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PROMETHEUS PROCESS: THE RELEVANCE OF STRATEGIC PLANNING

AND LEADERSHIP FOR THE NATIONS GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

(THE SUCCESS OF PRESIDENT BENIGNO AQUINOS STRATEGY)

A PAPER ON LEADERSHIP AND STRATEGIC PLANNING

BA 198- LEADERSHIP

AGBAYANI, JAMES EDWARD C.

2008-66243

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES- DILIMAN

FEBRUARY 15, 2012


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1 | P r o m e t h e u s P r o c e s s - B A 1 9 8

PROMETHEUS PROCESS: THE RELEVANCE OF STRATEGIC PLANNING

AND LEADERSHIP FOR THE NATIONS GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

(THE SUCCESS OF PRESIDENT BENIGNO AQUINOS STRATEGY)

INTRODUCTION

Many researchers have conducted their own studies and experiments to clearly define

different leadership styles and how each of them should be used in different scenarios for the

best outcomes. Ideas such as empowerment, self-leadership, sharing information, and assessment

centers have been formulated to answer some problems in leadership; one of which is regarding

the members of a certain organization or group who are not sharing information with each other-

a problem that is experienced not only by organizations, but also countries. In empowerment, it

is very essential for members to share information because this is the only way for them to

actually share the values and the goals of their organization, but because of self-interest and self-

satisfaction on the benefits that one person might receive from not disclosing certain information,

they continue to keep it for themselves. They hold on to it and they become essential assets who

are deemed to be taken care of just to prevent them from sharing that information they have.

This practice results to members who take care of their own interests too and not anymore share

the goals and the values of the organization, and if this is done widespread, it can cause the total

failure of the organization.

Yes, we cannot avoid people to take care of their interests because they receive

something beneficial. Even by using a cost-benefit analysis, one will choose not to disclose

information because the benefits that they will receive from hiding it are bigger than the cost of

actually sharing it. Because of self-interests, benefits, and self-satisfaction in exchange for not

disclosing information, their respective organizations remain stagnant, and they do not reach a

point of development or sharing anymore. When all the members behave this way, expect that

their organization will surely start to fall, piece by piece, until nothing is left anymore. This is

currently what is happening to the Philippines. People are bribed and given a lot of gifts- from

money to positions- just for the sake of keeping information which can be used by the

government to unearth more cases of graft and corruption.


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SHARING INFORMATION: PRESIDENT AQUINOS GOAL

Witnesses appearing in front of trial courts for direct examination are the most important

evidence a certain party can ever have against another party. Also, plans cannot be strategized if

no member of an organization will say the truth about a certain issue or problem. An example

is the current issue of Ronald Llamas, President Aquinos political adviser. Will it be possible to

know that Presidential Political Adviser Ronald Llamas bought pirated DVDs if a photo of him

doing it is not shared? If it was not shared, will it be possible to stop such actions? If it was not

shared, will President Aquino do something about it? Compare this situation with what is

happening now. For sure, President Aquino wont be expecting him to submit a report regarding

the photograph if it was not shared. If it was not shared, surely, a lot of government officials will

be doing the same thing. The same goes with corruption. Since President Arroyo never

controlled her greed in getting funds for her own cause, her subordinates and constituents

never stopped too, causing a massive reduction in the peoples money, and a massive increase in

the corrupt officials money. If President Arroyo admitted that she was corrupt, just imagine how

the government will be now. If only she admitted that she was one corrupt official, the current

government can surely plan things out ahead for the development of the country. Unfortunately,

she didnt, causing the government to spend a lot of time bombarding her with at least seventeen

cases regarding only one thing: GRAFT AND CORRUPTION

These cases started to unearth only after President Aquino was elected to be the President

of the Philippines. At that time, the country is very down and weak. After the Arroyo

administration has stolen most of the funds of the Philippine government, the net satisfaction (the

difference between the satisfaction and the non-satisfaction rate) for her was astonishingly at

exactly -38% (according to the Social Weather Station), which shows how disappointed the

people are on her governance. The challenge for the Aquino Administration is to handle the

country to bring it to development and prosperity, and to bring the trust of the people to the

government after their distrust to the previous administration. There is a need to better

understand how strategic planning and leadership took place in transforming a weak country into

a strong, develop, and firm Philippines. It is essential to understand how President Aquino led

the country from failure to success, from defeat to victory, and from allegations to the truth,

using his leadership skills, and also, his strategic planning. Through my reading, I came across a


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very interesting strategic tool which I believe is synonymous to what President Aquino has

executed for the country- the Prometheus Process.

