My brother Ernie relayed to me an interesting story recently. A few weeks ago, he was talking to an old college friend and they were discussing who among the presidential candidates they would vote for. Ernie told his friend that he was voting for one of the leading candidates because of his integrity and uncompromising commitment to stop corruption — and he then asked his friend whom she preferred. She said she was undecided, so my brother mentioned each candidate one by one and asked what she thought about each one. And every time he mentioned a name, his friend would have something bad or negative to say. And, because of that negative thing, she would not vote for that person.
My brother then said, “Well, if that’s the case, who are you going to vote for?”
“Well, If I had a choice,” she replied, “I would vote for Illac Diaz.”
My brother was taken aback and said, “Huh? But Illac is not running! Choose among those who are running.”
She replied, “No, there’s none of them I want. You asked me if I had a choice, right? So if I had a choice, I’d choose Illac Diaz. He is a visionary and he is designing homes that will help the poor.”
I found this such an interesting story, not only because of her relentless insistence on voting for Illac, but also because Illac is a personal friend. Knowing him, he would probably laugh if he heard that story. Now, in case you’ve been living in a cave and don’t know who Illac Diaz is, Illac is this good-looking chap whom you’ve probably seen in fashion shows or magazines and newspapers endorsing products. But Illac is way, way more than just a model. He is a model citizen, and model leader. Those who have been reading the papers regularly would know that Illac Diaz is the epitome of the new breed of young social entrepreneurs. The Asian Journal and a host of other respected publications have featured Illac, his vision for a better Philippines and a better world, and his “baby,” called My Shelter Foundation, countless times. And believe me, he is worth writing about. His good looks are deceiving because you have a tendency to think that that’s his best asset. It’s not. It’s his good heart.
Recently, Illac was launched as Cecon’s official endorser and I had the privilege of being invited to the official press conference. Personally, I think Cecon’s selection of Illac as the personification of their brand’s essence is great. I don’t think they could have selected a better guy. This is a guy who, in 2006, was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World by JCI International, landing him in People magazine as one of the People of The Year. This is a guy who, in 2007, was awarded National Winner of the DHL Young Entrepreneurs for Sustainability. In 2008, he was one of the Young Global Leaders recognized by the World Economic Forum. Believe me, this guy is more than just a pretty face.
Through his My Shelter Foundation, Inc., Illac goes beyond helping people hit by calamities. He believes rebuilding and helping communities hit by calamities is “about empowerment and using the energies of the people who are the target beneficiaries as the greatest force for their own uplifting.” He believes that empowering the community creates “a system of sustainability and replication ability.”
Partnering with the “Be Better, Build Better Campaign,” My Shelter Foundation launched the Millennium Schools Competition, an international design competition that aims to create “architecture for humanity.” It is inviting architects to come together and find solutions to improve school buildings in the developing world, specifically areas that are targets for natural disasters. The competition focuses on building schools with local but durable indigenous materials in developing countries. It also aims for a convergence between technology, disaster management and quality education.
Through the competition, Illac aims to provide long-term solutions for minimizing the impact of natural disasters. This can be done through rethinking the structure of schools that also serve as refuges for families suffering from the aftereffects of a typhoon. Building disaster-resistant schools out of indigenous materials would also create a larger impact by cutting the costs of materials coming from urban centers, as well as training locals to replicate the construction, creating new jobs.
Afterwards, I got to speak to Geiselle Lubang, product manager of Cecon, and she said that Illac’s selection was perfect because while he talks about empowering people to take charge of their lives and live through calamities, Cecon is all about empowering individuals like Illac to help them help more people. And I think that’s great. A lot of brands tap endorsers just because they are popular or they are the “in” celebrities at the moment. I know a lot of endorsers who don’t even use the products they endorse. But the selection of Illac for a vitamin brand that promotes empowering is a coup. Sure, Illac is a model and could certainly be a showbiz leading man if he wanted to, but he is not a celebrity in the showbiz sense. Because he is not a TV or movie star, I don’t think he’d be on the top 10 celebrities list. He is, however, a celebrity in the eyes of all the people he is helping.
In my book, he is a true “leading” man — a man who leads with a caring attitude. His style of entrepreneurship is not about taking market share or double-digit profit growth. His brand of entrepreneurship is entrepreneurship with a heart. It’s entrepreneurship that goes beyond financial gains. It’s the kind of entrepreneurship that would make your mom — and your country — proud.
* * *
Thanks for your letters, folks! You may e-mail me at rodhnepo@yahoo.com.