Lopez: Formulate strategies to cope with competition

CEBU, Philippines - To attain sustainable competitive advantage, ABS-CBN chief executive officer Eugenio Lopez III recommended three competencies that organizations should have to keep ahead of the game.

These interrelated competencies included the key understanding of the “why” strategies, having an ambidextrous organization committed to address evolving needs of the customers and the organization’s ability to change while upholding its core business.

Lopez was one of the speakers during the One Cebu Business and Sustainability Summit at the Cebu International Convention Center that was organized by the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry as part of the celebration of the Mandaue Business Month 2012.

He noted that due to the emergence of advanced technology, increased competition could be observed in the business arena.

In order to survive, he added that companies should formulate strategies, thrive to execute them flawlessly, harness such execution and utilize resources wisely.

He pointed out that organizations should be able to determine the set of strategies to be pursued and its corresponding reasons.

He added that knowing the reasons behind those strategies gives clear understanding, agility and adaptability for the company.

“The why is more vital than the what. If your strategy is to maximize profitability, profit is like oxygen. We need it survive but it is not the reason why we live,” Lopez said.

Along with formulating strategies that provide long-term sustainability, he said that companies should be determined to know their consumers and be able to satisfy their needs.

He, however, noted that as companies become more and more successful, their ability to listen to its customers and fulfill their needs diminishes and has been replaced with arrogance.

“They unknowingly turn deaf to their customers. For all times and at all times, an organization must always be in business for the customers’ needs,” he said, admitting that ABS-CBN has also fallen in the same trap at times.

He also advised businessmen to develop “ambidextrous” companies that formulate a set of strategies for the business rather than limiting themselves to only one.

For a complex business environment, he added that these strategies, once reshaped, will help in building the business for a long-term sustainability.

For instance, Lopez cited that ABS-CBN is a context company that strives to provide content that mirrors the lives of the Filipinos.

He further said that with the rapid technology, a change on the consumer content option has been observed wherein a viewer can choose to access information when and where he wants using any device.

“Because our customers are changing, we must also change. We re-change ourselves to meet their demands and satisfy our customers. Transforming your business to address changing needs is an excellent execution and wise resource utilization, giving you a sustainable competitive advantage,” he continued.

As Filipinos have adaptable and accessible to technology, he revealed that ABS-CBN is working out towards digital innovation particularly for tablets, smartphones and iPads.

“We are preparing within the next five years. It is going to happen and this is not a linear change,” he said.

Although companies need to adapt to such changes, he noted that it is also essential to maintain their core business.

“All organizations claim they possess the ability to change. The sad reality is it is the damaging change and not the change I speak of. The change I refer to is the transformation and value-creating core of the company which serves as its spirit and soul. The underlying core of business is the essence of culture,” he stated.

 Lopez cited that for his company, the core is to be of service to Filipinos which remains untouched despite the innovations and developments at present, thus resulting to consistency of the business.

He added that it is inevitable that a company may experience factors beyond its control. Yet, he noted that with these three competencies a company will excel in, it would lead the business towards sustainable long-term advantage.