The Aim2Flourish assignment is both an inspiring and humbling experience. My chosen organization, Hectares of Hope, is not only a hope for the farmers but also the Filipinos. Tancho Baes is a servant leader worth emulating by everyone.
I learned that businesses prosper by taking care of all their stakeholders. Helping the farmers improve their lives is a noble cause. Breaking the stigma that farmers can’t be prosperous helps them succeed. Also, it gives a new face to our agriculture sector that anyone can prosper by pursuing sustainable farming.
Secondly, investors must seek returns both financially and socially. If the business destroys the environment and exploits the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalized, financial returns are immaterial. Third, customers are partners for a better society. From consumers who passively buy the product, get utility from using them and dispose of waste, they become prosumers who play a vital role in ensuring that businesses make sustainable decisions.
Consequently, I will be a sustainable and compassionate stakeholder. As an employee, I will influence my organization to practice sustainability. As an investor, I will consider the triple bottom line in choosing a sound investment. As a consumer, I will buy sustainable products despite paying a premium.
On the other hand, I am moved by the spirituality of Tancho as a business leader. His faith is vital in all his endeavors as the Executive Director of Hectares of Hope. His actions are aligned with the concepts of servant leadership and “others-centric.” He coined the latter to emphasize that we are doing business to help other people and not because of selfish intentions.
Previously, I always separated my faith from my leadership style. I do not want to characterize my leadership as too religious or too ceremonial. However, my interview with Tancho made me realize that faith is a vital component of authentic leadership. I will integrate my faith and spirituality into all my leadership decisions from now on.
Meanwhile, the Aim2Flourish assignment helped me acquire a deeper appreciation of sustainability. Using Appreciative Inquiry allowed me to look at an opportunity differently. It made my mind create solutions and innovations more creatively than approaching them traditionally. Also, I realized that sustainability must be integrated with every organization’s strategy.
As a business leader, I will inspire more colleagues to browse stories on the Aim2Flourish website to inspire them to create innovations that will help our business integrate sustainability into our practices. As a business teacher, I will encourage my students to share stories on the Aim2Flourish website. I believe this assignment provides better opportunities to make our world a better place.
You cannot expect a different outcome by doing the same action repeatedly. Aim2Flourish assignment revolutionized my appreciation of sustainability, and I know that sharing more stories on the site will revolutionize the way of doing business worldwide.
You can check out the full Aim2Flourish story through this link: https://aim2flourish.com/innovations/1-3-5-pathway-to-life
Editor’s note: Rovin’s story is one of the 2022 Flourish Prize Finalists. The 17 Flourish Prizes are given annually, recognizing businesses’ role in achieving the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development. The 17 Honorees are chosen from stories of positive business innovation published on AIM2Flourish.com during the preceding calendar year – stories discovered and published by students worldwide.
The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, DLSU. He can be reached at [email protected].
The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.