NiQsTeR

Latest trends. Tons of Opportunities for the information technology people. The union of the latest trends and the greatest opportunities this society offers for people. Those are the things came up to my mind when I read about our fourth exercise in Technopreneurship. If you see our society today new brands and models of mobile phones pops out in flash, huge IT companies are growing everywhere offering such great opportunities for people. When I thought making this essay, I find too simple but yet it is hard to take down because of the number of latest new things our society has. Lots of ideas came up to my mind that I end up blank. But still I will try to recover things up. So, what are my observations on about our latest trends not just in our country but worldwide as well? Actually there are a lot of things to look out for.

The information revolution is rapidly spreading and dominating our society. Everywhere we look and everything you touch have a touch of Information Technology on it. Aside from computers information technology is also present in our home appliances, mobile phones, even in simple image making, editing and logo designing can be done with the help of the latest technology in our society. But first let me just define what are these terms all about.

TRENDS

What is hot and what is not? What is cool and what is old-fashioned? Trends can be defined as the latest kinds of everything that is being used on this period of time. And sometimes it could be defined as a direction of inclination in which things are headed to. It could also be a tendency of a movement of something. I find trends as what is “in” and what is “out” of the era, a popular taste at a given time. A trend can obviously be noticed because you can see it everywhere. It could be in the sense of fashion, architecture, even in the way the people speak and most especially in the technology we have today. You see, if you try to observe from our history, lots of changes happened and it is inevitable. And we are now on the 21st century, new trends are coming especially in information technology which we know changes its trends rapidly and in a flash. If we talk about information technology trends as of today, you could cite hi-tech gadgets as one. I could still remember how we use VHS players before and using VHS tapes for viewing some old videos, then from VHS we have the VCD (or the Video Compact Disc) players and us CDs to watch videos and play music, form VCDs we o now to the DVD (or the Digital Video Disc) players which have the DVDs that could store up to 24 movies in one disc. For computers, we have the Pentium computers but now we have i7 for Intel which is way faster than the old processors. We also have some new laptops that are very cool like Apple’s MacBook Air, Sony Vaio and whole lot more, and for Christmas, I want a MacBook, hehehe. LCD (or the Liquid Crystal Display) and LED (or the Light Emitting Diode) televisions are the latest TV that more people are using now we also have it as desktop computer monitors. For me, one of the things I find fast in changing its trends is mobile devices. I could still remember using Nokia 3310 and it was the coolest phone that time, it was like everyone is dying to have one of it but now we have Apple’s iPhone, Samsung’s Galaxy S or popularly known as that Android phone also LG’s Optimus which I also know as an Android phone. In the communication world, I could still remember sending snail mails that take 3 days before the recipient receives it but now we EMAIL or the Electronic Mail that takes up a second to be sent to the receiver. And if you could observe, internet surfing can now be done using just your mobile phones and you now do not have to go to the internet cafes or open up your computers to send emails or check your inboxes. Internet connection evolved as well, before we have the DIAL-UP connections to DSL or the Digital Subscriber Line or also we have the BROADBAND which is way faster than dial-ups. We also have the plug-it devices for laptops and desktops too, actually I am using one now, and it has the same speed as DSL and it is very handy especially for outgoers because you can bring it anywhere. Aside from those connections, the latest among them is the WI-FI connection or the Wireless Local Area Network is used by most of the people nowadays especially laptop users and for now, even mobile devices also have wifi connectivity too. For job-seekers, you could now look for jobs by just sitting in-front of your computers and just wait for the employers to contact you, online jobs are also available for freelancers like some of my friends who love to stay at home and too lazy to look for work outside.

You see, everything changes easily. And because humans are always asking for more, these things I could maybe outdated already. People are so much into thinking how we could improve our lives and make our works easier and efficient.

OPPORTUNITIES

What is an opportunity? For me, it’s a favorable circumstance that could maybe help you and you could benefit from it. It is like giving you a chance to do something that benefits you. As I have observed lately, opportunities are everywhere, can be easily seen especially if your eyes are open and the willingness to achieve your goals is there. Even if you just sit in-front of you computer the whole day, you could still see a lot of opportunities there. What more if you are to explore more in the cyber world, numerous of opportunities are spreading.

Have you been to Ortigas in Manila? Well, I have not. Hehe. But I have seen some pictures of my friends when we had our field trip there. I have seen gigantic buildings and amazing sights, it was like they were on another country. As I was watching, I could sense that there are a lot of opportunities for people because of the fast changes and the evolution of technology in our society. Even here on Davao, IT companies are arising everywhere, like Concentrix and Sutherland. They give great opportunities for people, fresh graduate or even undergraduate can work there. Before the information revolution, I could still remember how people especially newly graduated students suffer from being unemployed and looking for jobs. If I am to review everything I have learned in Technopreneurship, there are still a lot of things to be discovered, a lot of opportunities to conquer and things to be explored. Every one of us is talented and skillful, if we are going to use these, I know for sure that we are going to succeed in whatever career that we will take.

CONVERGENCE
Just so you know, this word is not anymore new to me, but, a very big BUT, the meaning of it is still unclear to me. I tried to look for definitions online and this is what I got, from Wikipedia, “Convergence can refer to previously separate technologies such as voice (and telephony features), data (and productivity applications), and video that now share resources and interact with each other, synergistically creating new efficiencies.” So basically, convergence is about different things that meet, interact or converge. For example, let us say the PSITS event or the Philippine Society of Information Technology Students, once a year we hold an event where IT students from different schools gather to create great camaraderie and friendship among others, which is called convergence. There are a lot of types of convergence, it could be in by means of medical, math, technology, and a lot more. But since we are talking about the IT convergence and the trends and opportunities it has, we will just cite some points on what will happen if IT trends and IT opportunities combine.

There are a lot of things that are involved in this convergence (this is from Wikipedia):

THE INTERNET

The most popular medium in mass communication at this era. Everyone and everything is n the internet. People, places, things, and events you can find them on the internet. Even the latest headlines on the news are available over the net. Want some research samples? There are a lot of it spreading over the cyber world. Business and communication is best on this medium. In business, putting up your online store can also be done here, E-bay can be one good example, E-bay is now one of the best sites that offer stuff with great security. I also have some friends who sell their stuff over the internet like t-shirts, accessories and even gadgets too, whether it is second hand or brand new. Try to put your company online, it will be a huge blast, since people are into surfing so much, it is a good chance to boost up you company’s advertising schemes in order to be known and be popular. In communication, the internet is also the leading medium. After cellular phones, the internet became the hub of every people. If you try to contact someone, you could find the information over the net. If you want to announce something, everybody on the internet will know. Even reunions happen on the internet too. That how important and valuable the internet is.

MESSAGING CONVERGENCE

Messaging including SMS, MMS and EMAIL are some of the factors that contribute to the convergence of the IT trends and opportunities. You see, SMS and MMS can be done on mobile phones right? So since, mobile trends are fast evolving, even emailing can be done on it too.

HOME NETWORK

Since internet is worldwide, you could be in any place while just sitting. Being able to meet other people from other countries is a great thing too. Being able to develop my communication skills by talking to foreigners is very important to me. Being able to earn money while playing is fun in a way that there no pressure and I can still do whatever I want whenever I want to. Being able to have fun while talking to some old friends from the past is a hug thing to me. That is why I am very thankful to the technology.

