Unsolicited advice and unsolicited proposals

According to observers, one of the things President-elect Rodrigo Duterte dislikes are “know-it-alls” or people who push themselves as having all the knowledge or expertise more than others. Another thing Duterte seems to be sensitive about is “impertinent” behavior especially when it comes to personal matters such as health issues.

But one item that should be for serious consideration by President Duterte is the physical well-being of his “Senior Citizen Cabinet” as well as those he will be appointing down to the bureau level. For the record, I recently turned 60 last April. I am a card carrying senior citizen, so this commentary is not to criticize but to suggest that the incoming administration put a premium on the medical well-being of incoming government officials as well as those already in the service.

This early in the game, I already learned of at least one incoming official having diabetes, two with hypertension, and I’m sure that there are other senior level ailments we will be hearing about. Apparently, family members of some Duterte appointees are already worried about what their appointments will do to their health.

What I would like to suggest is that all the Duterte team members undergo a thorough medical examination and for every member to subscribe to a transparent health regimen that would inspire public confidence and promote a “healthy lifestyle” and not pill-popping medicinal intervention. For those who may have medical issues, knowing their limitations would encourage them to “work smart” and build up a team and a system that won’t run them down or overwhelm them. As trusted and as competent as the “Cabinet of Seniors” may be, we still need to have a second tier or Team 2 composed of young leaders and managers to back up the “elderly brothers” and make sure that whatever we do now is also in the interest of the Millennial and beyond.

I am reminded of an incident where I instructed a team of “senior” executives to do a make over on a member as part of their communications and team building exercise. When they finished their assignment, their subject simply ended up having make-up on and wearing a bright colored dress. Nothing looked new, their model still looked like the same “old senior executive” that she was but there was no appreciable change or impact. It was because her team members had an “older” senior traditional view and understanding of what a make-over was.

But when I turned over the same person to two younger fashion conscious executives, they actually achieved the objective of the exercise because they had a younger open minded view, they had better knowledge of make-up and make-over and they actually went out and defied traditional conventions on how a “senior executive” should look.

The point is the new administration should pay attention to having a good mix of young and old executives for reasons of health, perspective and productivity.

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During a recent merienda with Ramon Ang, COO of San Miguel Corp., one suggestion he gave was for the incoming officials to list down their plans and the problems they see or anticipate and not just a “wish list.”

The P-Noy administration took advantage of the PPP or Public-Private Partnership program to build up infrastructure, but more often than not it was generally a wish list of government that did not undergo professional or actual public consultation. Experts and their experience could have helped design or conceptualize projects more attune with consumer or public needs, engineering options, as well as considering corporate investment concerns way before the projects were opened for bidding.

P-Noy Cabinet members relied largely on the proposals of bureaucrats or pressures from interest groups but failed to ask experienced leaders and managers as well as key opinion leaders and media if the wish list made sense and if it would gain public acceptance. In the end, a number of projects got blocked, snubbed, or plagued with legal and media attacks. In the end, the P-Noy administration learned that PPP projects take three years to roll out, rights of way take more than six years and ultimately private investors have to find solutions for unforeseen legal and technical complications that costs more and will still be billed to government.

I remember back in P-Noy’s time when Ramon Ang and his team from SMC made an unsolicited proposal to build a new $10 billion airport complete with a scale model. P-Noy I heard really liked the idea. I also remember RSA making a proposal to construct an additional runway for the Manila International Airport Authority. I remember that the projected completion of the extra runway would have been sometime this year. I also remember DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya and CAAP officials saying that “Government policy is biased towards solicited proposals,” not UNsolicited proposals. I also remember CAAP officials saying they had the money and that they could build the runway themselves. I don’t know where the CAAP’s money is but I am sure that they never built a new runway or a new international airport anywhere in or near Metro Manila.

Maybe now is the right time for Ramon Ang to make an unsolicited proposal for the $10-billion airport. Maybe now is the time for MVP or the Ayalas to pitch for the Clark Airport. Maybe now is the time for Filipino visionaries and investors to spread themselves out instead of fighting over the same projects and limiting our country’s growth. As they say the country is so big there’s enough for everybody to do.

Perhaps now would be a good time for incoming DOTC Secretary Art Tugade to do what he does best, being an encourager and an enabler. Of the little I know about Tugade, he has the distinction of taking politics and political color out of the work that has to be done. He speaks his mind but listens to people’s ideas. He likes keeping things simple and straight to the point. In other words, it is all about commitments and accomplishment.

This particular talent may be his strongest weapon in disarming corporate Shoguns from fighting each other and instead make them spread out or work together to get more things done in the realm of the DOTC.

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