Turn your SME into a winning team

MANILA, Philippines - To celebrate entrepreneurship during the SME Month in July, Planters Bank invited sports coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes to speak during its popular SME Speaker Series on the topic of “Creating a Winning Organization.”

Held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, the event was attended by over 400 SME leaders who are seeking to advance their growth by constantly updating their knowledge through continuous business education.

Reyes is the head coach of Team Gilas Pilipinas, the only Filipino coach who has ever received the PBA Coach of the Year Award five times, and also the only coach who has won three PBA All-Filipino titles with three different teams.

Outside the court, Reyes is also well-regarded as a successful entrepreneur and motivational speaker. He is the director and founder of business coaching consultancy CoachCom Inc., a licensed facilitator of John Maxwell’s Building Teams Workshop, and a co-owner of the Philippine franchise of the global salon chain Essensuals Toni & Guy.

Taking from his experience as an award-winning basketball coach and a successful businessman, Reyes shared valuable lessons on how to achieve business success by turning SME organizations into winning teams.

Grow your gift

“This day and age demands that we expand our comfort zone — but we must be careful to remain true to our gift,” said Reyes, paraphrasing best-selling author John Maxwell.

Great accomplishments only come when people are right where their core strengths, desires and talents lie.

“We are intuitive in our gift,” he explained. “But as we remain true to our gift zone, we should also get out of our comfort zone.”

Build your team

To build a strong team, one needs to choose the right people, “Because no company was ever built on the efforts of a single person alone.”

The first thing SME leaders should look for in people is the ability to work hard and work with the team.

“Hire for the hustle,” he said. “You need people who will bring the ball across the court, people who will block the other team. You also need players who can let go of the ball to give somebody else the better shot. You can’t win a game if all your players want to be the star shooter.”

Go out and do it

Execution or performance is what eventually wins the game. “Nobody is exempt from the obligation to execute,” said Reyes. A can-do attitude, above all, is needed. “If you are faced with a difficult project and you say, ‘We can’t do that,’ then you are right. You have no chance.”

One also has to know the basic skills needed in his or her endeavor, and to continuously utilize them in the right manner.

Reyes stressed that it’s not correct to say that practice makes perfect.

“What practice makes is permanence. If you practice the wrong thing, the error will become permanent. But if you practice the right skills, then you will perform perfectly even with your eyes shut,” he explained.

Respect and trust

In closing, Reyes reiterated to SME leaders the importance of establishing a relationship of respect and trust with their employees — their SME team. “You cannot lead your people if they do not believe that you have their best interest in mind. So spend time with your employees. Discover their comfort zone and their gift zone,” he advised.

“Ask your employees what they want you to stop, continue or change in the way you run the company. Do not interrupt or justify. Just listen — truly listen —and you will find the treasure trove of information that you need to build a winning team and lead your business to success,” added Reyes.

The SME Speaker Series is one of Planters Bank’s capacity building programs to help strengthen the country’s economic backbone — the small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Now in its sixth year, the series has toured over 30 key cities nationwide and has imparted valuable business learnings and management tips delivered by renowned motivational speakers to over 10,000 entrepreneurs.  The Planters Bank SME Speaker Series is set to tour more key cities this year.

For inquiries, visit www.plantersbank.com.ph.