SHALL we take it or leave it?” former President Fidel V. Ramos asked his readers in a forthcoming column, whether his unsolicited advice for President Duterte should be taken.
Ramos said he made unsolicited advice to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during her presidency.
Apparently worried by the many criticisms against the President, whom he had anointed in the May elections, Ramos proceeded to enumerate his advice, taking quotes from Robert Greene’s book, Laws of Power.
He said Mr. Duterte is also affected by congressional bickering, media hype, joblessness, burdensome debt, global economic slowdown and lowered people’s morale.
“Always say less than necessary,” Ramos’s first advice, hitting the nail on the head, since Duterte has a penchant for long-winded talks.
“When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. If you can’t say anything nice, shut up!”
“Win through your actions, never through arguments” was Ramos’s second advice, saying it is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word.
“Demonstrate, do not explicate,” he added.
Ramos tells not to build for tresses to protect oneself from isolation, which is dangerous. “A fortress seems the safest. But isolation exposes you to more dangers than it protects you from—it cuts you off from valuable information. Ramos’s other tips on the exercise of power:
- Keep your hands clean. You must seem a paragon of efficiency and civility. Your hands should never be soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds.
- Plan all the way to the end. The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all possible consequences, obstacles and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others.
- Despise the free lunch. Probably alluding to the many offers of help by China in building our economy, infrastructure, tourism and trade, among many others.
“What is offered for free is dangerous”—it usually involves either a trick or a hidden obligation. What has worth is worth paying for.”
Ramos, quoting from another author, has this advice not only for the President but for the members of his Cabinet: Know what you are supposed to be doing.
- “What is your priority? What’s the end point? What’s the goal? You’ve got to know what you are supposed to be doing.”
- Be proactive, not reactive. “The greatest advancements were created by innovators—people who imagined things that did not exist, and asked why. If you aren’t proactive, you’ll stagnate.”
- Be consistent, if you turn in good work and then one day hand in a pile of rubbish, people are going to think you’ve blown it. People need to know what to expect from you.”
- Learn from your mistakes. We all make mistakes. We couldn’t be wonderfully creative if we didn’t. Once you made your mistake, the important thing to do is to find out the right way to do it next time.”
- Cultivate those in the know. You need to know who the movers and shakers are—and cultivate them. That means charm and politeness, tact and discretion, and gamesmanship.
- Know when to let go. “Sometimes, it’s really hard to let go, to know when to stop, when to back off, to walk away whistling—pride intact and dignity in place.”
- Keep learning, especially from the opposition. The illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.
- Go the extra mile. “This is the easiest rule of all. Going the extra mile should be the first thing on your mind when you wake up in the morning and last thing at night.”
3 comments
The voice of wisdom.
Humble thyself and take it from the pro and veteran Mr. DU30,you really need to listen,learn,embody and apply the good wisdom and advice shared to you so you will succeed for you can’t afford to fail your people. Besides,it’s better to change for goodness sake this early than to be sorry,stumble and fall sooner or later.
Sorry but coming from Ramos? hahaha!!
Yung kinita muna sa bases, nasaan na?