I was motivated to attend the conference, despite the steep fees charged by the organizers (the former PM reportedly bills up to $250,000 a talk) because of the novelty of the event (a joint project of a university, a communications firm, and private companies). Also, an ex of mine confessed that she had a crush on Tony Blair (this was long before the Iraq War, though).
Former CJ Panganiban was the first speaker. The title of his speech was "Leadership during Challenging Times." Some of the useful stuff I picked up from his lecture were: a new remedy from the International Criminal Court for gross violation of human rights, the warrant of arrest for a sitting Head of State; how the statement of mission and vision can be applied even in government; and the dual and sometimes conflicting roles of the CJ, as primus inter pares and as the judiciary's CEO. His concluding message was that the best leadership is one by example, as exemplified by a certain businessman and Jesus Christ during the washing of the apostles' feet.
I think it would be better if, in his subsequent engagements, he tries speaking without a Powerpoint slideshow and going easy on the mnemonic devices- he's a charismatic person anyway and his speeches would have better transitions and a more natural flow. I also wish, as this afternoon's "front act," he gave a more positive, uplifting message- as Carlos Celdran noted, he spent far too much time dwelling on the well-known problems of the current administration (corruption, poor human rights record) and far too little on solutions. Even if he is now a private citizen, I still see the former CJ as a leader whose role, in his own words, is to inspire and motivate people.
Cecilio K. Pedro, Lamoiyan CEO, was the next speaker and the title of his speech was "How a Filipino Company Negotiates the Global Recession." Since the organizers were behind schedule, and Blair was already on his way to the hotel's tent from Malacanang, he had to cut his speech short. I felt shortchanged, since Ernst and Young gave this businessman the Socially Responsible Entrepreneur of 2004 Award and could have shared a lot more valuable lessons as a business leader- this was important since he was the only speaker from the private sector. Some of his most applauded lines: "the Filipino is world-class" and "let's stop blaming government (for our problems)."
Finally, Tony Blair walked into the tent and seemed to charge the air around him with electricity- the very embodiment of charisma (it could have also been due to the pounding music accompanying his entrance). The conferment of a medal by DLSU was 15 minutes long- 12 minutes too long, I thought- and I couldn't understand why officials gave him a school jacket, at least until I saw today's headline here- rival school Ateneo had also given him a jacket earlier in the morning (read Ivan Henares's report on the Ateneo lecture here).
I don't recall the title of Blair's talk since he didn't use Powerpoint (the conference topic, though, was "The Leader as a Principled Negotiator") but so skilled an orator was he that the audience strained to hear his every word throughout the 30-minute speech (Barack Obama is considered by many as the West's greatest living orator, but he reputedly relies too much on the teleprompter- Blair hardly looked at his printed notes yesterday and seemed to talk directly to the audience). Leadership as a conference topic sounds like fluff- it's not rocket science- but I felt in the end the fees were worth it- despite the economic slowdown- because Blair talked about lessons one can't learn from books: wisdom borne from his own experiences.
He got my attention when he started his talk by alluding to "the movie"- of course, a lot of us knew he was referring to "The Queen" in which he was portrayed by Michael Sheen, though he didn't seem sure if it had been shown here (or maybe it was typical British understatement). He continued, I'll tell you what really happened. When England elects a new PM, he doesn't become one until the "kissing of hands ceremony" with the Queen. He had no sleep the night before and on May 2 (1997), in a chamber off the throne room, he was briefed by a tall English gentleman. "Now Mr. Blair," this courtier said, "you've heard about the kissing of hands ceremony. Well, you don't exactly kiss the Queen's hands- you merely brush your lips against them." What? Blair was baffled by this piece of advice on court etiquette. Then, when he was approaching the Queen, he tripped on the carpet "so instead of kissing or brushing my lips, I fell upon her hands!" She must have thought he was a fervent PM. (Laughter.)
Blair and the audience were now one. (Second funny anecdote.) In 10 Downing St., the official residence of UK's PM, there's a tradition that on the PM's first day in office, the staff lines up along the straight corridor leading from the entrance to the Cabinet Room. On Blair's first day as PM, the staff did line up but- since the old party had been in the house for 18 years- a number of them were crying. He deadpanned, "By the time I reached the end of the line, I felt guilty!" (The audience laughed even harder.)
Having simultaneously established his credibility as a speaker and broken the ice, Blair then announced the topic of his speech: the lessons he learned as a head of government and also on the Northern Ireland peace process. What follows are my notes from the body of his speech.