THE CONVERGENCE

So what is this “Trends and Opportunities in Convergence” all about? So if we are going to analyze everything, it is where the latest trends and the opportunities it offers that meets together to set something and to help the society to improve. It has been a long time since this convergence began but only a few people in our country responded to it and noticed it. With the help of these latest trends and the opportunities it offers, people can live and earn money the easiest way. I also have a friend who earns at least 15,000 pesos a month by just writing an article and updating his blog. I got envious when I heard about it so I tried to do my own thing as well. I know have my own blog but still I am in the b\newbie stage. I also have some friends who earn money by just making logo designs which they can sell it to their foreign clients and earn dollars. With a simple help from these trends and the hi-tech things we have right now, everything is smooth-sailing and progressive.

Having IT trends and opportunities to converge brought new life to our society. It has greatly improved our ways of living especially those who went for several sufferings just to survive. Even high school graduate people can live the life they want to even though they do not have any degree attained.

What is meaning? How can I make one in my life? How can I put something meaningful with what I am doing? Do I love what I am doing? Is this what I really want? Do I have a great career waiting for me in the future? Can I be successful?

All this time in our Technopreneurship we are being asked about our passion and what do we want to happen in our lives in the future. I could still think about how I am going to change my life, how I am going to do a 180 degrees turn against my past mind set. I have been thinking about this ever since I have enrolled in this program. Did I make the right choice? Will I be happy on this path I took? Ever since grade school, I already have plans in my life; what course I will take; which path I should take. When I was still young, it was always been my hobby scanning my father’s architectural magazines; I love scanning his portfolios and I love looking at his blue prints of huge buildings. When I grew I bit older, I started to love drawing, designing structures of establishments; it has been my first love designing buildings. I have joined several art workshops and earned awards. At that moment, I have already known what I my heart wants. But sudden twist came into my life. Due to unexpected events, I had no other choice but to take up Bachelor of Science in Information Technology rather than Bachelor of Science in Architecture or Civil Engineering. I had to do a forceful maneuver to move on. It was quite hard for me; it was like taking away my toys; I became heartbroken. But I had nothing to do but to continue and prove to my self that I am versatile. I can do whatever it is that I am asked to do. I was just doing this because I have to not because I want to. Ever since Sir Randy became our facilitator, he keeps on instilling in our minds to know what we want as early as now. He shares things that really motivate us in reaching the summit of success. But since being on this program is not really the thing that I want, how am I going to be successful?

So I was thinking that I have already spent 3 years on this program, there is no turning back. All I did was to accept and to think of something that would make me love this course. Now, I am thinking about what I can do to myself with this path I chose. How can I be successful? How can I make myself happy? How can be useful to my family? How can I be useful in my community? As I go on with this program Sir Randy, a realization suddenly came and made me think that with this course and with my hidden skills, I can make a “thing” that would answer all of my questions. At first, I was able to determine what I love, what I do not love and the things that I can do. I was also able to determine what my purposes are, for me, for my family, for my community and for the whole world. Sir Randy even asked us to think of a techno business, which was sort of new to me.

Since we are still on the “making of a business” node, Sir Randy shown to us a video of a certain guy. That guy was Mr. Guy Kawasaki; he was once an Apple fellow and the director of Garage Technology Ventures, a venture capitalist firm. So what was the video all about? What was he talking about? Everything he said talks about how to make a meaning on entrepreneurship. Why do we have to make a meaning and how important it is to have a meaning on everything that we do. Many people on our generation want money on the easiest and the quickest way they can.

He strongly believes that the essence of entrepreneurship is to make meaning; “if you make meaning, you will probably make money; but you set out to make money, you will probably not make meaning and you won’t make money”. I was struck by what he said. Is making meaning that important in earning money? Since when does “meaning” became a way in making money? I agreed on what he said, if you really think about it, the belief he stated was sensible. People nowadays are into making money. Who else doesn’t? And then they tend to forget about what are his purposes why he came up with such company or business. We make businesses just for our own benefits and not thinking how our business could help others and the community as well.

Mr. Guy Kawasaki stated that there are three main ways to make a “meaning” to your career: increase the quality of life, right a wrong, and prevent the end of something good.

Increase the quality of life

Think of something that would greatly help and increase the quality of life not just for you but for the people around you. When starting a business think of something worthy as your inspiration and think of something big that could be your greatest motivation. As what Mr. Guy Kawasaki said, when they were making the Mac computers, they were motivated not because of the money they are going to earn but because they wanted to unleash the creativity and the skills of the Mac users, the people behind Mac were motivated by thinking how they are going to change people’s lives. It is not that hard to do, right? Instead of thinking how we can get money, let us think on how we are going to change people’s ways of living; let us think of something that will put a big mark on the industry, a legacy that we can be proud of. Through this, we will be genuinely happy and contented for sure. It is great seeing the smiles of people because of what you did for them.

Right a wrong

Observe Philippines for example, if you are a pessimistic person, you will see this country as dirty, not organize and chaotic. And as a starting-up technopreneur, it will be best to think of something that would greatly help this country. Fix something that you think is wrong. Like corruption, abuses, and such; think of something that could end all those. It would not be easy since big people are behind all of the bad things happening but start with small things and slowly pull up and let people hear your heart. And when you find something to end it, it would helpful not just for yourself but for the community where you are at as well. Isn’t it great if you will be one the people who will contribute to the end of crimes in your country? You will be an instant super hero. But yet the essence of helping is the main key for you to achieve the thing that you want.

Prevent the end of something good

Despite all the bad things happening around us, I know we could still see something good beyond all of these. If your will search deeper, you will be able to see things that are amazing and just waiting for us to be seen. If you can see something good, something great, something very useful, do not change it, instead, make something that would improve it and enhance it. Use everything that you think is the best in order to improve yourself as well. Use every resource you could have to start or improve your business. For example, there are still hidden paradise here in the Philippines for sure, instead of invading them and destroy, make something out of it like putting up a resort or a museum that showcases the greatness of our country, in that way, you will be promoting country’s tourism and yet make money out of it.

Mr. Guy Kawasaki highly recommended to at least have one of these three ways if you plan to put up a business or an organization. If you do not have any, take time to think all over again. Having these three ways could help you make a meaning in your business. Through this, you will not grow tired in working on your business since you know that you are doing it because you know you are helping others while you are earning as well.

For me as person, I have also set my own ways on how I am going to make meaning in my own very ways and experiences. So these are: to know what I want, to set my goals, to set my scope, and to determine my purpose.

SET: WHT I WANT

This was one of our activities during Techno 1, it was to determine what we love, what are we best at, and what our irritants are. I was also able to assess myself of what I really wanted to do with my life. Fortunately, I was able to find one that caught my interest and attention. It is not easy seeking for your love and your wants, although its easy when we talk about material things but when it comes to real things in the real world, it would a little harder. So it is really important to determine what you love, what you want and what your interests earlier.

SET: GOALS

Setting up your goals would help us find our paths and never get lost. Setting up goals serves as our map in our journey to our finish line which is the success of our business. These goals will also serve as our reminders and motivation. Every time we see our goals we will be reminded to be more persevered and determined. Every time we see these goals we will be able to know where we are heading and be guided.

SET: SCOPE

Just like in our Programming Management subject, it is really important to determine the scope of your business. In order not to over-do everything, determining the scope of your business will greatly help you in terms of management in time and in cost.

SET: PURPOSE

Knowing your purpose is just the same as setting some goals but it is way more deeper. Knowing what you can do in order to fulfill your purpose is a great achievement already. Having purpose in life also serves as our guide not just in your business but in your life as well. Since I told you that it is way deeper, your purpose should come from your heart and not just from your mind through paper. Fulfilling the purpose of you business is just the same with fulfilling half of your purpose in life. That is why determining your purpose and fulfilling them is a necessity and it is also a key to eternal and guanine happiness.

