Last July 31, in the morning session of the 10th Anniversary of RVR-COB, one of the guest speakers, Mr. Chito Maniago mentioned that as lasallian business leaders, we always have to ask ourselves as to how we can be of service to the Filipino people. As mentioned not only in our ethics class, the goal of businesses is to provide goods and services that will better off the people. But as individuals, how can we practice this in our roles? How can we be of service to the others?
I am currently working as a sales personnel for a manufacturing company in the Philippines. The company started as a small biscuits and noodle manufacturer and made its way on top, making it now one of the market leaders for these categories in the Philippine market. The role in sales is not an easy one. I sometimes ask myself whether the stress and the anxieties are still worth the rewards or if I should just go back to my previous work as an analyst for a custodian bank. However, whenever I think about that and whenever I am in that situation, I always go back to the very reason why I took this position. In June 2017, when I signed the job offer, I made a vow that I will do my best not just for myself but also to be able to lift the lives of the people that I will be working with.
I started as a key accounts specialist back in 2017. As a KAS, my role was to ensure store excellence primarily through sales and merchandising activities. As a KAS also, I had the chance to be working with store merchandisers and area coordinators (AC). The ACs are the ones who manage and handle the merchandisers. The merchandisers are the ones who refill, receive, and maintain and manage the stocks inside the stores. Being in sales is a one tough role because of the pressure to hit sales metrics on a monthly basis. However, I made a promise during that time that I will give 101% best at anything I do because my team (the merchandisers and AC) are also relying on me. My success was dependent on these people and they too depend on me as their leader. Throughout my stay in the KAS role, I saw people succeed and getting promoted. It was fulfilling to see my team getting promoted from being merchandisers to team leads and to eventually ACs. Fast-forward to the year 2021, I am now handling a total distribution channel covering Baguio and La Union. My previous role has taught me to always think of ways to be of service to others, particularly my team, comprising of 200 people. As the days go by, I always want to ensure that I make positive contribution to the lives of my team, whether by coaching and mentoring them to guiding them on their day to day tasks. It’s such a wonderful feeling to hear success stories from these people that because of the company and because of the leaders of the company, they were able to send their siblings and family members to school, some were able to purchase properties and cars, and some are able to provide for their families despite the pandemic. My vow is to continue being of service to my team, to train and teach and guide them, to the best of my ability so that they too will become leaders one day and that one day they can influence and make a positive impact to the lives of their future team members, too.
The Koreander 