Lessons as a PM:
- If you want to understand the world, analyze it as it is; to change the world, you must first understand it. It's an interconnected and interdependent world- lack of confidence in one country spreads to others. There's globalization- the world moves fast- as a consequence, our era is one of low predictability- economics and politics are hard to predict. Power is shifting to the East- there's a need to understand China, India and countries like the Philippines- the consequences of this shift are hard to comprehend in the West- Europe was once a power, followed by America- in the 21st century, there will be more than one superpower and "as that world changes, so must we."
- In a fast changing world, countries, companies and people have to be prepared for change. For a lot of people, change is the toughest thing to do. (I thought of poll automation at this point- thankfully we Filipinos are techno-savvy and embrace innovation.)
- To make that change, leaders have to make decisions with courage. Blair mentioned some of the difficult decisions he faced: the war after 9/11; environment; poverty in Africa.
- What is forgivable is to fail; what is not forgivable is not to try.
Segue now to the issue of peace and peace negotiation and "one or two" of his experiences in Northern Ireland (perhaps it was the speaker's stiff upper lip, but I got the sense at this point that he would share the rest if and when he becomes a consultant to the peace process- of course I've said that we should also consider getting the former Finnish PM, another peace expert, as a consultant- I don't know if the Pope would be acceptable to our Muslim sisters and brothers):
- Focus on what's happening continually. Solve or manage problems.
- Agree to principles, but understand that there'll be compromises (a lot of which would be controversial). It's important to have a plan: basic principles; a clear framework for proceeding in the peace process (in stages); milestones/ achievements sought).
- Know that there are going to be attempts to destabilize what you agree on. The worst terrorist incident happened in Northern Ireland after the Good Friday Agreement. What's important was that the negotiators continued with even greater determination in the process.
- You can have peace if both sides want it; usually, you can find a context for finding peace- you must continue and not give up.
Last point: While the economy matters, eliminating poverty is part of our mission, in the end our lives are not just concerned with the material, they're also concerned about values, the type of societies we want. And this is where faith matters. Blair then used the life of Rizal, before whose memorial he laid a wreath last Sunday and who fought "for the right of people to live as equal members in human society," to illustrate this last point.
Final joke: as a PM, Mr. Blair wasn't allowed to have a cellphone. So on his first day as a private citizen, he gets a cellphone and tries to text a friend: "Hi. Hello. How are you?" He forgets to put his name though, so the reply he receives is: "Sorry but hu r u?" "And I couldn't help but think," he deadpanned again, "it's only been 24 hours." (Laughing, the audience gave him a standing ovation.)
There was a question-and-answer segment with the audience moderated by broadcast journalist Che-che Lazaro. Here are some of the issues that were discussed:
- On whether his support on the War on Terror was a mistake: no- it was a difficult decision, though (damn-if-you-do, damn-if-you-don't (not his exact words))
- On whether President Obama's ascendancy and decision to withdraw from Iraq proves that the War on Terror was a mistake: in part because of the work that's been done, the US is now able to withdraw. Ultimately, there's a battle about and within Islam: the modernizing elements against the extremists and reactionaries. (He made the same point in Ateneo, which drew an interesting comment from a blogger here. I think the line should be taken in the context of his entire speech.)
- On the strengths of the Philippines: our Christianity and religions; geographical location in the East, where power is shifting; record of equality of women (loud applause). All countries, even the UK, have problems (ex. alliance with US, difficulties in integrating with EU). Nations partly derive their power from alliances- shared purposes and interests/ values. The Philippines is also top 12 in population (Blair was going to point out how this could be an advantage, but Lazaro doesn't let him finish and says it's one of our problems.)
- On his greatest legacy as a PM: Rather not say, other people write history. He's proud of Northern Ireland though.
- On the key to getting a country back on track: focus on the top priorities- people want better living standards, economic prosperity.
- On birth control, now that he has converted to Catholicism (his wife and children have been practicing Catholics and he had been attending masses with them before his conversion)- no comment, too hot to handle and he's a trained diplomat. (Sharp exchange with Lazaro due to a patronizing comment deftly defused with humor.) Check his political record- "that's my personal stand."
- On when a leader should step down: don't leave for the sake of leaving, leave when you realize you can't do what you set out to do.
- On his vision for his youngest son, a millennium baby (I wrote this final question for my seatmate Gleo): a world in which he would be comfortable with his faith and that would allow him to feel a respect for and connection to people of different faiths, where they would be in harmony with each other. For the basic tenet of every faith is love.