These are just my own list to make my own meaning. Different people have different perspective in life, which is why we have to look on both sides in order to avoid misconceptions and misunderstandings. I also highly recommend to apply Mr. Guy Kawasaki’s ways to find meaning, it is very easy to understand and very easy to apply. Its message is very clear and meaningful as what I have said. Apply at least one will help you find your own meaning and having the real happiness would be very easy.

WHAT I LEARNED?

Money is not everything. Meaning is everything. We cannot have money all the time but we can make meaning with every move we make and every breath we take. When you already found your meaning on things that you do, then you are doing the right thing and you are on the right path. I know sometimes we tend to get lost on the track but having a certain meaning could help you get back and move on.

We were given a task to walk around and look for a technopreneur idea. Well, I think I have also thought of one during technopreneurship 1, and it was about an online artist agency. Now, I want to think of something that I am interested to nowadays. It is really hard to think of something at first especially when you are already satisfied with what you have right now. Since I love doing something, anything under the sun, I want think of something that I will be able to put out on hands someday. As I have confessed in my past proposal, I am not a business-minded person.

Almost everything nowadays, automatic, and more people are now living and depending on the cyber world. Career people are always in a hurry and with the help of the internet and hi-tech gadgets; it makes their work easier and faster. I am referring to event organizers specifically. I could see that their ways of living are always in a rush. There a lot of things to take care of and it is not easy organizing things and being reprimanded by your bosses. That is why I have made this kind of business in order to help them for their work to become easier and faster. At first I have thought of an online shop, but online shops are so 2009. And I do not think I will be able to make gadgets. But since it is just an idea why not make it fantastic.

During the last technopreneurship, I was able to think of a business which was called Cyber Artists Center. If I will be given a chance, I will still try to implement it because it is my passion; performing. So, what is Cyber Artists Center all about? It is where I hold different artists like bands, singers, dancers and even emcees. Since I am into performing as well, I would like to have it this way. Where we all get to benefit, we get to earn money and at the same time fulfill our dreams of becoming performers not just in our locality but the whole wide world as well. But this idea does not stop inside the cyber world; I have plans on creating my own company in live action. Where I get to train and help lots of amateurs yet talented people. I know for a fact that talented people are scattered everywhere, especially on the cyber world. If you would try searching on Youtube, you will see millions of videos where talented people perform. I could see that they are really doing their best on getting the people’s attention so they can show what they have got. I know what they are feeling because I, myself too is in the state where I want to show to others that I am not just an ordinary girl, hence, I have something to show to others as well. And I know that some of them are desperate to create a name in the industry. But before engaging to that gigantic world, they have to undergo a process in order to prepare them. As I have seen those talented people, I have thought of helping some of them getting the life that they want to; living the kind of life that they are passionate about. We earn while we have fun. So this is how my business will run: I will hold an open audition for possible artists that I will be managing. Let them submit an audition video. With the videos, I will choose some of it to be posted and promoted. I will put up a gallery-like website where I will promote different artists. If the clients want singers, dancers, bands and emcees, they will just scan to the page where their chosen performers will be posted. Together with the artists, are the said videos for a preview. After they have picked their choice, they will have to contact the manager which will be me. After negotiations, I may then contact the said artist or the performer and give them the event that they will be handling; the kind of event, the date, the location and the number of hours that they will be performing.

So that was my first techno idea, last meeting, we were asked again to walk around and think of another technopreneur creation or idea. On my past essays, I always give emphasis to my passion which is music. And when I say music, I really find it hard to think of something that would become a great technopreneur discovery. So the first thing, I love music so much. I love singing whether it is a Filipino song, English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. I love it. Now I always listen to different kind of music. And I love singing with it. Now my problem is sometimes I cannot sing with it, especially songs in other languages. That is why I came up with an idea of certain device or an mp3 player that automatically searches for lyrics in roman form because other languages have their own alphabets, so I thought of a device that automatically converts a certain alphabet to roman characters in order for me to be able to read it. I am not quite sure if this has already existing but I want to be particular that the device is only an mp3 player and plays only mp3 format files. It would be a convenient for me, as well as other music lovers out there.

The next techno idea I have though of is a device that tells if a mother dog is about to give birth. I had a past experience before where I have dog which was pregnant. But we were not able to monitor how she gave birth; the sad and crucial part for me was she ate two of her puppies. She had 6 but only four survived. I really felt sad because I also have this weak point when it comes to animals specifically to dogs. Now, I have another dog who is about to give birth soon, and I want to see her give birth to her puppies and of course, to avoid what had happened before, I want take good care of her puppies. Since she is my favorite dog, I want to be on her side when she is in pain. So what would this device do? It is a choker for dogs or dog tags to be specific. It would send a text message when the dog’s tummy starts to contract and if it is time for her to give birth. In such way, I will be aware of my dog’s situation and I will be there to witness and support her during the special day of her life.

The next thing I had in mind is a portable ultrasound. So why did I come up with this idea? My mom always talks about his huge tummy and tells us about the pain she is feeling sometimes. We often see the doctor for her checkups and it costs way too much and sometimes it takes too much time when we are on queue. Now in order to save money, I wanted to create a device for an ultrasound that stores up the images on it. Instead of queuing for how many hours, we will just have to show the results to her doctor and just have a consultation. In that way we will be able to save money and time. This will also be applicable for pets, like dogs so that we will be able to determine the number of puppies that we will be expecting in the future. And we will be able to know if they are pregnant again and stuff like that. It will be really helpful, for us pet lovers and for the veterinarian use as well.

Another idea I had, actually this was my idea even before I was enrolled in technopreneurship. I wanted to create a customer counter inside any fast food chains. So how did I come up with such idea? Well, it always happens to us whenever we go to any fast food chains or restaurants, especially during kunch breaks and snack time, where lots of people are queing and lots of people are already eating. I want to make a device that tells whether there is still vacant tables inside or if we should better look for another restaurant. Queing is no joke, the thing when you have to fall in line and end up wasting your time standing and waiting for vacant tables with a tray full of food. So this device will be placed outside the restaurant, when we see a red light, it simply means that the establishment is full and we will have to look for another. In that case, we will be able to save time and avoid ulcer.

There are a lot of technopreneur ideas out there waiting to be discovered, they are waiting for us to thnk about them if only we are open enough for changes and for great ideas to come in. Now,as a reminder for us to be able to catch great ideas, we should be patient; this is must not just for me but to all as well. In the techno world, you will not succeed instantly. Success in this kind of world is not reached just as easy as winning a raffle draw. Everything comes into a process. And this process may take long if you will just going to watch everything and do nothing. And not everything that put up will end up the way you wanted it to be. That is why I should possess great patience in order to succeed. The next thing is to be persevered; this is also a must have in every aspects of our lives. In any career that we are taking, we should pour our very best in order to succeed. Like what I have said, you cannot get anything by watching, you should do a thing in order to catch something. Even in our studies, we should be persevered in order to get good grades. Studying is one way; you will not be able to understand anything if you will just depend on what your teacher has taught you, you should learn how to understand your lessons in your own way. Striving hard is one factor that will be helpful for humans to survive in this world. That is why everyone must possess such characteristic. If everyone will have it, I am sure that there will be no more hungry people living in this country. The next thing is to be determined; this is very common among people like us. We tend to become determined enough to know what we want and to get what our hearts shout for. Being determined will give us directions on where we should go, leading to our greatest dreams. Next is be creative. Every each of us has this artistic skills hidden inside. We just have to let it and let it give us motivation and direction. You see, these are just some. We could be creative enough and unique if we do not close our hearts and our minds for great ideas to come. And through this, wewill be able to create something and contribute to the betterment and advancement of the world.

