Entreprenuer as President

I'm an MBA student, so I consider this entry a bit biased.

Election is once again nearing. And we are starting to hear various news about people planning to run for president. As the list grows, I can't help but notice that the presidentiables come from various backgrounds (by background, I mean the job they did before their political career). Even by looking at the backgrounds of the last 5 presidents, we can see that no two were the same. We had a lawyer, a housewife (God rest her soul), a military general, an actor, an economist. Recalling the past presidential elections, I also notice that the trend has not changed, the presidentiables really come from different backgrounds, from spiritual leaders to beauty queens turned wife of dictator to police man to etc. This leads to a conclusion that anyone in the Philippines can become president.

With this in mind, I ask myself this question, "From what background do I want the next president to come from?" My answer would be an entrepreneur (the new age one). Here are seven reasons why I thought of this.
1) The entrepreneur is always on the lookout for opportunties that will better grow the business. I think the Philippines have missed several opportunities that might have induced growth for us.
2) The entrepreneur understands the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. The Philippines have lots of strengths and it seems that the government does not take advantage of these strengths.
3) The entrepreneur deals with various entities and builds relationships with them. With all these deals, it becomes second nature to become a good judge of character. It also gives him experience with negotiations.
4) The entrepreneur knows that he must understand his consumers to better serve them.
5) The entrepreneur knows that he must please not only his shareholders, but also his stakeholders.
6) The entrepreneur will not allow any unnessary expenses. All expenses must be done in order to gain more profit. (This means $20,000 dinners are out of the question, if it will not bring any profit to the business).
7) The entrepreneur is understands the concept of the triple bottomline (profits, social responsibility, and environmental responsibility). The triple bottomline is a new business concept where in businesses should no longer seek profits alone but also welfare of the society and the environment.

What about you? From what background do you think the president should come from? And why? Please feel free to leave your comments.

Rules and their Assumptions

I remember my religion teacher from high school (may her soul rest in peace). She stated that rules (and laws) are placed to guide us. She equated living life without rules to being lost in the forest. You can always try to find your way out of the forest. You may actually succeed in this endeavor, but chances are you won't. Now rules are like the sign boards within that forest. You can certainly ignore the signs and continue your endeavor, but again chances are slim to none. Following the signboards can actually lead you to safety. In short, rules are made to guide us and not hinder us.

From another point of view (this time it was my English teacher), rules are placed to protect us and those we value. Incest is forbidden because it brings about a bad gene pool. Stealing is forbidden to protect our property. I'm sure I can go on with a lot more, but you get the picture.

Now onto my main point. In the recent fight of Manny Pacquiao. Martin Nievera sang the national anthem in a different tone, (I'm not a big fan of Martin, but I will admit that he is good) and for this he was charged in violation of 1998 Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines. The code states that "The rendition of the National Anthem, whether played or sung, shall be in accordance with the musical arrangement and composition of Julian Felipe."[1]

While I applaud government officials for quickly responding to violations to our laws, I question validity of the charge. I'm not a law expert, but I can quickly say that the code was made to protect our national anthem. From what you might ask? From people who wish to defame the Philippines by making the anthem sound bad. I could not imagine Martin as a person of this description. In my honest opinion, his rendition was actually good[2]. What then is the validity of the charge, aside from blindly following the law? Is the law protecting our national anthems from artists like Martin who only seek to make it sound better (or more in tune with the times)?

I now ask you my dear readers, are we a nation of people blind followers, who will allow our laws to hinder us instead of guiding us? Or are we a nation of thinkers, who will understand the rules and their assumptions, so that they can correctly protect those that need protecting? (Feel free to leave your comments)

[1]Aning, Jerome. Martin Nievera sang ‘Lupang Hinirang’ wrong. http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view/20090503-202842/Martin-Nievera-sang-Lupang-Hinirang-wrong.
[2] watch it for your self.