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Speech of John Gokongwei before Ateneo 2004 Graduates |
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 I wish I were one of you today, instead of a 77-year-old man, giving a speech
you will probably forget when you wake up from your hangover tomorrow. You may
be surprised I feel this way. Many of you are feeling fearful and apprehensive
about your future. You are thinking that, perhaps, your Ateneo diploma will not
mean a whole lot in the future in a country with too many problems. And you are
probably right. You are thinking that our country is slipping-no, sliding.
Again, you may be right.
Twenty years ago, we were at par with countries like Thailand, Malaysia, and
Singapore. Today, we are left way behind. You know the facts.
Twenty years ago, the per capita income of the Filipino was 1,000 US dollars.
Today, it's 1,100 dollars. That's a growth of only ten percent in twenty years.
Meanwhile, Thailand's per capita income today is double ours; Malaysia, triple
ours; and Singapore, almost twenty times ours.
With globalization coming, you know it is even more urgent to wake up. Trade
barriers are falling, which means we will have to compete harder. In the new
world, entrepreneurs will be forced to invest their money where it is most
efficient. And that is not necessarily in the Philippines. Even for Filipino
entrepreneurs, that can be the case.
For example, a Filipino brand like Maxx candy can be manufactured in Bangkok
--where labor, taxes, power and financing are cheaper and more efficient -- and
then exported to other ASEAN countries. This will be a common scenario if things
do not change. Pretty soon, we will become a nation that buys everything and
produces practically nothing. We will be like the prodigal son who took his
father's money and spent it all. The difference is that we do not have a
generous father to run back to. But despite this, I am still very excited about
the future. I will tell you why later.
You have been taught at the Ateneo to be "a person for others." Of course, that
is noble: To serve your countrymen. Question is: How? And my answer is: Be an
entrepreneur!
You may think I am just a foolish man talking mundane stuff when the question
before him is almost philosophical. But I am being very thoughtful here, and if
I may presume this about myself, being patriotic as well. Entrepreneurship is
the answer. We need young people who will find the idea, grab the opportunity,
take the risk, and set aside comfort to set up businesses that will provide
jobs.
But why? What are jobs? Jobs are what allow people to feel useful and build
their self-esteem. Jobs make people productive members of the community. Jobs
make people feel they are worthy citizens. And jobs make a country worthy
players in the world market.
In that order of things, it is the entrepreneurs who have the power to harness
the creativity and talents of others to achieve a common good. This should leave
the world a better place than it was. Let me make it clear: Job creation is a
priority for any nation to move forward. For example, it is the young
entrepreneurs of Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore who created the dynamic
businesses that have propelled their countries to the top. Young people like
yourselves.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, progress is slow. Very little is new. Hardly
anything is fresh. With a few exceptions, the biggest
companies before the war -- like PLDT, Ayala, and San Miguel -- are still the
biggest companies today.
All right, being from the Ateneo, many of you probably have offers from these
corporations already. You may even have offers from JG Summit. I say: Great!
Take these offers, work as hard as you can, learn everything these companies can
teach and then leave!
If you dream of creating something great, do not let a 9-to-5 job-even a
high-paying one-lull you into a complacent, comfortable life. Let that
high-paying job propel you toward entrepreneurship instead.
When I speak of the hardship ahead, I do not mean to be skeptical but realistic.
Even you Ateneans, who are famous for your eloquence, you cannot talk your way
out of this one. There is nothing to do but to deal with it. I learned this
lesson when, as a 13-year-old, I lost my dad.
Before that, I was like many of you: a privileged kid. I went to Cebu's best
school; lived in a big house; and got free entrance to the Vision, the largest
movie house in Cebu, which my father owned. Then my dad died, and I lost all
these. My family had become poor -- poor enough to split my family. My mother
and five siblings moved to China where the cost of living was lower. I was
placed under the care of my Grand Uncle Manuel Gotianuy, who put me through
school. But just two years later, the war broke out, and even my Uncle Manuel
could no longer see me through. I was out in the streets -- literally.
Looking back, this time was one of the best times of my life. We lost
everything, true, but so did everybody! War was the great equalizer. In that
setting, anyone who was willing to size up the situation, use his wits, and work
hard, could make it!
It was every man for himself, and I had to find a way to support myself and my
family. I decided to be a market vendor. Why? Because it was something that I, a
15-year-old boy in short pants, could do.
I started by selling simple products in the palengke half an hour by bike from
the city. I had a bicycle. I would wake up at five in the morning, load thread,
soap and candles into my bike, and rush to the palengke. I would rent a stall
for one peso a day, lay out my goods on a table as big as this podium, and begin
selling. I did that the whole day.
I sold about twenty pesos of goods every day. Today, twenty pesos will only
allow you to send twenty text messages to your crush, but 63 years ago, it was
enough to support my family. And it left me enough to plow back into my small,
but growing, business.
I was the youngest vendor in the palengke, but that didn't faze me. In fact, I
rather saw it as an opportunity. Remember, that was 63 years and 100 pounds ago,
so I could move faster, stay under the sun more, and keep selling longer than
everyone else.