Starting and thinking of great ideas may be hard, it was hard for me at first too since I am not that creative when it comes to creative stuffs. I struggle a lot since I am not that into techie gadgets although I am fond of using some, I cannot see myself making one. Even thinking how to make the physical components of any device makes me scared since I do not know how to be crafty. Maybe because I just do not know myself that much. I know I could do something but maybe it is just not the time. I am hoping soon enough, I will be able to craete one greate invention.

Why do projects fail?

The second activity we did on our Project Management course was to determine what causes a certain project to fail. If I am to enumerate all the factors why projects fail, it would take us a day to determine all of it. Since we are now in our junior year in college, tons of projects and paper works are approaching. That is why it will be better if we could at least determine those factors and try to avoid all of those in order to accomplish any projects that may come.

To start off, I want to know when projects will be considered as failed. So a project is considered a failure when it has not delivered what was required, in line with expectations. So in order to succeed we must be able to reach and fulfill the project’s requirements, whether it would be in cost, quality and time. There are a lot of steps in a project’s procedure to follow. These steps will serve as the guidelines in order to achieve the success of the project.
As what I have defined on the previous article, projects can be in any form and on different projects, there will different factors that contribute to its failure.

These reasons are random and could occur on different kinds of projects:

• The wrong business requirements have been addressed

If your project is set up to deliver the "wrong thing," it may be considered a failure even if everything is delivered on time, within budget, and to the required quality. This seems harsh. But if your project doesn't deliver what the organization really needs, this will inevitably negatively affect how it's perceived. This is why it's so important to conduct a thorough business requirements analysis.

Now, make sure to check everything before submitting or sending something like a project. This could be considered a huge issue, even though everything went smoothly but the project did not come out as expected, everything will be useless and it causes waste of money as well.

• The environment changes

If the business's needs change, then your business case can become outdated before you've actually completed the project.

Changes in the environment could be one of the factors, you can never tell what the company needs as time goes by and you need to review all over again about the needs of the company or organization.

• Lack of financial support

This is one of the most common factors that make a certain project at school fail. Not all students can afford the things that will be needed to support a certain project. Although there are alternatives, money is still considered as one important requirement.

This is one of the most common factors that affect the process of a particular project. When a certain budget is not enough to support a certain projects everything will be out of hand. The progress of the project will be temporarily stopped and it will greatly affect the given timeframe.

• Time management

This is also one common factor in failing in a certain project, like in my case, I am enrolled in several subjects and sometimes I find it hard to manage my time when all of the subjects teachers give tons of projects in one time, and end up failing in one project. Every student suffers on the same issue.

Since making a project is given a certain timeframe, we should be able to manage it. Finishing on time marks a big check on the objectives. I know that everyone has it, the issue of managing time. It is very difficult especially when you are into some extra curricular activities. I can tell that because I myself have issues like this before. But now I try to cut some extra activities and focus on some important ones.

• Poorly Managed

Lack of management from the head could be one of the factors as well. Even though you have the best workers in town, if you have poor management, everything will be a sort of trash, chaos and unorganized project.

The project is poorly managed. The issue of having poor managerial skills is an issue as well. When a certain manager cannot take responsibility of running the people under a particular project is a difficult problem to solve. Having a good manager is a must in order to achieve and obtain the objectives of a certain project.

• Undefined objectives and goals

This is when we do things in a rush. Projects may fail due to lack of planning and proper citing of goals and objectives. Projects fail when we do not meet the objectives given. So it is a must to plan everything before making a GO in a project.

When starting a particular business we should be aware of the objectives and goals of it. We should be aware on what things to do and why we are doing the things that we do. Sometimes having lack of awareness about the thing to be achieved can lead us to nowhere. Having clear list of goals and objects gives us directions on which path we should take for a smooth journey.

• Poor communication

Sometimes the issue is because of the miscommunication of the team members of the project. Sometimes the ideas of the members clashes with others and causes chaos within the group and end up ruining everything that has been planned for the project.

Misunderstanding and miscommunication between people is a bad thing; this causes bad arguments and disorganized team. With a chaotic team, do you think we will still be able to make a great project, or are we still be able to make a project? That should be the question to be asked in order to avoid stupidity and pathetic acts within team under a particular project.

• Too much pressure

Now, who loves pressure? No one, right? And being too much pressured can keep us thinking the right things to do. We panic, forget everything and end up in a disorganized situation. We are scared of pressure, I agree to that. I even curse it because it keeps me out of focused and makes me crazy.

Instead of being afraid of it, why not make it as a motivation? Use the pressure given to you as a tool in order for you to think great ideas in a short period of time. Adrenaline rush, I may say. I could hear some of my peers that they can think straight when they can feel the adrenaline rush over their body. Great ideas come, especially things that they did not expect that will be thinking.

• We depend on others

We wait for other to make a move. We grow too dependent on others and forget to have our own initiative. We tend follow on the shadows of other people. We let them control them influence us and tend to change our focus and points of view which sometimes causes the unexpected changes in the project.

This is a bad thing, I may say. Just like in school. We tend to forget about making our assignments and just wait for others and copy from them. When there are group activities we tend to rely on their ideas and forget that we also have mouths to speak and that we could add some ideas for the group. It happened to me before. I do not make my own assignments and I just copy from others, but I already learned my lesson and I try to make my own assignments and make my own moves through my own initiative.

• Bad decisions

Sometimes everything under the projects will go to trash with just a simple one bad decision. Even a simple wrong turn can cause chaos and tangled scenarios.

Let us face it, sometimes we make bad decisions over things and end up regretting. Let us keep in mind that making decisions is a huge responsibility to make, and we are the ones who will take the consequences on making it. We should be responsible enough and try to think thing thoroughly before coming into a decision.

• Stakeholder conflict

A certain company can sometimes end up in chaos due to arguments within the stockholders themselves. Because of the want to be on top sometimes, they forgot to think that there projects that will be affected because of their works.
I cannot relate to this but I am sure that this is one of the issues why some huge projects fail.

• Poorly defined roles and responsibilities

People on their places does not know what are their responsibilities and their roles as what they have as a title. Sometimes they tend to forget why they are given the title as manager or any higher ranks which sometimes causes disorganization and chaos.

When we are given a certain position, we should be responsible for it. Let us not forget that there people behind us that seeks for our guidance and directions. So we should be matured enough to be committed and responsible.

• Quality Control issues

Delivering bad products to the customer is a quick way to fail. Quantity and speed is nothing without the best quality a person could offer. Quality is indeed the best way to gain more clients and be successful in any projects you will be handling.

• Selecting the Wrong Project Manager

This is just the same with being poorly managed. Having great follower is such a waste if the person they are following is not really worth it. It difficult to have such great manager with great leadership skills that is why we tend to look for someone who only looks like a good manager but never really does the best way to improve or to help the people and the company he is serving.

• Setting priorities

This is one common problem within a certain projects specially when there are more things that are bothering the project manager. Still everything depends on the manager.

• Hidden Agendas Can Compromise Progress

This is a particularly difficult problem to identify and overcome. We all have unexpressed thoughts and concerns. We all have egos to protect. A good project manager with a high level of emotional intelligence will use their intuition to identify any unsaid needs and draw out any hidden agendas without alienating or threatening anyone.

• Unexpected changes in the project

This is one thing that is unavoidable when under a certain project. It is going to be wasteful, in terms of money, materials and time. Even though we follow certain procedure or plan, changes are still possible to occur and ruin everything, especially when the monitoring team is weak and not rally doing their jobs.

