G Summit of Globe myBusiness encouraged MSMEs to harness their inner diskarte
By Adrian Paul B. Conoza, Special Features Writer
The pandemic has inevitably sent a call to many micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to adapt to sudden changes. Many businesses might have found it more important to harness what Filipinos call diskarte, that mix of guts and strategy, in thriving through the big impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Making the most out of that inner diskarte was the main focus of this year’s G Summit, held by Globe myBusiness last Sept. 23. The virtual business summit was rich with stories and insights from entrepreneurs and thought leaders that will definitely guide entrepreneurs to effectively pivot their businesses to success in spite of current and future challenges.
Emerging through digital
Flo Yeow, Philippine Business Development Manager of Google, kicked off the summit by sharing local insights and trends identified by Google regarding the rise of e-commerce.
Among these insights is that the consumer journey has become more complex nowadays, as shown by the multiple and differing touchpoints identified by Google among consumers of sneakers. These touchpoints include searches, video views, and page views.
The research also identified an accelerating pattern for e-commerce from a distinguished rise in online shopping searches this year compared to the previous year.
Furthermore, Mr. Yeo highlighted a three-stage ‘e-commerce path’ for businesses to take, with Google as a tool they can use along the way.
The first stage involves recognizing signals, or trends, and acting on them. Alongside recognizing these trends — where tools like Google Trends can help — businesses are encouraged to be discoverable, build their brands, acquire new customers, and increase sales with the help of online platforms.
Following the recognizing stage, reimagining industries can help businesses match the velocity of change occurring around them. Especially with the increased acceleration of digital, it is now highly recommended to consider that Filipinos are moving towards using digital tools for productivity, home living, as well as purchase.
In addition, Mr. Yeo advised entrepreneurs to find ‘white spaces,’ where other players are not yet at, since opportunities may lie out there. “I think the one thing we want from businesses today is look into not just being unique, but also finding the white spaces,” he said during the summit.
Creating their future
Ginger Arboleda, co-founder of Taxumo and founder of Manila Workshops, shared some tips on businesses can start their recovery in this time of uncertainty.
She advised entrepreneurs to get away from beliefs that can hamper them from starting their recovery process, such as beliefs that they are at fault, that the aftershocks of events (like the pandemic) will last forever, and that an event will affect all areas of their lives.
To get away from these hampering thoughts, entrepreneurs are advised to: focus on shifting their mindsets; understand what is happening around them; try and test out different things; unlearn and learn new things; revisit their purpose and adjust their objectives and key results; and work towards earning trust and respect.
Ms. Arboleda encourages entrepreneurs to apply the scientific method as they rethink their strategies and try out things for their businesses.
“The thing about building a product — like I’ve noticed a lot of people do — they want to get everything into their product, and then launch it once everything is up and running. But that’s not how I would think we should do,” the co-founder of Taxumo said. “We should create small snippets of the product, launch it, test it out, and then see if it works. If it works, then build on it. So that’s how you get to an amazing, full-blown product.”
She suggested to think of the basics businesses can actually put forth, to test them, and build on them once they become effective.
When it comes to standing out among competitors, she stressed that knowing their purpose and focusing on their business matters.
“It’s good to see that competitors are there, and it’s good to get in the know of what’s happening around you. But, what I’ve realized after many years of entrepreneurship, it’s just a distraction. It’s good that you know what’s happening, but focus on what you’re doing,” she said.
Becoming everyday innovators
Completing the summit is Josh Linkner, #1 most booked innovation keynote speaker and author of the bestselling Big Little Breakthroughs: How Small, Everyday Innovations Drive Oversized Results. His presentation called entrepreneurs to be ‘everyday innovators’ who have five helpful obsessions.
Mr. Linkner shared that, first, everyday innovators must start before they are ready, which means they have to get going quickly even when they do not have everything figured out yet.
He also finds that innovators should be engrossed at ‘breaking’ things in order to fix them. “Be willing to take something that’s working, deconstruct it, and rebuild it with an upgraded version in mind,” he explained.
Everyday innovators also “use every drop of toothpaste.” Mr. Linkner continued, doing more with less and letting creativity make the most out of those constraints.
Innovators should also reach for weird, challenging themselves to come up with “crazy, eyeballing, strange ideas” that can be the ones most effective for their businesses.
The fifth and last obsession concerns rising up from adversity, regardless of how many times they occur. “In our moments of adversity, fall seven times, stand eight, bouncing back from adversity with more inventive thinking and more creative problem solving,” Mr. Linkner encouraged.
“If we could double down on our own gift of human creativity, if we could be resilient and creative, if we can adapt to changing circumstances, our best days will begin to come,” he added.
With the inspiring insights from these speakers, Globe myBusiness hopes that the G Summit has empowered entrepreneurs to optimize their diskarte to face new challenges. “You are not alone. We are here as your trusted partner to change the way you do business especially in the new normal,” Globe Telecom CCO Alberto M. de Larrazabal said during the summit.
Participants of the G Summit were provided a Diskarte Kit, co-created with Aaron Palileo, event moderator and co-founder of CIA Bootleg. The toolkit aims to help business owners find opportunities that can help unleash their inner diskarte, with segments: Reflect, Generate, and Implement. Frameworks were also provided to help guide MSMEs, based on business objectives. [https://mybusinessacademy.ph/resources/rewards/g-summit-diskarte-kit-sme/]
Moreover, several MSMEs shared their stories of determination, resiliency, and how they pivoted to survival and success in the Diskarte Heroes stories which were also provided to the participants. The series will be continuously updated with more heroes in the days to come. [https://mybusinessacademy.ph/resources/rewards/g-summit-diskarte-heroes/]