THE PROMETHEUS PROCESS

The Prometheus Process is an easy-to-use strategic planning used to create unique

strategies which are objective, results-driven, aggressive, and actionable in nature and execution.

This process is applicable to any level of an organization, and it is usable by any company,

regardless of its size. The process employs a real-time scenario analysis in the process which

aims to identify the centers of gravity- the locations that should be given full attention to bring

a significant change- to be able to create such strategies. James R. McCarthy, a Senior

Consultant in Wolf Management Consultants, said the following statements from his session

abstract in the 2007 Annual Conference titled Strategic Planning: Lessons from Practice.:

It may surprise you to learn that you witnessed the birth of a powerful business

processPrometheus - on global television. It was the evening of January 16, 1991 when the

launch of the first hyper-war was broadcast live on CNN. Developed at warp-speed and

designed for overwhelming victory, the Desert Storm air campaign lit up the skies of

Baghdadand changed strategic thinking forever. This breakthrough concept has been applied

to another kind of intense competition: thefast changing world of 21st century business.

-James R. McCarthy

The Prometheus Process enables one to create strategies according to the goals and the

plans that he has for the future. Similar to that of strategic planning, the process allows the use of

different frameworks and management tools to evaluate such strategies before they are done. The

process can also be applied to organizations with parallel operations, thereby offering flexibility

and efficiency in planning the strategies to be used and the orchestration of resources in different

departments. Some organizations usually follow a normal way of planning strategies for the

future- the usual way of solving problems. The process, however, employs a unique way of

thinking opportunities at a different perspective which offers more alternatives to different

situations.


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The Prometheus Process is designed for fast and dramatic success in the modern age, and

it provides a complete strategic framework from concept to execution to termination. This

process uses the best people in the organization to build such strategic plans and execute it for

the future. It involves all in planning and it commits people to success, and it enables people to

act professionally because they know the strategy, the measures of improvement, the differences

between tactical measures and strategic measurement, and the centers of gravity. These centers

of gravity are the most important place for focus of energy to take place because these are the

factors which essentially affect the organization, the people, and its plans. Moreover, this process

takes an organization out of high risk thinking and places them to the low risk thinking because

of their vast knowledge of the organization and how everything works in it. Lastly, this process

promotes and efficient, aligned organization that works in a fast paced environment.

Because of its purpose and the processes that it undergoes, the Prometheus Process is

regarded to allow an organization to become a learning one capable of sharing key information

not only to everyone in the organization, but also to potential stakeholders. Also, because of the

commitment and the sense of responsibility that it entails to its people, the process is regarded to

be a people-driven strategy instead of a results driven strategy.

METHOD OF ANALYSIS

The analysis that I will be doing in this paper is to compare President Aquinos plan to

the Prometheus Process planning and state the products of such an analysis. The results are then

integrated with statistics from the Social Welfare Station as evidence of success. Also, a

comparison of his plan and the former presidents plan is also done to provide a clearer picture of

how the Prometheus Process can be a success in leadership and strategic planning. The most

crucial part, however, is analyzing how President Aquino led the country. Determining the bases

of his plans is an essential factor to consider if his planning is structured on leadership efforts.

AQUINOS STRATEGIC PLAN: THE POWER OF VISION

All organizations plan for its future, but at times, they are planning based on how other

organizations plan. Similarly, former President Arroyo made her plans from the previous actions

of the former presidents. I believe that would entail in increasing the growth of the countrys


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economy, as what she wrote in her paper titled Its the Economy, Student! She believed that

the best way to develop the country is by making an increase in the economys growth.

