The smile of discovered passion

In the first three months of our Master in Entrepreneurship program, one of the strategic applications of learning is in discovering or even rediscovering the student-entrepreneur’s company vision. Our use of the terms "discovering" and "rediscovering" draws attention to the fact that the vision has always been there.

The main issue is being able to put it into words. More often than not, it is a matter of the vision being drawn rather than set in written form. This is because, as one popular romantic song puts it, "…sometimes, the words get in the way."

The discoveries are made after a series of questions and answers between the ACE guru and the student-entrepreneurs, where the latter ask questions and the former responds with questions. This process is managed by the guru in order for the student-entrepreneurs to discover/rediscover the answers to their own questions. In the process, the student-entrepreneurs learn how to lean by themselves and, eventually, become masters and gurus vis-à-vis their organizations.

The following is a synopsis of one such encounter between an ACE guru and a student-entrepreneur.

Student-entrepreneur: Guru, what do you think of my vision?

Guru: Does it inspire you? Does reading your vision move you to want to work harder? Does it make you passionate about your business?

SE: Well. . .

Guru: Why hesitate? Will your vision also look good if adopted by your competitor?

SE: Come to think of it, yes, it will. Is this the reason why I’m not excited by it?

Guru: If the vision cannot bring out the passion in you, how can it make your employees passionate about their work? You must rediscover your vision and your passion. In the first place, why did you put up the business?

SE: I was tired of being just an ordinary contractor and I wanted to be different. You are right. My vision sounds like it is good for any other ordinary contractor. That is why I’m not passionate about it.

Guru: In this business, what have you done differently and what has also made you passionate? This might help us discover the real vision.

SE: To my recollection, there are two projects that stick out because they kept me and my people up for many nights. Even if the design and building were never done before, we researched on materials and methods. We were challenged by the fact that we had to come up with something that had never been done before. It looked impossible but we were determined to get it done. Yes, we were passionate, extremely passionate!

Guru: What are these projects?

SE: Sometime ago, we were asked by a player in the food industry to come up with a vehicle that will serve as a mobile kitchen. The unit would be used to launch and support their noodle-on-wheels campaign. It so delighted the customer that sending the unit to Switzerland was considered.

Guru: Did your project result into your customer becoming more competitive? Did you make money on this project?

SE: Yes, to both. The project gave my customer a competitive advantage. And since I was the only one brave enough to take up the challenge, I made good returns on it. If there was any sign that it made my customer more competitive, this was proven by the desire of my customer’s major competitor to have me build the same unit for them. But since I considered this customer as a strategic partner, I did not entertain other similar projects commissioned by its competitors.

The other project was an automated tellering machine on wheels. I designed and built this for a big bank. It was an industry innovation that I helped turn into reality. I also made money in the process. New permutations are being designed and patented. Projects like these make me extremely passionate.

Guru: You seem very excited while telling me this story. Do mobile projects on wheels make you excited and passionate?

SE: No, my excitement does not come from projects with wheels alone. Any project that has never been done before or those considered as an impossibility bring out the passion in me. They trigger both my technical and creative juices to flow. Come to think of it, I have always made good money on such projects.

Guru: Now you are ready to re-discover your vision for your firm.

After a while, the student-entrepreneur put on paper a powerful vision statement. From a so-so document that had the usual words like "leading" and "customer satisfaction" that could fit any specialty construction firm and would not bring out entrepreneurial passion, the true vision was rediscovered. The vision statement goes: "…as the innovative partner in designing and building of the impossible for the innovative competitiveness of my customers."

The ACE student-entrepreneur, Larry Patnongon, had an unusual smile as he walked out of his guru’s office. He kept reading and reciting the statement of his rediscovered vision. His smile grew bigger as he read it over and over again. His passion for the business was back.

(Alejandrino Ferreria is the associate dean of the Asian Center for Entrepreneurship of the Asian Institute of Management. For further comments and inquiries, you may contact him at: [email protected]. Published "Entrepreneur’s Helpline" columns can be viewed on the AIM website at http//: www.aim.edu.ph).