Month: October 2016

Three More Reasons I Love the Philippines

I recently blogged about three reasons I love the Philippines; the geographic location of the Philippines, the Heart of the Filipino and the opportunity to fulfil my destiny of empowering Filipinos with analytics.

The blog post as generated more buzz and had more views then just about anything I have published in the past year.

It is an honor and a blessing to be able to do what I do, to speak, write, blog, and talk about analytics to Filipino students, professionals, and businesses.

Recently as the amount of rhetoric between my country of birth and my country of choice has risen, I have come to appreciate three more things I love about the Philippines.

First, I love the healthy political discourse between those who see the future of the Philippines as a more independent country with those whose lives have been positively impacted by foreigners like me.

Everyone has a right to their opinion and I spend a lot of time reading them and considering them. As an American who has cast his lot, so to speak with the Filipino people, I will always respect even those who I disagree with.

Second, I love the fact that President Duterte’s rhetoric is forcing the American government to reflect on its relationship to the Philippines.

This too is healthy in the long run. The relationship between the two nations is very complicated when you consider the various twists and turns of our shared history. We need to have a continual dialogue about how to evolve together for the better good.

Third, my passion for empowering Filipinos to use data in their decision-making only gets stronger.

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In a time of change, it is more important than ever to balance emotion with fact. A balance of meeting the emotional needs of 101 million people with the data that can competently predict the impact of various decisions is super important.

The upward momentum enjoyed by analytics and data science in the Philippines assures me once again, that I am in the right place at the right time.

There are many reason to love the Philippines… I could and someday soon will go and list more.

In the end though, to me, it is all about the simple fact that destiny has placed me here to do something important.

And that simple fact is truly a divine gift that makes me love the Philippines.

My Analytics Story – My passion is solving problems by bringing together the best talent, cutting edge technology and tried and true methodologies. DMAIPH is all about empowering people towards better Decision-Making through the use Analytics and business Intelligence. This is what I do best. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly for a free consultation about getting more analytics into your career and your business.

Why I’m Sticking with the Philippines

The past few months have seen a lot of negativity from President Duterte and his leadership team in their  comments about the state of U.S.-Philippines relations. Add to this the uncertainty around President Trump and his vision that suppresses globalization and threatens outsourcing.

The comments are sometimes a challenge for me to listen to as my connection to the Filipino people runs deep.

I grew up in Vallejo, California which has one of the largest and most vibrant Filipino communities outside of the Philippines.

The majority of my friends from elementary through high school are either Filipino immigrants or the children of Filipino immigrants.

My first crush was a Filipina. My junior prom data was a Filipina. I ended up marrying a Filipina. My brother married a Filipina. My son spent a year going to high school in the Philippines.

I not only love eating Caldereta and Adobo, but I can cook them really well.

I’m a huge fan of Jennylyn Mercardo and English Only Please is one of my all time favorite movies.

I have no problem riding in a Jeepney.

When I was working as an Analyst at Wells Fargo, I was deeply invested in making our remittance product the best in the business. I also volunteered to engage the Filipino community of almost 4 million at numerous events and promotions.

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When I finally had the chance to move to the Philippines to set up my analytics business, I did so to fulfil my destiny… to empower Filipinos to use more analytics in their business decision-making.

To date I have hired over 200 Filipinos, have spoken at dozens of schools in the Philippines and have provided analytics training to thousands of Filipinos.

Like just about any American who spends quality time in the Philippines, I love the Philippines.

No matter what happens between my government by birth and my government by choice, I will always feel that deep down inside my place is in the Philippines.

Because the heart of the Filipino is truly special in this world.

And that is why I am sticking with the Philippines.

My Analytics Story – My passion is solving problems by bringing together the best talent, cutting edge technology and tried and true methodologies. DMAIPH is all about empowering people towards better Decision-Making through the use Analytics and business Intelligence. This is what I do best. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly for a free consultation about getting more analytics into your career and your business.

Data Analytics Training on Feb 21

Did you know that most successful businesses have solid data analytics in place across their entire organization?

Organizations that invest in data analytics generally make much better business decisions then one’s that don’t.