According to her paper, she has entailed a growth rate of approximately 7.9%- the highest

growth rate of the economy recorded compared to those made by the past presidents. I think that

although that was a good thing for her administration, her goals were not clear. The 7.9%

economic growth is easily understood by those in the government, especially in the economic

sector, and those who had tertiary education in economics. They can specifically interpret that

number as a measurement and say something about it, but it is only communicated to the elite

class, the AB socioeconomic class. If sharing information is essential for the goals and strategies

of an organization, how will the Philippines achieve it if information is communicated only to a

certain group? That is what the former President did, I believe, which made the impression that

former President Arroyo is indeed, a good president. She didnt take into consideration those

who are not fully educated, and worst, I believe she took advantage of them for her own good.

I believe that the leadership style of President Aquino is like that of the Prometheus

Process. By analyzing his plans for the country (which was stated in his first State of the Nation

address), the following components of strategy can be seen:

I. Design the FutureBuilding a strategy requires one to think first of the future that he wanted to create

(the Future Picture). This is similar to the vision of a company which states where the

organization is aiming to go.

President Aquino has formulated the picture of a future Philippines- a country

without graft and corruption. With his statement Tuwid na Landas, President

Aquino aims to strengthen the countrys future by eradicating corruption in the

country. In this way, he sees that people will gain trust to the government, and with

their trust, the economy will be back on its stable condition. I believe that he has

designed the future that he wanted for the country more concretely than how former

President Arroyo did. President Aquinos picture is very firm, objective, and

measurable as compared to that of President Arroyo, which is mainly composed of

different rates. Although this proves to be quantitative, her measurements are not

shared to the people.


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II. Target for SuccessPresident Aquinos target for success is, I believe, the eradication of corruption.

Its his main source of success, and that will surely bring accomplishment into his

administration. At least 17 cases of graft and corruption against the Arroyos have

surfaced since Aquinos presidency which didnt surface during the formers term.

Targets for success should be measurable since it is the main indicator if the future

picture is near to its achievement. Therefore, I believe that in the current actions of

President Aquino, the country is near in achieving its future.

III. Campaign to WinPresident Aquinos campaign to win is his concept of Utak Wang-Wang. He

commits himself to the people by saying that Kayo ang boss ko. He promises to

even create transparency in the government by forming his truth commission- a

committee designed to inspect the records of the government officials (from the

president to the congressmen) to check if they had been doing corrupt practices. I

believe this move helped him gain the trust of the people, since the Filipinos have

long been asking questions regarding the credibility of the records of the Bureau of

Internal Revenue, and the projects made by the past presidents which remained to be

white-elephant projects, of course, because of the absence of funds.

The current trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona is evidence that President Aquino

is committing himself to the people and not to his own interests. Though some might

comment that he is becoming a dictator, everyone is assured that he is serving the

Filipino people.

IV. Finish with FinessePromises are meant to be fulfilled, not to be broken. One essential factor in

planning a strategy is its sustainability and fulfillment. An organization should never

promise something that it cannot achieve. The reason for planning the strategy is

mainly because of its outcomes. If people are committed onto something, they are

expecting results, and they are aiming to reach that target with the organizations

plans. If they arent able to reach a target, motivation will decrease, and their


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performance will surely decrease.

I believe President Aquino is promising to complete his fight against corruption.

With the notions released onto him by critics saying that he should focus on the

economy rather than with the accused, he is still firm with fighting corruption.

Former President Arroyo even stated in her paper that the president can run after her,

but he must run the government first. I believe this is just a diversion of his attention

to the economy so that corruption can still be saved. However, because of the firm

promise of President Aquino to the country, I believe he will not be easily waived by

such allegations, and instead continue to fight against corruption. As clearly seen in

statistics done by the Social Weather Station, 95% of Filipinos welcome 2012 with

hope. I believe that it is because trust is starting to form from the people. The

government is starting to commit itself to its words and promises to the people.

THE STATISTICS OF PHILIPPINE LEADERSHIP

Leaders in the Philippines tend to mix objectives with their subjectivity to be able to

produce the best results for their organization. I believe that this is not the case since the country

is facing a huge dilemma of distrust from the people. I think that no matter how hard a leader

works for his institution, if the members dont trust that institution, his efforts will bring him

only a little accomplishment. The Prometheus Process is meant to bring commitment to the

people, and as how President Aquino demonstrated his Prometheus Process for the country, I

believe that the country will be in good hands and will surely go to a clearer future than that of

the past presidents.

