When Your Career Takes a New Turn

June 26, 2009 | 11 Comments

“That’s not my job!”

“That’s not the work I have in mind!”

When your boss gives you an assignment and you are sorely tempted to protest, think twice. He may be opening a door to a new and exciting chapter in your career. That was what happened to Raffy dela Rosa, who started as an accountant. He served as Finance Director for Jollibee until its founder, Tony Tancaktiong, assigned him to head Chowking. Now, he is heading the Manong Pepe chain of restaurants.

Raffy is the eldest of ten children. His father was into farming, fishing and carpentry. Later, the father raised and sold a few cattle to buy a tricycle and worked as a tricycle driver. These provided the income that enabled Raffy to study in a public school in their native Plaridel, Bulacan.

Raffy was set to enter a vocational school to become a carpenter like his dad. However, circumstances led him to become a scholar in what is now the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, with a course in Accounting. After passing the CPA exams, he worked for FNCB Finance (a subsidiary of Citibank) and National Semiconductors.

National Semiconductors closed its Philippine operations due to the 1987 coup attempts and offered him a job in Singapore. Raffy declined and started a small business with his wife. Six months later, he was head-hunted to work for Jollibee. There, he did its financial systems from scratch. He managed and sourced the funds to fuel Jollibee’s expansion. By 1991, Jollibee overtook McDonald’s.

Learn his secrets and advice from excerpts of my interview with Raffy de la Rosa for my book, Your First Job.

How did you transition from Jollibee to Chowking?

When Jollibee became debt-free and holding plenty of cash, things progressed very well. Then sometime in 1999, Chairman Tony told me to speak with Robert Kwan of Chowking. Tony and Robert were friends and partners, so I negotiated in behalf of Jollibee to buy Chowking. Afterwards, I suggested to Tony that he send someone to manage Chowking. Tony appointed me to do it.

I protested that I am only a CPA and a banker; maybe I will only bankrupt Chowking. Tony said I can do it, after spending time with the Jollibee group. So I moved there.

It was a big career shift from finance and accounting to operations. How did you learn?

I simply pretended to be a customer. What does a customer want? Delicious food and good service. For the delicious food, I observed the commissary. Since my wife runs a bakeshop, I was able to relate to the operations. The first big decision that I would be proud of is to have a training center for our cooks.

The second thing we addressed was the marketing. If you have something good, you have to tell the customer. I worked closely with marketing and I sit with market research and the advertising agency. We came out with good, heart-warming advertising which won awards. We were able to establish brand recognition.

The other training we did is for the store and area managers. We trained them essentially for customer-caring mindsets. Our mission statement is “delight the customer,” something everyone from the janitor up can grasp.

Where do you get your creativity or your wisdom?

If you are one of ten kids and your family had to struggle for everything from eating to schooling to graduating, then you have to think of ways how to get by. In fact, we never had vacations when I was a kid, it was helping my dad raising cattle or tending the farm. I think I brought that creativity to the workplace.

My other education comes from the church when I was a kid. Through the church, I learned about the values of integrity, patience, spirituality and things like that. I did not raise my standard of living. Deep down I am still the typical barrio boy, trained to make do with what I earn and be resourceful.

That is a great reminder that a poor background is no excuse for a victim mentality. One last question: Suppose there is someone fresh out of college. He wants to get rich and ahead. He sits down with you for five minutes and asks for advice. What will you tell him?

The first thing I would tell him is “Forget your ambition”. And forget about being rich. Just do your best in whatever things that you are blessed with.

Also, keep your integrity intact. The best way to show integrity is to be trustworthy and reliable. In fact, I dare say that there are many opportunities in this world waiting for people with good values. My boss was just saying, “Raf, I can double this business in a short time, At this point, money is no longer a problem. The problem is where to find people who can be entrusted with that money.”

Comments | Add a Comment

• 1.

  Jordan Retro 8 (Sun, Jun 13, 2010 14:54)

  Great document. It is really useful to understand your blog. The information among your blog is exactly excellent, and your blog structure is Simple generous. It is never dazzled. I like this style of your site.

  2.

  Jordan Retro 8 (Sun, Jun 13, 2010 14:55)

  Great document. It is really useful to understand your blog. The information among your blog is exactly excellent, and your blog structure is Simple generous. It is never dazzled. I like this style of your site.

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  Air Jordan shoes (Mon, Jul 19, 2010 08:30)

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  renz (Wed, Jul 28, 2010 18:13)

  very inspiring..

  5.

  Apundar, Larrah Lien (Mon, Sep 06, 2010 17:38)

  i was so thankful that i found this page and read the article.i really dream how to become rich.,now i pick some idea not to become a rich but how to become a successful one...thank you very much

  6.

  Air Jordan (Wed, Oct 06, 2010 09:08)

  Blogs are good for every one where we get lots of information for any topics nice job keep it up!

  7.

  dyeni (Tue, Dec 21, 2010 00:00)

  Thank you very much for this post. I'm very proud of you Sir Raf. Forget your ambition”. And forget about being rich. Just do your best in whatever things that you are blessed with.

  8.

  Slislisidgext (Tue, Mar 15, 2011 06:22)

  Honest conviction is my courage; the Constitution is my guide.

  9.

  rina (Tue, May 03, 2011 01:07)

  I recently bought and read your book, "Your first job", and wished I got my hands on it earlier in my career. I have no interest anymore with what I was doing but I always made the most out of any situation. I even got promotions. I was just going with the flow with my job, so to speak, and felt empty, so I finally decided to quit. I have plans but may God bless them. I trust Him that much. I'm single and in my mid-30's. A big gamble others may say because I held an officer position and age considering. I always longed for a career that contributes to humankind. Maybe not a practical thought because my family is not financially stable but we get by. I have no grand ambition for being super-rich. I have no concrete dream for my life. Reading your book kind of hit me in the head and inspired me to where I'm going to head on next. It's not yet too late unless you're dying. God is generous. Thank you for people like you who bring enlightenment to one's life especially mine.

  10.

  Jericho at TeleTech (Fri, Aug 26, 2011 18:12)

  Even one manager said “These days all companies are looking for multitalented, team oriented employees who see the value in contributing to the overall business success of the company, whether or not something is in their formal job description.” I agree on this even in our company (TeleTech). Good work ethics and professionalism.

  11.

  Mark John Bolatin (Mon, Oct 31, 2011 18:42)

  Your articles was very inspiring, reading such articles at career guide became my Sunday hobby. My little time of reading your(maybe 5minutes) gives me a lifetime learning in life. Thanks career guide.... I will always be reading your articles and try to teach this hobby to my daughter. Nelson Dy is my Idol.

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