• Change of Scope

As what I have stated above, we cannot avoid changes. It is the only permanent in this world. And we cannot avoid the fact that the scope or the boundaries of our projects tend to change.

• Less effort have been given to the project

Everything that you make is a masterpiece. Now, if you will not put your all on it, it going to be a waste. Giving your all and putting lots of effort on a particular project could lead to the aspired success and achievement.

• Unrealistic timeframe

Let us face it, we are no superhumans. We do not have super powers to create something in an instant. We should make a timeframe that we know we will be able to make something and not make something just to impress. Let us be realistic you know.

These are just some of my research about the factors and reasons why some projects fail. There are a lot to know about it. The next thing I am going to open up is about my point of view about why some of my projects fail and how did I cope up with it.

The most common reason why some of my projects fail in my past experiences is time, financial support and laziness.

TIME

Time management is one issue. I mean most of us during the activity gave time as their reason for failure. We are given enough time but why do we fail to do our tasks. What could be the main reason why we tend to waste our time than making the things that we should do? Well, for me, I do not know. I just love to do things that is enjoyable than making tons of essays and end up mixing and scramble every word that I type. So I see, this is all about time management and setting up priorities. What do I do in a day? I love watching movies, playing the guitar and watching music videos over the internet. Make sense? But it is not just about what I prefer doing but it also happens that tons of projects with the same deadlines are occurring. It is difficult, right? I cannot hit two birds in one stone. And one more thing, I am still young I am still into games and I love playing. It is still about which weighs heavier. And it is hard for me because I am the kind of person who loves doing everything, even non sense things.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

This is the biggest issue among all. Money is really an important thing; money for the materials to be used on my project, fare, and food. There a lot of alternatives instead buying new stuff for the project but I cannot avoid spending to make it better and saleable. And sometimes there could be projects that really need funding and sometimes I am having difficulties in doing one. Like way back in my elementary days where we were financially down. There was one project that really I have to buy for the materials. I was crying because my classmates have already submitted their projects and I still was not able to start up. Good thing my teacher gave me another project in order to cope up with my grade. You know, we can say that money is not everything, but for me, it is really important and it matters a lot. Just like right now in college, I almost fail in our Field Trip and Seminar subject because I failed to pay for the travelling stuff.

LAZINESS

Who would not agree on this matter? Laziness is one great factor to consider. I am lazy, I confess. Youth nowadays are so into sleeping and sitting and eating all day long; prefers to play online games than into physical sports like basketball, volleyball and baseball. So why did I consider it as one factor that contributes to the failure? Simple, because I can see it in myself that I prefer sleeping than making my projects. I prefer pleasure than finishing everything before its deadline. I know lots of the youth today are like this.
When we had our discussion about this, Sir Gamboa emphasized that the main reason why projects fail is because of US, the people behind the project. It is not because of time, money or even laziness. It is us who controls, thinks and manages the project. So its success or failure depends on us. The factors stated above are occurring because of us. It is me who chose to be lazy when I could use my time wisely and be productive; it is me who chose to spend more money than be thrifty enough and use my creativity in order to produce great hand-made projects. It is us who chose to have high pride rather than be humble and try to keep an open mind for others to share their ideas. It is us who chose to misunderstand everything and it is us who chose to allow miscommunications get in the way. It is us who chose our project manager and make him lead even though we know that he or she is not that deserving and he or she does not possess such great leadership skills. It is us who fails to set our priorities right and it is us who failed to manage our time. It is us who chose and allow to produce projects with the lowest quality and it us who chose to be affected with unexpected changes and we let it control us rather than we control them. And it is us who chose and allow our projects to fail. You see, projects will not be called as projects without us people who manage it.

FAIL TO PLAN or PLAN TO FAIL

What is the difference between the two? A lot. Why do projects fail? Is it because we fail to plan or we plan to fail?
Fai l to plan. When I first heard it, I kind of agreed on the thought that projects fail because I failed to plan; since I know from the very beginning that planning is the most important thing to make in order to organize the process of making your projects. I was thinking maybe failing on making plans is the reason why we fail. Maybe the lack of awareness on planning causes the failure of a certain project. I myself do not know how to make plans properly and orderly. I rush things. I am not a good planner. But when the second thought came, it awakens my mind.
Plan to fail. Huh? Right then I realized that it is really us who made the failure and not those lame excuses. Again, it is us who made those stupid factors for us to fail. We use those excuses in order to cover our mistakes and wrong doings. Everyone knows how to plan, and planning to fail is one of it. We are the ones who chose and allow ourselves to fail in some situations that we are still able to make solutions out of it. We tend let failure beat us rather than fighting and aim for success. It is us. We are the master mind.

What is a project?

Project is something you make. It could be in any form and in any size. It is something you create within a period of time. It could be done by hands or any machines, it could be as big as constructing a 20-storey building or as small as doing school paper works. Some examples of it are like in engineering works, constructing a huge establishment; a mall, a school, a house. Those were considered as engineering projects. While at school, book reports, class room charts and decorations are examples of school projects. To summarize, it is something you do, make or create.

In reference to the PMBOK Guide, a project is said to be:

TEMPORARY

It is temporary in a sense that there is a time given for it to finish. It has a beginning and an end. It does not just refer to a short-term progress but it may go for years and decades.

UNIQUE PRODUCTS, SERVICES, OR RESULTS

Projects could be considered in any forms as what I have stated earlier. It could be in products, in any kind of services and it produces results. Uniqueness of the project is very important; your project must be in different design, form or idea. In order to prevent chaos or plagiarism, uniqueness of a certain project must be considered as one of the important factors to be considered.

PROGRESSIVE ELABORATION

Progressive elaboration means that a certain project should be developing. There would be a certain progressive in steps, and continuing by increments.

What is management?

Management is somewhat like organizing, controlling, administering a certain group, company and anything. It is commonly seen everywhere. It could be through people, things or happenings. Examples of these are managing a certain mall or establishment where you organize your people on their respective departments. Arranging your papers and books may be considered as management as well. Any act of organizing controlling is considered as management.

What is project management?

Project management is a technique used in order to fix or organize a certain project from start to finish. It can be applied to any types of projects is widely used to control the complex processes of software development projects. Based on our reference book, project management is a process of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. And a project manager handles the said management. In reference to the PMBOK Guide, managing a project includes identifying the requirements, establishing clear and achievable objectives, balancing the competing demands quality, time, scope and cost, adapting the specifications, plans, and approach to the different concerns and expectations of the various stakeholders. A project manager often talks about the “triple constraint” or the project scope, time and cost. And the project manager monitors the progression and the achieving of objectives in certain project that he handles; project risks is said to be uncertain or unpredictable but possible to be encountered and whenever it occurs, it will only lead to a positive or negative result on the project objectives to be achieve.

My reflection on the first meeting.

On our first meeting on our project management subject, we already had our first activity which was to define project, management and project management in particular. Of course all of us have our own definition of such terms. And most of us answered almost the same, project is something to be created in period of time; management is an act of managing, directing and controlling; and project management is a technique applied to a certain project in order to finish it orderly. According to Sir Randy, project management can be related to the abbreviation PDOC, which means Planning, Directing, Organizing and Controlling. Planning, obviously it is setting your objectives, setting the time frame of the said project, citing the resources and the people who will work for it. Directing, as a manager you have the privilege to direct the progression of your project, assign your people and make everything happen. Organizing is putting everything in place. And controlling, which means you are in hold of everything that is related to your project being handled.

