A good part of business is trying to make yourself known.
This is what we call marketing. It means learning what makes you special, how to make yourself more special, and getting word out that you are special. However, it is now also much more than that. According to Josiah Go, chairman of consultancy company Mansmith and Fielders, marketing will evolve more as a force for good, channeling profit into advocacies that are worth fighting for — this is what makes business, in general, special.
As revealed in the latest episode of Chinese by Blood, Filipino by Heart, marketing guru Josiah Go explains the process of learning how to build a business and learning what a business should stand for. Here are the key points of what viewers have taken away from it.
Knowledge is power
Josiah Go observed early on that knowledge is a commodity that people will pay for. After all, business won’t exist if you don’t know how to operate it. Following this line of thought, Go established Mansmith and Fielders, Inc. in 1989, growing it to become what is now one of the country’s leading business training and consultancy firms.
“I saw knowledge was going to be gold,” shared Go. “In 1990, nobody was willing to even pay for seminars. But today, it’s totally different. The progressive companies understand the value of knowledge. And I realized you can convert knowledge capital to financial capital.”
Taking it a step further, Go’s wife Chiqui proposed to transform the company into one that forwards advocacies.
Go explained, “It was actually her idea to convert it into an advocacy-based company. So I credit it to her. Through the years, we’re not only doing seminars — providing knowledge — but we’re [also] doing so many advocacies. We have transformed ourselves into an advocacy-based training company — the only one in our field.”
“The marketing guru Josiah Go inspired me to pursue my passion in my own unique way and not by duplicating others — to have the humility to start from the bottom ’til I get [to the] top. Knowledge about the field you choose is one of the most important factors to succeed,” Jo Marquez shared.
Aireen Serrano also posted, “Marketing Guru Josiah Go gives me inspiration to pursue and follow my passion. I learned from him that even if you’re not the better one, when you give your best and you are truly dedicated to your passion, you will definitely be on your way to success. As he says, you can convert your knowledge into money. I’m very inspired by you. Thank you, Mr Josiah Go, for the kind words and for inspiring people like me to follow and pursue our own passion.”
Start with a specialty that you’re passionate about
According to Go, the best way to understand the field of business is to start at its heart. For him, this was marketing, which he studied as his major at De La Salle University.
“Among the business courses, I felt that marketing is the heart of a business operation. And that’s the reason why I decided to specialize in marketing. The other thing that I realized was that I was a C student in high school. And then I started to see why I was a C student. Because in subjects that I like, I would get very high grades. In subjects I didn’t like, I would just pass [them].
“And then I realized the secret is to be a specialist in your field before you can be a generalist. So I said, ‘I’m going to specialize in marketing.’ Once you specialize in marketing, you can then [evolve from there]. So [now] from sales, marketing, innovation, Blue Ocean strategy, entrepreneurship, business model, I have six lenses to look at everything, but I started only in marketing. It’s a better way to view the world. When I expanded from marketing to [learning about] business models, I realized business models are 50% marketing. And because I was already in marketing, it was very easy for me to expand,” Go explained.
Inspired by Go’s story, Edcel Dy Dela Cueva commented, “Sir Josiah Go encouraged me to pursue my passion, to the field I am good at. The secret is to be a specialist in your own field, and I realized Mr Josiah Go is correct. I will now pursue my passion in arts. Thank you, Marketing Guru Josiah Go, for your wonderful words on how to follow your own passion when no one is dictating to you. I was inspired too.”
Lichel Lindo also shared, “Sobrang nakakagaan ng loob na merong kagaya ni Marketing Guru Josiah Go na nagbibigay inspirasyon sa kagaya ko na mahilig din sa arts. Minsan doon ko nga din nilalabas ang aking saloobin, lalo na kapag feeling ko malungkot ako. Ang sarap lang sa pakiramdam na may taong mag-pupursue sa’yo, na ipaparamdam na hindi ka nag-iisa na kahit ano ka pa man kaya mong makamit mga pangarap mo sa buhay. Basta magsikap at magtiwala ka lang. Thank you so much.”
“Marketing guru Josiah Go gives me inspiration to pursue and follow my dreams. I always believe that you will succeed if you love what you are doing. My heart and my passion is Sales. Thank you, Mr Josiah Go, for your kind words and for inspiring people like me to follow our own passion,” expressed Hasmin Reyes Mangahas.
Don’t miss the replay of this week’s episode of Chinese by Blood, Filipino by Heart this evening, November 20, at 6:30 PM. Catch the next episode on Sunday at 8 PM. Both episodes will air on CNN Philippines.
