Thirty years ago, I had the rare opportunity to share my start-up experience and teach a full-semester, 3-unit course on network marketing, also known as multilevel marketing (MLM), at the Ateneo de Manila University. At the time, this subject had never been formally taught at the university level. I remain grateful to Rudy Ang, then chair of the management department, […]
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In an era of peak consumer skepticism, the gap between a brand’s public image and its internal reality has never been more scrutinized. For a household giant like NutriAsia, maintaining leadership with icons like Silver Swan, Datu Puti, and UFC requires more than market share—it requires a self-sustaining Trust Flywheel: Humility, Cultural Literacy, Empathy, Transparency, Authenticity, Consistency, and Accountability. While […]
The other day, I bought a liter of my favorite Jasmine tea at Opus Mall. It cost me ₱290. I paid for it, enjoyed it, and didn’t feel even slightly offended by the price. It made me think about how I feel the same way at a café, where a venti latte costs over ₱200 for just half a liter. […]
We tend to explain today’s instability in geopolitical terms—conflict zones, trade routes, shifting alliances. But beneath all of that runs a deeper strain: trust. When trust breaks at the level of nations and institutions, the consequences don’t stay abstract. They show up in higher fuel costs, tighter margins, and consumers whose purchasing power steadily erodes. We are, in many ways, […]
The world feels smaller today. Supply chains are under pressure, energy markets remain volatile, and uncertainty has become part of the operating environment. In times like these, the natural instinct of many leaders is to turn to dashboards—to track prices, monitor buffers, and revisit assumptions. These are necessary. But they are not sufficient. Because while systems help us respond, it […]
In business strategy, we often obsess over price elasticity—the mathematical relationship between cost and demand. But as we navigate the complexities of 2026, the marketplace is being reshaped by a far more volatile force: The Psychology of Uncertainty. Uncertainty is often more damaging than an actual price increase. While a price hike is a known variable one can budget for, […]
In strategy, what you don’t know can hurt you. But what you “know” for sure, that just isn’t so, will kill you. When we apply the PILA (Problem, Insight, Logic, Assumptions) reasoning stack, we see that the foundation of many global FMCG strategies is where the rot begins. Organizations have replaced “examine and reflect” with a “present and assume” culture, […]
In business, trust is an asset we work hard to protect. But Holy Week confronts us with something harder: trust is, first, a truth we must face, about who we are when no one is measuring, tracking, or watching. Holy Week does not let us stay comfortable. It asks the question every leader eventually has to face: is who I […]
Atty. Benedicta “Dick” Du-Baladad is the founding partner and CEO of Du-Baladad and Associates (BDB Law), a firm specializing in tax and corporate law. An accountant-lawyer by training, she graduated Magna Cum Laude and earned her Master of Laws and International Tax Program at Harvard University. She served as President of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) in 2023 […]
ER Rollan, CEO of Growsari and a winner of the 5th Mansmith Innovation Awards, has been transforming the micro-retail landscape in the Philippines. By leveraging technology, he empowers small sari-sari stores, streamlines distribution, and creates a scalable digital ecosystem. In this interview, he shares the assumptions he challenged, the pains he sought to solve, and how he turned innovation into […]