But during our discussion, the main topic is the term “management”. Was it really the right word to fit on the title project management? Are we all agreed of the word used? It became an issue because of its definition which was controlling. Does anybody wants to be controlled by anyone? No one, right? That is why we had a discussion on what term should be used aside from “management” then “leadership” came. Perfect. There is a huge difference between being a manager and a leader. A manager controls and commands while the leader sets an initiative, acts on his own while the people under his leadership follows not because the leader asked but because they were influenced by the acts of their leader. A leader has the capabilities of influencing his people, has the ability to spread a certain command without shouting and talking all the time; while a manager is always being hated by his/her people because of an unending commands like they were treated as slaves and not as people. A leader can let his people follow him without shouting at the top his lungs and a leader is being looked up by his people and being afraid of. While a manger is scary and said always commanding and stuff and very controlling which we really hate.

I have here I prefer being a leader than being a manager.

A manager is SMART BUT HEARTLESS towards the people under their power.

On the most of the managers, I would agree saying that they are really smart and wise but they often use their brains over their hearts which causes insensitivity and cruelty among their people. I often see crying laborers outside their offices while they are busy counting their moneys. I can sometimes hear them such rude words towards their people under their management which I sincerely feel pity to.

A leader is MINDFUL AND SENSITIVE towards their people.

This is what I love about being a leader. Leaders love their people and treat them like their family not their slaves. Leaders are smart the same as the managers but they think together with their heart and they consider the feelings and the situations of their people before acting a certain decision. They can determine if one of their people is having a hard time and think of something that could help out. They of their people as precious as gems because without them, there will be no work be done. Each person counts.

A manager uses more WORDS than ACTIONS.

A manager commands a lot and controls a lot. They point from there to there and even scream to their people. They tend to command a lot and forget that they have some tasks to do as their manager as well. That is something that I really hate; people that tends to command a lot and works nothing at all.

A leader GUIDES his people and WORKS on his own as well.

As what I have state above, a leader influences rather than commands. They guide their people, teach them what to do and leave them, not like abandoning them but he has to do his tasks as well. If people could see their leader working, they wholeheartedly work their buts out to keep the spirit of team work lives. Instead of controlling them, a leader should guide them on doing the right thing. If a certain person fails, instead of shouting at him, help him out. That is what a leader must be.

A manager CONTROLS his people.

Who wants to be controlled? Nobody. That is why I really hate managers because I do not want to be being said on what I should do. I take guidelines and instructions not out of this world commands.

A leader LEADS his people.

Instead of controlling them, leaders lead; lead their people to the right path of the project’s journey to the finish line. Leaders are approachable and smile a lot to his people. You can never see them frowning and they are always on the chill mode; laughs with his people during break time and sometimes eats with his people during lunch.

I have also stated some places and situations where managing and leading happens:

AT SCHOOL

At school, groupings and electing of officers are always done and they also have these cleaners of the day thing that requires having a leader. In groupings like in some subject activities, we tend to have a leader and a secretary. The leader divides the topics and distributes it to his members including himself. Managing happens when he gives all of their topics to the members leaving nothing for him and tends to just let his members do all the work while he is busy playing DOTA. On electing officers, the president is considered to be the leader of the pack. He guides his people under his presidency on what things to do in order to keep a peace and orderly class. Managing occurs when he tends to use his powers to get what he wants; when he lets his people suffer from a chaotic class while he s busy doing his own stuff, this tends to happen a lot especially in high school, and the assigning of the cleaners-of-the-day, this one is quite memorable for me because I always end up being the leader of the Monday cleaners way back grade school. In my case, I do not I am a manager but I do not consider my self as a leader as well. I do my own chores and I let them do theirs; I do not command or assign chores, since I do not want to be controlled, I do not control people as well. I just list down the names of the members who cleaned and were done. Leadership skills are mostly done in schools.

AT WORK

At a certain company, there will be a CEO, at a certain construction project, there will be a project engineer; at a certain dealership, there will be a lead dealer. There are different terms used to address a leader or a manager. At company or a corporation, there will be a person who will be in charge of the company; it is the president or the CEO. He holds the biggest percentage of stocks being invested in the company. He is assigned by the stockholders to be their leader because of his ability to lead the group. Management occurs when he tends to control everything without the permission of the board members and tends to use his power to do underground transactions. On the other side, projects like constructing a building has its own leaders too; the project engineer. Engineers design and organize the progress of the said construction. My father is a project engineer. I am aware of his work and responsibility as an engineer. He has already done multimillion worth of projects and handled different kinds of people. I can say that my father is a great leader because the people under him respects him a lot and I have seen it ever since that he has great relationships with his people. He talks to them like they are just in the same state, jokes with them and sometimes eat with them. I have gone to my father’s work before and I can see that my father works a lot in order to make a certain construction works. Engineering is not that easy; aside from administering the building you might you should as well organize your people in order to synchronize everything. Another example is my mother’s work. She is a sales agent at Forest Lake. In order to sell, you should be a member of a certain group or dealership. My mother possesses the second highest rank on the dealership. The leader is called the lead dealer and my mother and some others are called cooperating dealer and so on and so forth. Tito Michael is the lead dealer. I am also as well part of their dealership under my mom’s. I can say that Tito Michael is a great leader because he was able to reach the top of the sales without hurting or stepping on any others foot. He treats his people like brothers and sisters and influences them on working hard not because he will gain from it but because it is for the agent’s good as well. He does not command people to sell but he asks them to try their best while he does his as well. Tito Michael amazes me, despite all of the chaos on the marketing world; he was still able to put up a dealership that is fun and lively.

AT HOME

At our home, management rules; we are all lazy people. If we can see people doing household chores, we tend to just watch and let them do it alone. When I am doing the chores, my mother and my sibling hides inside the room and just come out when the table is already done. That is what fires me up, I depend on me alone, even though I go home late because of school, they still wait for me to cook and wash the dishes. But I myself have faults as well, when I feel lazy, I tend to command everything, I do all the talking and they do the work. It is a thing called revenge. But I already had a realization, in order to keep a peaceful and chaos-free home; everyone in the house should be a leader. We will not wait for others to do the chores but instead have the initiative to do it on our own and there will be no more problems in the future.

From PROJECT MANAGEMENT to PROJECT LEADERSHIP.

If we are going to refer to its meaning as management and leadership, I would suggest to really having the term leadership than management. Leadership sounds way better than management. You see, if we are going to look at the meaning of it as in the book and as a course, although management is said to be what we are going to learn, the principles that are being taught is still about leadership. We all know that leadership is still the best when talking about holding up a project or any kinds of organization. If we are going to learn about how to be a good leader, I know we will be the best managers this world could have. I have nothing against the term “manager” but it is the people, who possess such title; who seemingly do not know what its meaning and what is its role to the community. Being a manager as well as a leader is a great responsibility yet an honor, if you are going to have the title as the manager, it simply means that the people around puts up huge amount of trust on you; and you should make it your best in order to make up to their expectations and be the great leader that they will look up to. I have gone to a lot of leadership seminars and I have learned that being a leader does not necessarily mean that you are the head of a certain group; you can be a leader even though you are just a follower. You can lead yourself and your fellow follower by showing them good deeds and what should a follower do in order to succeed; if you will be able to influence them, then by that you can consider yourself as a good leader and maybe some time, you will be able to hold a pack with such great followers and held by a great leadership.

Do I consider myself as a great leader?

I am still on the process of learning on how to be a good leader. In order to become one, discipline is a factor, if you are well-disciplined, then everyone who sees you will follow you. If you know how to carry yourself and lead your people with confidence, then you possess such great leadership skills. And that is a good key.

