Cebu Adventure: Expenses

Starting the write up of our Cebu adventure :).

Travel Date: March 13-17, 2013

Destination: Cebu

Pax: 2

Set up: With guide and transport rentals for Bantayan Island, DIY in the city

Accomodations:

• Bantayan Island: Kota Beach
• Cebu City: Pacific Pensionne

Below is a detailed list of our expenses.

PMI Technical Session: Elevate your Executive Pitch

At a time when I was trying to digest and decipher deeper executives’ minds and expectations, this invite landed in my mailbox. Just in time LOL. Without fully understanding what it was all about, I forwarded the email for her approval. Luckily, I got the support from her and her boss on the same day I requested for approval, so I didn’t waste time in signing up the whole team before they change their minds hehe.

Some details from the site:

Date: March 19, 2013

Time: 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM (dinner included)

Where: Clermont Function Room (to be confirmed), Discovery Suites, Ortigas Center, Pasig City

Cost: P500.00 for PMI Philippines chapter members and P1,200.00 for non-members or whose membership has expired

About the Topic:

Elevate your Executive Pitch!

As project managers, chances are there will be times when you need to communicate with a senior executive about some aspect of your work. Media can vary and it could be a presentation to a group of leaders or a one-on-one meeting. In these types of situations, how do you get executives to listen to you? To improve your chance of success, you need to: have a good understanding of what's different about communicating with executives and equally as important is to adapt your communications to take those differences into account.

This session will discuss the following topics:

1. What is Executive Communications all about
2. Understand what's different about communicating with executives
3. Leading off with an Executive
4. Relationship to Benefits/Priorities the executive cares about
5. Agenda: Why, Who, What, How, Execute
6. Adding Value to Very Important Top Officer VITO's day
7. Managing Other Players in the Drama
8. Content fit with "Why for Who"

I have attended a session last year, also sponsored by PMI and I find it interesting and helpful. I hope I will learn a lot from this session as well.

Until then, I'm off to hibernate in the islands for the rest of the week :).

Two to Three Slides Only Please

Last week, we were asked by one of the directors to prepare options on how to move forward with our current project given some assumptions. The team provided an Excel file format, complete with all the details and important notes and all. After that, we had to meet with the director for review. It was ok, except that, his next requirement was for us to prepare an executive summary that will be presented to the executives (in our organization, these are the people directly reporting to the CEO). Not a jargon to me since I’ve heard it before from my boss and I even helped her prepare one (in Word doc format, around 10-15 pages). But the director’s different so I had to make sure and so I asked what his idea is of an executive summary. His answer? A presentation deck with 2-3 slides that contains all the essentials. Ok, in short, we need to summarize the contents of our Excel file in 2-3 Powerpoint presentation slides. Whew. So ok, we tried and so the gist went to the first 3 slides. The added slides are short explanations of the 3 main slides. Hooray to us! Hehe.

It was a challenging activity but this somehow gave me a glimpse of how it is to work with executives. They are not into the nitty-gritty details most of the time. In one glance (in this case, 1 slide of our presentation deck), they should be able to understand what we want to tell them.  And since all your ideas are in just a few slides, make sure you know the nitty-gritty details by heart so as not to faint during presentation LOL.

My next question…boss, who’s presenting? :D We’ll know that by next week perhaps.

MTM Program: The Examination

As mentioned in my previous post, I'm trying to apply for UP Diliman's Master in Technology (MTM) Program.

The qualifying exam was last February 24, 2013 from 1:00 PM-5:00 PM, still at the ASTI Bldg. Let me just say this---errrr, whatever happened to my measly Math skills?! It was the only exam type that I was not able to answer all hmp!  And I even spent some time to review some very elementary lessons. I even missed lunch since the review took longer than I thought. Oh well.

The exam is composed of the usual – abstract, logical reasoning, quantitative, reading comprehension and of course essay. All are with time limits. 

We were only asked to bring our permit (issued out when I submitted my application documents) and 1 or 2 #1 pencils. Err...I still don't know until now the difference between the numbers in those pencils hehe. Well, the proctor did not check if we were using #1 or #2 so I'm not sure if this is still strictly implemented. You might also want to bring your own sharpeners :p.