According to a survey conducted by the Social Weather Station regarding President

Aquinos performance, people perceive his performance to be very good, receiving a +58% net

satisfaction, which is approximately 2 points above his previous net satisfaction rate of +56%.

He also received a very good satisfaction in urban and rural areas, having a net satisfaction rate

of +52% and +64%, respectively. Regarding the socioeconomic classes, from the ABC class to

the D and E classes, he received a very good satisfaction rate of +61%, +58%, and +56%,


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respectively. Among men and women, he also received a very good satisfaction rate at +59% and

+57%, respectively.

Statistics shows that people of different social classes, age groups, location, and gender

are highly satisfied with President Aquinos performance for the year. Compared to the -38%

satisfaction rate of former President Arroyo, it is clearly seen that President Aquino did better

than her. I believe this is because his vision is clear and is shared to all of the people. His vision

of a corrupt-free Philippines is shared by all of the people of the country, and everyone is sharing

the same values and goals. Also, information which is shared with everyone creates transparency

in the government. With all of these, I believe that President Aquino will be a good leader for the

next five years of his administration in the country

LEADING IN A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE?

The Prometheus Process is a strategic planning tool, and it is meant for companies and

businesses. Taking this into perspective, it is like a chief executive officer planning for his

companys direction for the next five years. I have thought of it in that perspective too, since

President Aquino came from a family with a strong business background. I believe that leading

the country is like leading a corporation. The chief executive officer creates the vision, plans to

achieve that vision, executes the plans, and realizes the results of the plan. It is same with

President Aquino. He makes the vision for a corrupt-free Philippines, plans to achieve it through

transparency and accountability, executes the plans by filing cases, and realizes the results of the

plan through satisfaction ratings.

The Prometheus Process is only one key success tool that I think, has improved President

Aquinos leadership. The steps that he did are all structured which brought a clear picture of

what he wanted for the country. Sharing it with the people makes the Filipinos share that same

value and goal also. Everyone works and achieves the goal, and success is met.


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SOURCES:

1Fourth Quarter 2011 Social Weather Survey: Pnoy Satisfaction Rating Stays Very Good,

at net 58%: December 26, 2011 report

(http://www.sws.org.ph/pr20111226.htm )

2Fourth Quarter 2011 Social Weather Survey: 95% of Filipinos Enter 2012 with Hope:

December 28, 2011 report

(http://www.sws.org.ph/pr20111228.htm )

3What is the Prometheus Process? (http://www.strategydevelopment.net/prometheus )

42007 Annual Conference: Strategic Planning- Lessons from Practice

(http://www.strategyplus.org/conferences/2007/abstracts/PrometheusProcess.shtml )
http://www.sws.org.ph/pr20111226.htmhttp://www.sws.org.ph/pr20111226.htmhttp://www.sws.org.ph/pr20111226.htmhttp://www.sws.org.ph/pr20111228.htmhttp://www.sws.org.ph/pr20111228.htmhttp://www.sws.org.ph/pr20111228.htmhttp://www.strategydevelopment.net/prometheushttp://www.strategydevelopment.net/prometheushttp://www.strategydevelopment.net/prometheushttp://www.strategyplus.org/conferences/2007/abstracts/PrometheusProcess.shtmlhttp://www.strategyplus.org/conferences/2007/abstracts/PrometheusProcess.shtmlhttp://www.strategyplus.org/conferences/2007/abstracts/PrometheusProcess.shtmlhttp://www.strategyplus.org/conferences/2007/abstracts/PrometheusProcess.shtmlhttp://www.strategydevelopment.net/prometheushttp://www.sws.org.ph/pr20111228.htmhttp://www.sws.org.ph/pr20111226.htm


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APPENDIX:

A. Satisfaction Ratings of Presidents, May 1986 to December 2009

Net

Satisfaction

Net

Satisfaction

Net

SatisfactionAQUINO RAMOS (cont.) ARROYO(cont.)