Being a leader is such a great opportunity in order to speak out what do you want to improve your community. It is a chance where people listens to every word you speak. And through this, you will be able create something for the betterment of the society.

HAVING A GREAT LEADER AS A MANAGER.

A manager should possess great leadership skills in order to create a progressive working relationship. If the manager is a leader enough to take charge on a certain project, then no doubt, that certain project will be a hit for sure. If your manager tends to have the initiative to reach out on people who is under him, then a brighter future awaits you.

Companies now a days are looking for managers who possess such great leadership skills, who could lead people but yet still called a manager and not as a leader. I love the thought having great leadership skills, it simply means a great trust will be given to you, trust from the people around and trust from the people above you. You see, it will be easy for us to climb up to the ladder of success if we are good leaders. Since we are independent, we tend to think of things which will be not just for our own good but for good of others as well. If you are a good leader, people will love you, support you and will serve for you in the future.

I myself want to possess such great leadership skills, I mean who else doesn’t? Even other people tend to pay money in order to have seminars and be aware of the tips on how to become of a good leader. I have been to a lot of it and I was able to get some tips in order to become one. I hope people not just here in my school, not just in my city, not just in my country but the whole world will be able to have great leaders in the future.

Having great project handled by great leaders gives us the opportunity to excel and grow in the industry world.

There were a lot of things I learned from Technopreneurship 1. There were a lot of activities we went to in order to get to know ourselves better and to know the level of our capabilities. Our facilitator, Sir Randy Gamboa was able to create an environment where we, his students became more motivated and desperate to get what we want in the future, and to become a successful technopreneur. It was kind of hard on the first time but we were able to get over it and do the best that we can. It was all interesting and fun.

When we were told that Sir Gamboa was our instructor, I was kind a nervous and thrilled because of some feedbacks we heard from our senior before. It is our first time having Sir Gamboa as our instructor. So all we did was shut our mouths and observe on the first meeting.

On the first quarter of our course, our facilitator introduced to us a model called SEED, where we are going to tackle about self mastery, environment mastery, enterprise mastery and development mastery. For the self-mastery we had activities that we helped us a lot in knowing who we really are. We were asked by Mr. Gamboa why we are going to school, and most of us answered, to finish and get a good job. Some of us wanted to go abroad after graduation, (that is if were to graduate). He asked us about our goals and mission for ourselves and in our community, of course, my answer was to lend a good job after graduation. But Mr. Gamboa had it way around, he told us to change our mind set and aim higher because he believed that we can much better than what we are thinking. Instead of being employed why not being the employer? For me, it was easy to say things but I know it will take a lot of effort to be able to make my own company. Especially that I don not have any interest of making one. I am not a business minded person. I do not know how to sell myself in order to gain profit out of my creative ideas. At that moment, I still do not know what my skills are and what can I do for a living. I am still figuring things out. I am still in a coward stage where I am afraid of taking risks and exploring things. I wanted to be stacked in my comfort zone forever, but I know it was the time, the time to get out of my shell and grow in the new world that I am having. That activity made a big issue among us students, because it talked about what we are going to be in the future and it is no joke at all. Thinking about how you are going to control and run your life not as a student anymore but a career person, living independently.

After that week, Mr. Gamboa showed us a film titled “The Pirates of the Silicon Valley” where we were asked to do a reflection and opinions about it. It was really a great movie showing us great passion on pursuing your dreams and aspirations. Steve Jobs became our inspiration on that one look. You see, he did not finish college, but he became successful. His personal life was not perfect, but he was successful. There were a lot of things that contributed to Steve Jobs’ success and failure in his career life, and we were asked to determine what those are. In his success some factors I wrote were: having great determination, having a fountain of ideas, having lots charm, having an employer mindset, and being obsessive-compulsive. And the factors contributed to his failures were: his temper, his pride, lost of control, and forgetting his roots. I have learned that each of us has our own ways on reaching our goals. We may be encountering different obstacles but it is a part of learning in order for us to become motivated, wise and brave. As I was watching the movie, lots of realizations came out, finishing college is not a necessity to be successful, although it is an advantage, guts and “distkarte” are the most important things to be possessed in order to succeed. We were also asked on how we see ourselves as a technopreneur, honestly, during that time, I did not think or foresee myself as a technopreneur or a business person. I am indeed a techie person but I do not make money out of it. But talking about making myself as a technopreneur, I know I can be a good one because having the factors of being a successful technopreneur are easy to get. Discipline, determination and courage. The next question was, if we are going to take Steve Jobs’ path, and of course my answer was no. Steve Jobs is Steve Jobs. Monique is Monique. Mr. Jobs has his own way of thinking; his own ways of living and way much smarter than me. We are different and I want to experience everything on my own and not because Steve Jobs did. I have my own definition of success and he has his own.

After the movie, we were also able to read Steve Jobs’ commencement address and learned so much from it. Steve Jobs became our inspiration and a mentor in achieving our goals. He possesses great characteristics a technopreneur should have; like having great determination and perseverance. Having great confidence and optimism to reach what you really wanted. It’s not just about good grades but it is the value of what has stored in your life. I have also learned to think about myself, on what I like and I do not and also my interests in life, because it is going to be very useful in the future. I felt a little disappointment because I was not able to know what I really want in my life and what my goals are. I keep on doing things which are totally nonsense and useless. I tend to like everything and throw it all afterwards. I do not know where I was going and risking everything. When I read the commencement letter, I felt sad but now really determined. We only had one life and we should make the most out of it; by doing what we love so that we will die happy. Just like Steve Jobs which was diagnosed by a killer disease but fortunately survived. And he was able to do what he wants and he was happy.

We were also tasked to take some tests such as personal traits test, IQ test, EQ test and AQ test. On the personal traits test, it was done on our lab room; everyone got a satisfactory result, not really a technopreneur but almost there. At that moment we were still under the adjusting period where we are about to change our old views in life. In my IQ test, the result was as expected, not that high but at least it is above average. On my EQ test, I forgot the results but if I am going to judge myself, I am not an emo but I am sensitive enough to feel if I am still doing good or I am hurting somebody and being a technopreneur, being too attached and personal to every people you meet is an issue. Everything should be pure business. And on my AQ test, well, I do not really dwell on my failures although I think about it a lot, but I do not let it get in my way; I can easily move on after a certain fall, but I am not insensitive and dumb; I just use my mind over my heart a lot.

Determining our purpose in life was one of the goals, mine was: to work out on my dreams and make them come true without stepping on others. Learn from mistakes and continue living life in God's will. It is very simple but it means a lot me. Putting God as the center of my life is a big factor in succeeding without him all our efforts will be wasted.

We also had an activity where we were asked to write our mission to ourselves, to our friends, to our family and to our community; then our facilitator took it all away, with an empty hand, we were asked again about what is our mission. It was a quite hard activity because I was too attached with what I wanted to achieve before. I then realize that there a lot of things to be discovered and lots of things that are interesting.