In fact, IBM found a few years back that companies who use data analytics are up to 10x more efficient and 33% more profitable the ones who don’t.

By bringing data together data from across the business, companies can get real-time insights into finance, sales, marketing, product development and much more.

Data analytics enables each team within the business to collaborate, achieve better results and outsell the competition.

Join us on February 21, 2017 in Ortigas, and learn how to turn your business data into insightful and actionable analysis.

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Analytics Training – DMAIPH offers a wide range of analytics centric training solutions for professionals and students via public, in-house, on-site, and academic settings. We tailor each training event to meet the unique needs of the audience. If you need empowerment and skills enhancement to optimize the use of analytics in your organization, we are here to help. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to set up a free consultation on which of our DMAIPH analytics training solutions is best for you.

The Stuff of Legends

The 2016 San Francisco Giants beat the odds.

After having a horrible second half of the season, even the most die-hard Giants fans were on the edge of giving up.

But they persisted.

They didn’t give up.

The keep fighting until the last day of the season.

Then they made the playoffs.

And they beat the odds again and beat the New York Mets.

They got their shot and they made it.

Now they have even bigger odds facing them to beat the Chicago Cubs.

You can look at all the data you want, but sometimes it just comes down to things hard to measure.

Like heart.

Like persistence.

Like belief.

You need these things to make it.

I love data and use it all the time, but sometimes in life you just can’t explain how some can beat the odds.

Like the 2016 Giants.

This is the stuff of legends.

Analytics Leadership – DMAIPH specializes in arming the Data-Driven Leader with the tools and techniques they need to build and empower an analytics centric organization. Analytics leadership requires a mastery of not just analytics skill, but also of nurturing an analytics culture. We have guided thousands of Filipino professionals to become better analytics leaders. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to discuss a uniquely tailored strategy to ensure you are the top of your game when it comes to Analytics Leadership.

The Cost of Ambition

Saw this on LinkedIn.

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It’s hard to put a price tag on it, but let’s put some data behind the Cost of Ambition anyway.

I worked a corporate 9 to 5 job for 15 years and I rarely just worked 40 hours a week. And for a significant % of the time I worked on things that didn’t always interest of challenge me.

Now I work 24/7 but it is very unstructured. And I am almost always working on things that are both interesting and challenging.

I no longer dread waking up. In fact I am generally full of energy right out of bed.

Before I couldn’t always take time off when I wanted to because it was someone else’s choice. Now It’s always my choice when to take time off.

More time to do what I want to do… cost benefit is a plus.

I have a combined 20,000+ connections on Linked, Facebook and Twitter. I have many, many friends. But I only spend significant time with a handful of them.

Big network, cost is a plus again.

I do indeed spend more time explaining myself then I used to. Being an analyst for Wells Fargo kind of speaks for itself. Being a entrepreneur who set up a business in the Philippines to empower people to use more data and analytics take a few more words to explain.

Often many more words. That’s a cost benefit as well. I can make more money because I can do more things.

As I evolve as a businessman and a professional analytics champion, I do spend more time alone.

The air is definitely thinner on top where the higher you go, the fewer you really relate too.

That might be perceived as a negative cost to many, but to me I’ll add it as plus too.

It takes a certain kind of person to do what I have done. I’ve been told I have moxie. That I am bold. I do not fear much and I enjoy jumping into the deep end of the pool.

As my acquaintances grow, so does my competition.

It is important to look for collaborators while at the same time get used to being burned by failed partnership.

There is definitely a negative cost financially, but I learned a lot of good lessons. So this cost is wash.

I do sometimes feel alone. But more often than not I’m too busy to notice.

Ambition does indeed have its costs. More of somethings, less of others.

But when I add up what my choices have cost me, they pale in comparison to what my choices have brought me.

Success, satisfaction and knowing that if I die tomorrow, I truly did make the world a better place.

And that is priceless.

My Analytics Story – My passion is solving problems by bringing together the best talent, cutting edge technology and tried and true methodologies. DMAIPH is all about empowering people towards better Decision-Making through the use Analytics and business Intelligence. This is what I do best. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly for a free consultation about getting more analytics into your career and your business.