MAY 86 +53 JUN 96 +19 SEP 02 +18

OCT 86 +72 SEP 96 +21 NOV 02 + 6

MAR 87 +69 DEC 96 +24 MAR 03 -14

OCT 87 +36 APR 97 +50 JUN 03 +14

FEB 88 +64 JUN 97 +49 SEP 03 + 2

AUG 88 +57 SEP 97 +35 JAN 04 + 8

SEP 88 +50 DEC 97 +40 FEB 04 +15

FEB 89 +37 JAN 98 +13 MAR 04 +30

AUG 89 +32 FEB 98 +20 JUN 04 +26

SEP 89 +29 MAR 98 +15 AUG 04 +12MAR 90 +24 MAR-APR 98 +30 OCT 04 - 6

APR 90 +37 APR 98 +19 DEC 04 - 5

NOV 90 + 7 MAR 05 -12

APR 91 +24 ESTRADA MAY 05 -33

JUL 91 +10 SEP 98 +60 AUG 05 -23

NOV 91 +10 NOV 98 +61 DEC 05 -30

FEB 92 +13 MAR 99 +67 MAR 06 -25

APR 92 + 7 JUN 99 +65 JUN 06 -13

RAMOS OCT 99 +28 SEP 06 -11

SEP 92 +66 DEC 99 + 5 NOV 06 -13

DEC 92 +60 MAR 00 + 5 FEB 07 - 4

APR 93 +66 JUL 00 +13 JUN 07 - 3

JUL 93 +69 SEP 00 +19 SEP 07 -11

SEP 93 +62 DEC 00 + 9 DEC 07 -16

DEC 93 +65 ARROYO MAR 08 -26

APR 94 +67 MAR 01 +24 JUN 08 -38

AUG 94 +55 APR 01 +17 JUL 08 -50

NOV 94 +49 MAY 01 +18 SEP 08 -27

DEC 94 +50 JUL 01 +16 DEC 08 -24

MAR 95 +24 SEP 01 +15 FEB 09 -32

JUN 95 +26 NOV 01 +27 JUN 09 -31

OCT 95 + 1 MAR 02 +16 SEP 09 -38

DEC 95 + 2 MAY 02 + 4 DEC 09 -38

APR 96 +17 AUG 02 +28

* % Satisfied MINUS % Dissatisfied.Sources: Social Weather Stations Surveys (1986- )


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Report on Hope Metrics of the People in Entering 2012Fourth Quarter 2011 Social Weather Survey:

95% of Filipinos Enter 2012 with Hope

Ninety-five percent of adult Filipinos are entering the New Year with hope rather than with fear (4%), according tothe Fourth Quarter Social Weather Survey conducted from December 3 to 7, 2011.

This matches the all-time high 95% in 2002 that were hopeful of entering the 2003 New Year. It is also 2 pointshigher than the 93% who entered 2011 New Year with hope.

New Year Hope Customarily High

Hope with the coming year has customarily been at high levels, starting at 87% when SWS first polled about it inDecember 2000 and 88% in December 2001. [Chart 1, Table 1]

New Year hope reached its record-high 95% in December 2002 and 90% in December 2003 before it declined to81% in December 2004 and 85% in December 2005.

It rebounded and remained steady at 91% to 92% from 2006 to 2008 before it declined to 89% in 2009.

It recovered to 93% in December 2010 and again reached record-high 95% in December 2011.

The survey question was patterned after polls conducted annually by the Allensbach Institute of Demoskopy inGermany.

Record-high New Year Hope in Mindanao and Metro Manila

Hope with the coming year is widespread in all areas, with record-highs in Mindanao and Metro Manila.

Compared to 2010, New Year hope increased by five points in Mindanao, from 89% to 94%, a record-high for thatarea that was first reached in 2002. [Chart 2, Table 2]

It stayed at record-high 96% in Metro Manila.

It hardly changed in the Visayas, from a record-high 97% in 2010 to 96% in 2011, and in Balance Luzon, from 94%to 95%.

New Year Hope at Record-High in Class E

New Year hope is also high in all socio-economic classes, with a new record-high set among class E.

Compared to 2010, New Year hope rose by four points among the very poor class E, from 89% to a new record-high93%. This surpasses the previous record-high of 91% in 2002, 2003, 2006, and 2007. [Chart 3, Table 2]

New Year hope stayed at record-high 97% among the middle to upper classes ABC.

It hardly changed among the masaclass D, from 95% to 96%

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