Then, when I had enough money and more confidence, I decided to travel to Manila
from Cebu to sell all kinds of goods like rubber tires. Instead of my bike, I
now traveled on a batel -- a boat so small that on windless days, we would just
float there. On bad days, the trip could take two weeks!
During one trip, our batel sank! We would have all perished in the sea were it
not for my inventory of tires. The viajeros were happy because my tires saved
their lives, and I was happy because the viajeros, by hanging on to them, saved
my tires. On these long and lonely trips I had to entertain myself with books,
like Gone With The Wind.
After the war, I had saved up 50,000 pesos. That was when you could buy a
chicken for 20 centavos and a car for 2,000 pesos. I was 19 years old.
Now I had enough money to bring my family home from China. Once they were all
here, they helped me expand our trading business to include imports. Remember
that the war had left the Philippines with very few goods. So we imported
whatever was needed and imported them from everywhere-including used clothes and
textile remnants from the United States. We were probably the first ukay-ukay
dealers here.
Then, when I had gained more experience and built my reputation, I borrowed
money from the bank and got into manufacturing. I saw that coffee was abundant,
and Nescafe of Nestle was too expensive for a country still rebuilding from the
war, so my company created Blend 45.
That was our first branded hit. And from there, we had enough profits to launch
Jack and Jill. From one market stall, we are now in nine core
businesses-including retail, real estate, publishing, petrochemicals, textiles,
banking, food manufacturing, Cebu Pacific Air and Sun Cellular.
When we had shown success in the smaller businesses, we were able to raise money
in the capital markets -- through IPOs and bond offerings -- and then get into
more complex, capital-intensive enterprises. We did it slow, but sure.
Success doesn't happen overnight. It's the small successes achieved day by day
that build a company. So, don't be impatient or focused on immediate financial
rewards. I only started flying business class when I got too fat to fit in the
economy seats.
And I even wore a used overcoat while courting my wife-it came from my ukay-ukay
business. Thank God Elizabeth didn't mind the mothball smell of my overcoat or
maybe she wouldn't have married me.
Save what you earn and plow it back.
And never forget your families! Your parents denied themselves many things to
send you here. They could have traveled around the world a couple of times with
the money they set aside for your education, and your social life, and your
comforts.
Remember them -- and thank them.
When you have families of your own, you must be home with them for at least one
meal everyday. I did that while I was building my company. Now, with all my six
children married, I ask that we spend every Sunday lunch together, when
everything under the sun is discussed.
As it is with business, so it is with family. There are no short cuts for
building either one. Remember, no short cuts.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, your patron saint, and founder of this 450-year old
organization I admire, described an ideal Jesuit as one who "lives with one foot
raised." I believe that means someone who is always ready to respond to
opportunities.
Saint Ignatius knew that, to build a successful organization, he needed to
recruit and educate men who were not afraid of change but were in fact excited
by it. In fact, the Jesuits were one of the earliest practitioners of
globalization. As early as the 16th century, upon reaching a foreign country,
they compiled dictionaries in local languages like Tamil and Vietnamese so that
they could spread their message in the local language. In a few centuries, they
have been able to spread their mission in many countries through education.
The Jesuits have another quote. "Make the whole world your house" which means
that the ideal Jesuit must be at home everywhere. By adapting to change, but at
the same time staying true to their beliefs, the Society of Jesus has become the
long-lasting and successful organization it is today and has made the world
their house.
So, let live with one foot raised in facing the next big opportunity:
globalization.
Globalization can be your greatest enemy. It will be your downfall if you are
too afraid and too weak to fight it out. But it can also be your biggest ally.
With the Asian Free Trade agreement and tariffs near zero, your market has grown
from 80 million Filipinos to half a billion Southeast Asians. Imagine what that
means to you as an entrepreneur if you are able to find a need and fill it. And
imagine, too, what that will do for the economy of our country!
Yes, our government may not be perfect, and oureconomic environment not ideal,
but true entrepreneurs will find opportunities anywhere. Look at the young
Filipino entrepreneurs who made it. When I say young-and I'm 77, remember-I am
talking about those in their 50s and below.
Tony Tan of Jollibee, Ben Chan of Bench, Rolando Hortaleza of Splash, and Wilson
Lim of Abensons.
They're the guys who weren't content with the 9-to-5 job, who were willing to
delay their gratification and comfort, and who created something new, something
fresh.
Something Filipinos are now very proud of. They all started small but now sell
their hamburgers, T-shirts and cosmetics in Asia, America, and the Middle East.
In doing so, these young Filipino entrepreneurs created jobs while doing
something they were passionate about.
Globalization is an opportunity of a lifetime-for you. And that is why I want to
be out there with you instead of here behind this
podium-perhaps too old and too slow to seize the opportunities you can.
Let me leave you with one last thought. Trade barriers have fallen. The only
barriers left are the barriers you have in your mind. So, Ateneans, Class of
2004, heed the call of entrepreneurship. With a little bit of will and a little
bit of imagination, you can turn this crisis into your patriotic moment-and
truly become a person for others.
"Live with one foot raised and make the world your house."
To this great University, my sincerest thanks for this singular honor conferred
on me today.
To the graduates, congratulations and Godspeed.
"Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam".
Thank you.
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Posted on Saturday, September 10 @ 02:16:30 CDT by don |
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