When I got to the examination room, 2 realizations:

1. I’m living a pampered (office) life. Nice workstation with own phone, swivel cushioned chair, own pedestal, very cold air-conditioning system which people sometimes complain about, tissue in the restroom, and the rest goes on.
2. Most of our government facilities are really not in tiptop shape. Sad but true. Monoblock chairs that make a screeching sound in the littlest movement, not so cold aircon, small classroom space…I fervently wish that one day, it will be better for my future children.

Anyway, I’m glad the exam’s over now.  It’s time to move on with other things that were put on hold while anticipating for this. I’m still crossing my fingers for at least average results though. Ooopps, forgot to ask the release of the results so need to check on that hehe. Gosh, I hope they would break the news to me gently LOL!

Note to self: Learn how to commute going to ASTI Bldg. Mahal magtaxi.

MTM Program: The Application

In January, I was surprised when my boss informed me that she has a budget for study assistance allotted for me.  Suddenly, I was in a situation where I had to decide quickly if I want to pursue the Master in Technology Management (MTM) Program of UP Diliman or not, since I know that applications start as early as December and that there are several requirements I need to provide coming from different offices. But while thinking over it, I already started securing the requirements.

First to check was how to get the documents from my undergraduate university. It would be my first time so I don’t know how hard or easy to request for the documents. I made that as my first sign-that if I get the documents from school without any problems, then it is a go. And so thanks to the Internet, I was able to get from St. Louis University’s website the contact details of the Registrar’s Office. A week after I made my very first inquiry, my requested documents were delivered to my friend’s home.

The rest of the documents were easier to produce since it’s coming from HR. Just to make sure, I called up Technology Management Center (TMC) to: 

• Validate the requirements listed in their site. Birth Certificate from NSO was not included in the site
• Inquire about who can fill out the recommendation form. As per the site, this can be the immediate supervisor or a former professor. I’m having second thoughts about requesting from a professor since I left university ages ago and of course my former professors have no idea of my life after college LOL. Good thing they allow previous immediate supervisors so that made it easier for me.

Here’s a complete list of what I submitted:

1. Application form (called TMC-GC Form 1, downloaded from their website)
2. Two recommendation forms (called TMC-GC Form 2, downloaded from their website). This should be placed in a sealed envelope, with the respondent’s signature in the envelope flap.
3. Birth Certificate from National Statistics Office (NSO)
4. Original transcript of records of all degrees
5. Certificate of Graduation (or applicants may also submit certified true copies of their diploma/s)
6. Certificate of Employment printed in a paper with the company letterhead and signed by the immediate supervisor.
7. Duties and responsibilities printed in a paper with the company letterhead and signed by the immediate supervisor. For this and #5, our HR prepared it for me and they combined it in 1 standard document. I just requested them to provision for a space for my immediate supervisor’s signature.
8. Two ID pictures (2x2) attached to the application form. In my case, I only attached one. The other one, I just handed it to them when I submitted my documents. They later on attached that in my exam permit.
9. Four 1x1 ID pictures. I failed to see this in the form so I did not have any upon submission. Good thing they allowed me to submit during the exam. And good thing, the studio where I had my picture taken few weeks prior keep their copies up to 6 moths so I was able to request for a reprint. Let me just say that it’s expensive to have ID pictures nowadays LOL!

After completing the requirements, I just went to their office located at ASTI Bldg. in C.P. Garcia to submit. I paid a total of Php750.00, breakdown of which are as follows:

1. Php50.00 - Application fee for Filipinos ($50.00 for foreigners)
2. Php250.00 - Processing fee
3. Php450.00 - Entrance examination fee

I did that on the last day of submission last February 22, 2013. Buzzer beater as always LOL. I don’t know what happened to my timeline hehe.

Anyway, you can read further about the program in TMC's website. As per checking, they are now entertaining second batch of applicants. Deadline of application is March 22, 2013 and exam is on March 24, 2013.