitive Edge

Guts, Heart & Passion to Start

2011-03-09T08:59:00.000+08:00

It gets harder over time.

I remember the magical first year when my wife and I started DEG (Naturale Labs back then) and we launched six brands in one year.

People ask me how we did it, and honestly I don't remember. It was surreal. Sure it was fast and hectic, but six brands in a year?!?!

After five years things are still fast in the office but I ask myself EVERY SINGLE DAY why with ten times more resources, five times more people and years of experience we can't seem to launch even three brands a year.

I think it's because we're more knowledgeable now that it is natural then to have more fear. It's like the brevity of a five year old and a fifteen year old boy. The five year old will smile, flirt and even poke a beautiful woman's breasts. At fifteen... I doubt if you can reach the smile.

BUT I WANT TO POKE THAT THING... Be it a new brand or the metaphoric breasts.

I ordered several copies of Poke the Box as a required reading for the office and definitely DEG will start more things together.

To DEGsters, failure is acceptable (even encouraged) but to be stagnant not. It's either you continuously SHIP (new brands, SKU, tools, methods, innovation, improvements, activities, channel, etc) or Ship Out! Our benchmark is circa 2006 - I'm bringing back the good old wild wild west days.

I'm POKING The Box again and again and again

2011-03-08T08:47:00.000+08:00

Halfway through the book and I've started two things and have several others lined up. Galing!

DEG Core Value # 9 - Passion & Obsession

2011-03-03T18:35:00.000+08:00

Nino, one of our DEGsters who's been with us for the last 4 years recently shared his photos online. I'm sharing them with you now.

So proud to have him in the team, so happy he's living with Passion & Obsession.

Wana try out in Marketing Nino haha

My Babies as much as theirs

Feels Great to be working in an environment that goes beyond just pushing boxes out the warehouse... we're here to make a difference!

DEG Company Profile in Chinese

2011-03-03T13:50:00.000+08:00

Got a pleasant surprise when my China Team came up with DEG Company Profile in Chinese. COOL!

The Why of DEG is the same anywhere