Pope Benedict: About dying in office

You don’t have to die in office because the office could die along with you.

The most important lesson that Pope Benedict teaches us by resigning as Pope is to know when to quit and to do it gracefully. Just because there has been a tradition of Popes dying or deteriorating in office, does not necessarily mean it’s the wisest thing to do.

The second lesson Pope Benedict teaches us is that the absence of an actual replacement does not mean there is no one to choose from. There is always someone or many to choose from as long as we focus on choosing someone to do the job and not someone to represent our vested interests or meets “our” expectations.

Now that I write about it, it just occurred to me that one of the reasons the Catholic Church has slipped so many notches in its supremacy is because of its failure to empower younger leaders and personalities who can bring in fresh ideas and perspectives. Yes, the Catholic Church has its doctrines just like every company has its mission-vision statements, but Apple and Mac or the entire IT industry would still be made of huge plastic boxes, if “it” had not been flexible in its vision and leadership.

Had Pope Benedict continued on, his deteriorating health would have greatly affected the daily affairs of Rome and slowly but surely divisions would form regarding decisions, doctrines and eventually a power struggle for leadership would ensue. Whether it’s a church, a corporation or a government, the deterioration of the leader causes deterioration of the organization. How many families have split up into camps over properties and even resorting to hiding their incapacitated parents or grandparents?

By resigning “unexpectedly” and citing his deteriorating health and physical incapacity to perform the duties of his office, Pope Benedict teaches us to honor the office, the duty, and not dishonor it by clinging on to the power and the title. We owe it to whatever office or position we hold to know and be able to walk away when our bodies, minds and abilities fall short or are no longer able or in tune with the demands and expectations of office, customers, family or constituents.

Many great political and business leaders have ruined a lifetime of work and sacrifice by holding on to their power out of fear that no one else could do a better job. Many parent-CEOs build empires only to see them taken over by strangers because they failed to make and implement a succession plan. In fact a big number don’t have a succession plan because they have convinced themselves that they are the best, that no one comes in as second, and foolishly believe they will live forever or until a hundred.

In the course of doing corporate consultancies, a familiar problem I encounter is when the “Stars” of an organization fail to realize that they are now the “Young Once,” or “yesterday’s hits” and are today’s “flashbacks.” The worst is that some who see themselves as the shining stars are in reality the “super novas” that are about to burn themselves out, or according to my grade 6 child: become a black hole and suck up everything around it!

Pope Benedict’s lessons are especially important for the Philippines and the rich and powerful of the nation. While many countries are launching forward led by third or fourth generation leaders, the Philippines is led predominantly by the first and a sprinkling of the second generation, but rarely involving members of the third generation.

The members of the Philippine Senate are closely resembling politburos around the world. The House of Representatives may be a slight improvement of the average age, but its membership resembles a who’s who of Philippine family corporations, mostly second generation. Sadly the Philippine Government itself reflects the aged look and the aged ways of leadership. If we lack leaders today, stop blaming it on Marcos, typhoons and calamities. If we are backwards in many ways stop blaming the Insulares and the Peninsulares. We don’t have young leaders because we have to wait for the old ones to die and then leave us with the mess to clean up!

Personally, I pray: TO HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO SAY GOODBYE, BUT NOT TOO LONG TO BE TOLD GOOD RIDDANCE.

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There is always some worthwhile information to be picked at press conferences, even if you’re already a columnist. Yesterday, I learned a lot from attending the press briefing hosted by Ayala Land Inc. and the Hotel InterContinental group as they announced that one of their subsidiaries or sister companies, namely, Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites will soon be in the heart of the Makati business district and will sit on top of one of Ayala Land’s premier malls.

Aside from the fact that this is an affirmation that Philippine Tourism is a good investment, this new project will also provide several hundred jobs and will most likely impact the competitiveness and pricing among hotels in Metro Manila. According to the Area GM of InterContinental Hotel groups Christian Pirodon, the new Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites will be the first purposely built hotel in the Philippines which is a departure from other Holiday Inn outlets which were mostly taken over or signed up under management.

In terms of design and marketing, the new hotel will cater mostly to young foreign business executives in their 40s and above who prefer being located near or within high-end malls to fit their work-shop lifestyle. However, Pirodon and the incoming GM of the Holiday Inn Karim Klaa, reiterated that they will also be putting a lot of focus on domestic tourists and families particularly those coming from Cebu, Davao, and Baguio etc.

Given the fact that we now have three hotels, namely, Raffles, Fairmont, and Holiday Inn opening one after another, it is expected that they will be creating jobs for many Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism graduates. However, it’s still not enough because when Pirodon and Klaa put out an announcement, 1,000 applicants showed up for the 120 slots available. Once the 120 slots are filled, the next big challenge is finding qualified and experienced supervisors and managers to fill the operational requirements.

Yes there has been somewhat of a merry-go-round for job applications and head hunting in the hotel industry and the new vacancies will be a blessing. What we should all pray for and do our share is in promoting the Philippines to our friends and contacts worldwide as well as locally. As Pirodon who is a 20+ years resident professional in the Philippines put it: “Stop talking about what’s bad and start talking about what you are going to do about it.”

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