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By Jane Rolen

Welcome to the maiden issue of “The Hexagon!” It is  an exciting year for COFACC, as we set our eyes on the horizon, ready to surge and accomplish what we set forth to do.  Releasing this newsletter is one of our major projects this year.  So, here we are!

Why did we decide to call this newsletter “The Hexagon?”  First, let me tell you a few scientifically proven facts about this amazing shape.  It is the most efficient use of materials and space, and nature seems to know this.

• Nature’s tiny engineers – the bees! This is one of the most commonly-known hexagons found in nature. Whenever you see the inside of a beehive, the number of packed hexagons are truly a marvel. The bees used the shape of a hexagon because of its packing efficiency. If a series of circles were packed on top of each other, there would be empty spaces in between them. But these empty spaces can be avoided by changing the shape to a hexagon. So, the hexagon allows the bees to pack the most cells in the smallest space.
• Dragonfly eyes! – If you look closely at a dragonfly, its eyes are actually collection of tiny lenses, called facets or ommatidia. This is known as a compound eye, where each lens functions as an individual visual receptor. Each lens is formed in the shape of a hexagon! To make up the complete eye, over 30,000 hexagonal lenses are packed together, which results in what scientists refer to as ultra-multicolor vision. This allows the dragonfly to have color differentiation abilities far superior to that of humans. The dragonfly can have more than 30,000 compound lenses in its eye because of the high packing efficiency of the hexagonal shape.
• Hexagons on a Turtle shell! – These slow-moving animals are protected with a hard shell that is made of keratin plates called scutes, laid over a bony substructure. The entire shell is formed from individual subunits. A closer look further reveals that these cells have a shape resembling a hexagon. The subunits are given hexagonal shape because they are one of the most efficient geometrical shapes that can cover curved surfaces with minimal material wastage. After the inner hexagonal layers are formed, the shell is completed with filler shapes that constitute differently sized polygons.

The Hexagon is symbolic of, and coincides with COFACC’s Vision and Mission, which is to be the catalyst in promoting growth, collaboration and engagement.  We serve as the “collaborative voice” for our partners and members.  The hexagon is the perfect shape to build togetherness and efficiency.  It is the symbol of “harmony and balance,” which is the perfect description of what COFACC stands for.

“Redefine and Realign, Pivoting Through 2022 and Beyond”
By: Fatima Bustos-Choy, PhD
COFACC Director for Training & Development

 

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker

Strategic planning is an organizational function of creating a desired future. It is not ordinary planning, nor wishful thinking. It is a purposeful and intentional process “by which the guiding members of an organization envision its future and develop the necessary procedures and operations to achieve that future.” Goodstein, L. Nolan, T. Pfeiffer, J. W. Applied Strategic Planning, p.3. Key components of applied strategic planning are the three P’s: Purpose, Process, and Pay-off. The intent of this article is to share COFACC’s strategic planning process in the hope that it can serve as a guide for other Chambers or groups.

Purpose – In keeping with its Five-Year Strategic Plan, The COFACC Executive Team and Partner Chambers held their 2021 Strategic Planning Session on December 11, 2021, at the Delta at Marriott Hotel in Anaheim, California. It was a hybrid session with 30 in-person and 7 online using Zoom, for a total of 37 participants. The purpose was to gather the minds and hearts of COFACC Partners and engage everyone in the review of the organization’s progress made to date from its Five -Year SP with the theme of “Redefine and Realign” COFACC’s mission, vision, values, strategies, and goals going beyond 2022.

Process- The process had the following components:

1. COFACC President, Gerry Palon formed a SP Organizing Team comprised of Gerry Palon, Ellen Samson, COFACC Foundation President, Ellen Bolus-Edmonds, COFACC Sr. Director for Organizational Development, Fidji Nicar Victoriano, COFACC Outgoing Director for Training & Development, and Dr. Fatima Bustos-Choy, COFACC Incoming Director for Training & Development. The Organizing Team planned, organized, and co-facilitated the strategic planning session as well as the year-end holiday celebration that followed.
2. The Organizing Team purposefully designed the session to have high participant engagement vs. top down, lecture or information overload approach. At the beginning of the session, participants were immediately imvolved with the use of Mentimeter, an app that provided real-time survey and assessment with the participants. We asked participants questions that gave us a sense of how they were feeling, what their wants and needs were of the session, and what they needed from COFACC. The ice-breaker activity was beneficial in that it set the tone for the rest of the session: one of positivity, high energy, openness, willingness to share, and fun.
3. The session was also designed to be collaborative and participative with breakout groups that engaged participants in open and honest dialogue and their discussions were documented using technology via google docs. The breakout groups identified and analyzed COFACC’s SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) relative to its redefining and realigning strategies going beyond 2022. The breakout groups also brainstormed objectives and actions needed for COFACC’s Key Result Areas (KRAs). Their results, presented by the group leaders, provided the foundation for COFACC’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the respective KRAs for 2022 and beyond. Given the hybrid process, facilitators ensured the inclusion and participation of everyone, most especially the on-line members. There were minor challenges with the use of technology, but overall, the hybrid process was workable.
4. The session culminated with Gerry Palon’s integration piece where he pulled all the pieces of the days’ work and connected them to the purpose and theme of redefine and realign the hearts, minds, and energies of everyone to a better and greater COFACC in 2022 and beyond.  To infuse more passion and action, Ellen Samson, COFACC Foundation’s President shared and led the group to an enthusiastic declaration of COFACC’s battle cry slogan – “MIH MUM” which stands for Make It Happen! Make Us Matter! MIH MUM is a wake-up call to all Fil-Ams, who comprise 4 million people in the US, that it is time to take a stand as leaders to be seen, to be heard, to be valued and to move COFACC and Fil-Am agendas forward with confidence and conviction. MIH MUM is a fitting capstone for the year ahead.
5. Post strategic planning session involves the review, reflection, and evaluation of the strategic session outcomes, translate, and integrate them into the organization’s KRA and KPIs Implementation Plan for 2022 and going forward. This will now serve as a roadmap for the journey ahead.