Another activity was we were asked to write down what we love, what we are best at and what were our irritants. I have observed that most of the things that I loved and where I am best at are not related to the career I have chosen to go now. It was kind of complicated. Out of those, we were asked to make a business plan, group and individual. In our group proposal, we had a hard time making one with my group mates because we have our own ideas and it just don’t get along with the others. I and Claire are so much into pop music, Abigail and Ralph are into arts and Benjamin is into gaming. It took us weeks to figure out what business should we propose. Until the day of presentation, we still have not made up our minds, so we decided to just mix it up together and ended up rejected. Because of the lack of understanding and lack of communication, we had to think about a new proposal again, thanks to Benj and his weird ideas, we were able to submit one and sir approved it so easily, our business was an online dirby. I was shocked at first when Sir approved it because I was honestly doubtful on our proposal because it is a kind of gambling, it is a cockfight and I know for a fact that it is kind of complicated to begin with. But still luckily, we were able to pass through it. In my personal proposal, I have decided to create an online artist agency or management. It is a website where amateur artists come and they will let us promote them by having clients who needs performers. I had a great vision on that proposal because it is what I really want, and what I am fond of doing, performing. If my online business will succeed, my next target is to make an actual artist company, where I will be training artist and make them known not just here in the Philippines but worldwide as well. Quite big huh?

There were a lot of things I got from all of those activities and by the help of Sir Randy. I am surely sure that I will be able to use all of those in my future career life and to become a successful technopreneur. To number my learning, having an open mind and be considerate for the ideas of others, because there could be times that I will be working with other people. Like what happened in our part activity, you see not every one of us think the same and have the same hobbies and likes. Also one thing is to keep the fire of determination burning, never let one failure ruin your entire dreams; I will use all of those in order to be courageous and wise in the future even today. Now that I am not getting any younger, I will practice on how to think mature and but to be too serious. Have fun and explore. Have a sharp mind and keep an open visuals for new creations and inventions. Because of these, I was able to determine what I have been wanting ever since. And I am glad I took this subject.

My advice to those who will take the subject, bring a camera with you, take down notes as well. And never ever leave your stuff unattended. Be aware of the amount to be used to prepare your parents. Bring extra money too. Most especially, have fun! Enjoy and make the most out of your trip.

It was not a perfect field trip for us but still we managed to finish it happily.

Since the biggest issue we had was the time management, I hope next time, scheduled will be followed well. The division of students must be organized well so there would no more exchanging things to happen. It was one of the issues we had because there are some students that didn’t know which bus they should take.

Another thing, I suggest to change the choice of hotel because as we have observed, cleanliness was really an issue. We could see some trash under our beds, ruined air condition frames and a remote that won’t function and we tried to ask some help but they just ignored us, and did not served us well. And we also observed that they don’t change our comforters and they have blankets that are the same with the ones on the hospitals, it kind of freaky.

I also suggest to add more side trips to make the most out of the money paid. And make the trip more unforgettable.

Day 5


October 8, the last day. We still have two more companies to visit. We started our day with a breakfast still at the hotel.


Today, I went on a company visit to TTI (Telecoms Training Institute) at Valenzuela City and MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority) Traffic Engineering department at Makati City.


What I have learned?


I have learned that Telecommunications Training Institute or TTI was made to aid players in the telecommunications industry, its training programs were opened to other interested parties, such as: technical staff of PTEs, Image employees from other government agencies, students, out-of-school youths, and foreign students. They are offering the following trainings: Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access), Solar Power System, Aerial Line Plant Design, Aerial Line Plant Installation, Metallic Cable Splicing, Outside Plant Maintenance, Optic Fiber Splicing and Testing, Digital Telephone, Switching, Concepts and Applications, Basic Digital Technology, Digital Transmission Technology, Wireless Local Loop (WLL), Satellite Communications Technology, Data Communications and Networking, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) (info about the training from TTI website). They have showed us lots about data transmission on communication and transportation. They showed to us how fiber optics being used and how we should be careful on cutting it because it could kill people. It was a good topic, but I do not think that we will be inclined to such line of career. It was all about wirings, connections and I think ECE people would be best for it. I did not even understand some of the terms the lecturer gave. But it was quite nice.

After TTI, we had our last company visit at the MMDA Traffic Engineering department. MMDA holds lots of sub-departments to cater the development of Manila. And one of it is the Transport and Traffic Management; which includes the formulation, coordination and monitoring of policies, etc. As we were entering, we were amazed to huge screens monitoring the busy streets of Manila. They’ve got lots of computer for monitoring. They even showed us a recorded video of an accident, and they were able to verify who’s to be blamed of it. And with their high-tech cameras they are able to see the plate numbers of the vehicles passing. After the monitoring, they showed us a room where data transmission occurs or in our term, servers. So if ever you want to know an alternative way to your destination to avoid traffic, you can contact them and they will provide you the routes.


What I liked?


I liked the MMDA visit. We saw how technology can be helpful nowadays. We could see how they implement different technology in order to maintain and achieve peaceful and orderly Manila streets and highways.

I also liked the Market Market stop. I was able to buy things for my sisters. And I never thought that they allow dogs to go inside the mall. I loved it. I wish the malls here in Davao would allow it too.


What I didn’t like?


After MMDA, we went to our last Mall stop, Market Market. Since it was almost 5:30pm we only had a little time to stroll around. I dislike the thought of leaving Manila without seeing my cousins and without experiencing the things that I wanted to do wayback.

After which, we headed to the airport for our departure going back to Davao.

End of Day 5.

Day 4


October 7, the most awaited day. It was the best day for me because we were able to go to places where the others didn’t. We had our breakfast at the hotel.


Today, I went on a company visit to Hitachi GST located in Laguna Technopark at Binan, Laguna. It was an hour and a half travel from Quezon City, but it was worth it. We only had one company visit for this day because went to Tagaytay afterwards.


What I learned?


I have learned that Hitachi GST provides storage devices and systems. They have shown to us different sizes of hard drives. They have external and internal drives and even solid state drives. They just showed how the drives are being processed. When we got there, it was like we were on a different place, not in the Philippines. It was kind of strict when we got inside; we have to wear shoe covers before entering the building. Before we had the proper showcasing of the company, they have discussed with us about what they offer to the market.

Off topic, I have learned that Mt. Gonzales, formerly known as Mt. Sungay is the tallest mountain in Tagaytay where the People’s Park in the Sky is located.


What I liked?


Well, it’s pretty obvious that the trip to Tagaytay was the most unforgettable thing ever. I loved the lunch at Max’s Restaurant at Tagaytay City; where the great view of Taal Lake and Taal Volcano can be seen. It was breath-taking. I never thought that I would be able to see such place because I only see them on TV. It was almost a hand-reach. We were lucky because our bus was the only batch that was able to have a stop there. And we were really happy. After the great lunch, we went directly to the People’s Park in the Sky, located at Mt. Gonzales, Tagaytay City. It was really a beautiful place to unwind. The view is very beautiful.

After Tagaytay, we went to the most exciting place, Enchanted Kingdom! We had a ride-all-you-can ticket but unfortunately we were only able to do two rides. We went to the most popular ride there, the Space Shuttle. It was really exciting. And queue was quite long. We waited over one hour before we were able to get on it. Together with Maam Maui and Sir Jappeht, we had the best night ever. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. The park was about to close, so we have to go back to the hotel as well. It’s going to be a long travel back.

I liked it when we have to eat on our own, like today. We just stayed in our rooms and ordered McDo. We felt comfortable and relaxed eating in our rooms.

What I didn’t like?


Again, it was the time issue I hated the most. We had a ride-all-you-can ticket but we were only had two rides at Enchanted Kingdom. When we decided to go to the Space Shuttle, we have fall in line and I mean it was the longest line in EK. We stood there like one hour and a half, until we were able to ride on it. Imagine, we waited for an hour and the ride lasted for only a few seconds. Gosh. We really wanted to make the most of our time there but it was closing time so we have to go out.

One more thing, when we decided to go back to the hotel, we have to take bus 2, and the bad thing was, it has cockroaches and stuff. It was gross.

End of Day 4.