"People leave managers, not companies." 

"Employees don't leave organizations, they leave bad bosses."

"Workers resign from their jobs because of their leaders."

However one wants to say it, the idea in these statements is the same. Majority of dissatisfied workers resign from their jobs because they couldn't stand their superiors anymore. That happened to me in the past; several times, in fact. This is one of the reasons why I totally love being a freelancer -- because I can choose who to work with.

No matter how much we like our jobs, sometimes, we end up leaving a company due to supervisors and managers who don't treat us well. The funny thing is, only a handful of bosses still seem to recognize this truth! 

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting Sir Ronald Mascariñas, President and General Manager of Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc. (BAVI) during my trip to Cebu and I learned so many things from him about running a business, the huge benefits of treating employees well, and other interesting stuff about the Philippine economy. 

If someone asks you if you are making the right choices every day, would you be able to say YES and be 100% confident about it? Why or why not? Can you also say that you are able to maximize your talents in achieving your goals?

In a blogcon recently held at Kuppa Roastery and Cafe in BGC, coach Ryan Salvanera of StrengthsCoach.Ph defined talent as a naturally recurring pattern of thoughts, feelings, or behavior that can be productively applied. He also shared with us that: Talent x Investment = Strength.  

To better illustrate the equation, Ryan showed us a photo of himself playing basketball and admitted that his talent in the sport is only a 2 while Michael Jordan registers as a 10. So, even if he invests the same amount of time playing the game, his 2 x 10 = 20 will never be good enough for Jordan's 10 x 10 = 100. 

For many students and employees in Metro Manila, going to school or the office and coming back home later means battling traffic jams and long queues on public transportation vehicles day in and day out. By the time you reach the house, you are already exhausted from the long commute and have little time left to rest until you do it all over again the next day. Tiring, huh?

Learning by doing -- that's what we need to properly keep in mind the lessons we need to help us become better decision makers. Knowing about personal finance is a continuous process for me because I know I still have a lot to learn. However, listening to speakers and reading books on financial literacy is not enough. We need to take action and apply the things we learn. Otherwise, all those learnings go to waste.

playing Praxis is fun and educational!

One big step my husband and I took a few years back was finally getting Sun Life Variable Universal  Life Insurance (VUL) coverages to ensure our children's protection in case something happened to one, or both, of us. That decision came from a lot of research and inquiries from financial experts. Still, there are many other plans that we've yet to fulfill but which we know we'll get to in time.

I feel fortunate to have had access to a lot of learning events and would really like to see more people become interested in financial planning that, sadly, is not really taught in schools despite its importance in our lives. I think Praxis is one great way for individuals to see why we need financial education. 

the Praxis board game

Praxis is a board game designed to make financial literacy fun and engaging. Launched by Sun Life Grepa Financial, Inc. (SLGFI), this breakthrough way of creating conversations about money simulates real-life events -- such as getting promoted, catching illnesses, and losing a job -- to force players to make financial decisions amid different economic cycles. 

With Praxis, you'll get to do basic financial processes like budgeting and saving, as well as the more complex ones like investing in stocks and protection planning. Just like in real life, a roll of the dice can determine your situation -- you can suddenly lose your job or be promoted, you can get sick and need hospitalization, a rich relative may die and leave you a huge inheritance, or the stock market could crash and wipe out your investments. 

my starting assets

We experience a lot of changes in life. Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, some of these changes are beyond our control. Still, it has been said that whatever problems we face are not as important as our attitude towards them. "Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude," right?

But, what if your boss informs you that the company you've served loyally for years has to let you go and that you no longer have to report to work tomorrow, next week, or next month? What do you do? How do you think you'd feel? When will you tell your family about it?

Many of us have probably experienced job loss at some point in our careers. Maybe it was due to a merger or takeover, a decision to downsize operations, or other various reasons. The thing is, laid off employees are not just the ones affected. Their families will also feel the financial and emotional impact.        

"When employees have to be laid off, it's really usually nobody's fault. Changes happen. When two companies merge, you cannot have two presidents, one must go. Or, if new technology comes in and manual labor is eliminated, then you have to let people go, too," explained Vicente Kilayko, Managing Director of Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH). "But, it should be the employer's responsibility to make sure that the laid off employees are taken cared of."

Now THAT is the missing link! Displaced workers don't have to go through this challenging phase alone! Outplacement or Career Transition Service (CTS) is a program offered by LHH designed to help companies make changes in their organization by taking care of employees that are impacted or laid off because of change.