Pay-off

Why do strategic planning? I found this excerpt quoted in a strategic planning book insightful.

Alice: Which way should I go?
Cat: That depends on where you are going.
Alice: I don’t know where I’m going.!
Cat: Then it doesn’t matter which way you go! 

Lewis Carroll, 1872. Through the Looking Glass
Goodstein, L. Nolan, T. Pfeiffer, J. W.
Applied   Strategic Planning, p.1

 

Organizations like COFACC are formed and organized for a specific and worthy cause which is the foundation for the organization’s mission and vision. How do organizations best fulfill their missions and achieve their visions? There are many ways. However, one vital top management job is Strategic Planning. Strategic Planning, which is of a higher level and a more comprehensive leadership function than daily planning, provides a framework for actions and decisions today that greatly impacts near and long-term future of the organization. Strategic Planning can unleash the energy of the organization toward a shared vision and a shared belief that the vision can be fulfilled.  Strategic Planning SWOT analysis helps the organization to better understand itself in terms of its strengths and limitations, better understand the environment in which it operates, and to adapt and manage proactively. Strategic Planning at least at an annual basis, provides the opportunity for the organization to review and reflect on its progress, and redefine and realign as needed to the changing needs of its constituents and the environment. Finally at the heart of strategic planning is opening the hearts and minds of all participants concerned toward co-creating a desired and sustainable future. 

In summary, today’s unprecedented political, economic, social, and technological environments pose unprecedented challenges to individuals and organizations alike. We need something to guide us, to steady us, and keep us going on the right path. Strategic Planning can be the GPS during these times.

By Gerry Palon
President of the Coalition of Filipino American Chambers of Commerce,
A national organization of 24 chamber organizations in the United States

 

COFACC recently launched its 2nd wave of Save Lives, Save Livelihood Campaign for the marginalized workers in the Philippines in collaboration with the FACC Foundation, Inc.  The kick-off meeting for this campaign was highlighted by a webinar conducted by Dr. Anthony Leachon, Chairman of the Kil Kovid Movement in the Philippines.   The webinar was attended by Fil AM leaders and concerned citizens from all over the six (6) time zones of the US plus some guests from the Philippines.  It was also livestreamed in FB  https://www.facebook.com/cofacc/videos/309421441170665.

The Kilkovid movement in the Philippines also caused OPM songwriter and singer Ogie Alcasid to compose a song titled “Bayaning Tunay” which was beautifully and emotionally renditioned  by the country’s top OPM entertainment singers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbJyq4paVX0.

The 2nd wave of Save Lives, Save Livelihood fundraising campaign is primarily focused to purchase/solicit COVID testing kits as well as medical grade facial masks that will be distributed to the marginalized workers in the Philippines in cooperation with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PCCI),  Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) and with the Philippine Exporters Confederation (PHILEXPORT).   The average retail price of testing kits in the US is around $11/pc. which when sold in the Philippines will cost approximately $15/pc.  For the average low income Filipino worker, this is simply unaffordable.

The first wave of Save Lives which started in August, 2021 focused on fundraising for the vaccines.   When the campaign was done in Dec., the vaccination rate in the Philippines already went up and followed the trend of the rest of the neighboring countries in Asia during the last 6 months of 2021.  But the situation in Dec. up to early Feb., 2022 which saw alarming spikes with the entry of Omicron, a new variant which CDC claims less potent than the Delta variant but highly infectious and transmittable by air.

The key to success in surviving and fighting this pandemic is to continue observing social distancing protocols especially in big public gatherings and attending indoor activities.  Early detection thru fast antigen testing and immediate action to isolate will greatly help to prevent the spread of virus.

The fundraising campaign for testing kits and facial masks will run from Feb. 18 to May 31, 2022.  Each chamber in the 24 member organization have assigned one (1) ambassador to form the Save Lives Ambassador Team who will identify potential donor companies and charitable institutions that will financially support the Save Lives, Save Livelihood campaign of COFACC and the FACC Foundation, Inc.  Local chambers will continue to support the Save Lives, Save Livelihood project thru their local crowdfunding initiatives.  The testing kits and facial masks campaign are expected to arouse the awareness level and charitable spirit of the Fil Ams for our Motherland.