The first month of the year is when we usually scout around for colleagues and partners to review and comment our business plan.

Since 1999, GSI has been working closely with UNISYS on a GIS project and had been interfacing with their key account managers and technology experts. Ernie Del Rosario, one of the technical experts of UNISYS, was our focal point person and had been advising us on how to move forward with the newly signed contract.

A day before January 4, 2000, I called Ernie requesting for his insights on the GSI's business plan for new millennium. The next day, he replied with the following heavyweight punches:

1. Starting resource positions are very poor predictors of future industry leadership (So don't worry if GeoSpatial does not now have the mountains of cash or command legions of talented people. These should not hamper its ability to win a preeminent position in the Spatial Intelligence industry)

2. Too often competitors are judged in terms of resources than resourcefulness (For GeoSpatial to get into the future first is more of a function of its resourcefulness that resources. Resourcefulness stems not from an elegantly structured strategic architecture , but from a deeply felt sense of purpose, a broadly shared dream, a truly seductive view of tomorrow's opportunity. Maybe you should first do a scan of the GIS battlefield and find a niche where to put your dreams on - a sweet spot of the SI (Spatial Intelligence) industry in the foreseeable future.) Who was Bill Gates in the late sixties vs who was IBM then? Only the the dead dream not.

3. Most companies are over-managed and under-led. You should not fall into this trap. Beware of overbearing controllers and HR heads. Remember once I reminded you to develop leaders than managers? Leaders you develop (and let freely fly), managers you hire (and put in a corner). Leaders know which forest to hack through, managers know which machete to employ, how many machete-wielders to deploy and how sharp the machetes should be to efficiently hack through the possibly wrong (managers don't care) forest.

These three strategic key points became GSI's development and governance pillars to effectively develop and deploy project and solutions.

Eight years has passed, I have yet to invite Ernie Del Rosario from his post in COMELEC for coffee. We hope GSI can once again snatch his valuable time to have a look at the company he steered towards leadership in ICT/GIS and institutionalized good governance. Ernie, GSI has been calling you.

Labels: Ernie Del Rosario, GeoSpatial Solutions, GSI, ICT, Strategic Management, UNISYS

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