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Friday, January 16, 2004
Zosa: 2004: Hiring the country’s manager (and team)
By ELBERT ZOSA
BIZ VANTAGE
MAIN POINT. The Supreme Court decision that nullified the contract between the Commission on Elections and its supplier has, to me, jolted us back to the key point that the most important activity for 2004 is the grant of a mandate to one person to lead our land.
The fact that our current president was swept to power via the unorthodox people power, even with the Supreme Court’s legal affirmation, makes it imperative that the May election be held. And that it be a credible exercise.
From a management standpoint, the facts of the case also highlighted the differences in form and substance in management decisions in the private sector versus this case in the public sector.
In most publicly listed corporations, transparency and assurance of quality would be key elements in the decision process in choosing a supplier and undertaking a project. The executive in charge and his team would take few risks to ensure that they delivered only he best—or avoided any failure—in order not to jeopardize their careers.
In the case of the Comelec, they awarded a most important contract to a supplier that did not meet even their simple bidding requirement of a track record. Furthermore, this late in the day, the software had not yet been finalized.
Information technology industry experts were worried that massive fraud could occur. Yet, the Comelec, until it backtracked recently, had adamantly refused to accredit Namfrel; or allow it to conduct a quick count, arguing the lack of a need for an independent third party.
One conclusion stands out: the need for the best person that can manage the presidency of our country.
I emphasize the appointive powers of the president as he will be appointing key people to critical positions in the cabinet and government offices such as the Comelec. (Common sense suggests that one can probably judge a person by the company he keeps, e.g. Senate slate?)
Stanford business professor Jim Collins emphasizes the need for the best management team in his book, “Good to Great,” in companies that excelled in the United States.
BEST TALENT. We need a president that has the ability to entice our best talent to serve the country to avoid sliding deeper into the morass. Growth of lower than six percent cannot do the job in pushing back the poverty line.
Singapore’s success in generating prosperity is not only attributed to Lee Kuan Yew but to his team. Mr. Lee, in fact, dedicated his book, “From Third World to First,” to “my old-guard colleagues who together made the Singapore Story.”
Proof of their success: per capita gross domestic product of $400 in 1959, when they started, which grew to more than $25,000 in 2003. As for our country, we were probably in the same ballpark or higher in 1959 but we’ve been stuck to just more than $1,000 in 2003.
The stakes are high in 2004.
(Elbert can be reached at elzosa@yahoo.com.)
(January 16, 2004 issue)
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