Strategy does not fail in execution first. It fails in logic. What usually happens is this: teams build something that looks coherent on paper, defensible in meetings, and impressive in presentations, only to discover later that coherence is not the same as structural validity. At that point, execution is no longer strategy. It is recovery. And recovery is always more […]
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After more than 30 years of advising business owners, leadership teams, and organizations, one pattern remains remarkably consistent: strategies rarely fail because of execution. We like to blame execution because it is a visible, actionable scapegoat. It suggests the team simply lacked the “hustle” or the incentives weren’t sharp enough. But the truth is more structural. Strategies fail because of […]
A post does not need to be controversial to produce a real-world effect. I recently shared about a new restaurant I had tried, just a simple observation and a casual encouragement for people to visit early. There was no agenda behind it, nothing beyond a personal experience. The next day, it had become a full house. Customers were arriving earlier […]
A few weeks ago, I noticed something while passing by a familiar spot. A milk tea shop that used to be there had closed down. In its place, a new one had opened. Same type of business. Same location. Same kind of customers passing through. On the surface, it looked like a simple replacement—one business out, another in. But it […]
For decades, Tang has dominated the powdered beverage category in the Philippines. Leadership, however, does not guarantee immunity from change. Markets evolve. Consumers evolve. Categories fragment. I sat down with Mondelēz International in the Philippines’ Managing Director Aleli Arcilla, recently conferred an honorary Mansmith Sales Masters Award, to discuss Tang’s strategic reset for 2026. Q1: Let me begin with an […]
Early in my career, I had a routine that I valued deeply. Whenever our schedules allowed, I would ask Dr. Ned Roberto—the legendary marketing research guru who at one time served as our Vice Chair at Mansmith and Fielders—to sit in the back of my seminar. My request was simple: Audit my logic, find the cracks, and give me a […]
The Philippines remains Asia’s Catholic heartland, yet the number of people attending Sunday Mass has plummeted from 64% in 1991 to just 38% today. I call this the “Barabbas Moment.“ In the biblical narrative, the crowd was given a choice between the radical, transformative Truth and the immediate, violent “fix” of the insurrectionist Barabbas. They chose the tactic over the transformation. Today, […]
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, […]
This is the final installment of the leadership series (following The Pilate Trap, The Caiaphas Trap, and The Judas Trap). While earlier archetypes examined institutional and strategic breakdowns, the Peter Trap focuses on a more subtle failure: the internal collapse of execution under pressure, and the rare pathway to recovery. In executive leadership, intent is rarely the issue. Leaders articulate vision, values, and […]
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 […]