AN ENCOUNTER WITH A CONSULTANT

www.cebusupport.com

 

 

 

It's amazing how my life has changed. I am not totally the same person as I was before. And I thank God for these blessings. Besides, my experiences as a teacher made me who I am today. I used to be a guy who had simple dreams... But all that changed when my journey began...

 

 

 

It was in 2012 when I was working as an ESL instructor at CLES/ Life Cebu, one of the language schools in Cebu City. During that year, I began to ask myself what my ultimate goal in life was.  Then something came up into my mind. I was considering of resigning. I had worked for that company for almost 5 years and probably felt like I was in the saturation period of being an ESL instructor..

 

During those years, I had met various kinds of students coming from different sides of the globe. Eighty percent of them were Koreans and the rest were Japanese, Taiwanese and Chinese.   Most Japanese students attended classes with a perfect attendance while my other students studied hard only for a couple of weeks but after a month they lost their motivation and even changed my class.   As far as I knew, they came here to learn the language for different reasons. Many visited here to study English to get a high score in TOEIC, some were here for work, and the others just wanted to travel abroad while several were here for leisure and vacation.  Then came the make-or-break of my career. It was in April of the same  year; I met a Japanese student who worked as a consultant in Japan.  He was one of my students in the academy. I thought he was just the usual student who came to Cebu to learn, have fun and return to their country after.  But he’s different from the rest. I didn’t see him participate in any school activities. After our class, he wouldn’t stay at the lobby to wait for his next class, but he went directly to his room instead.

 

 

During my classes with him, we didn’t use the book issued by the school.  He told me that it would be a waste of his time since the topics were not interesting for him.  As a result, we would just have conversational topics.  We often discussed about business, personal plans and whatever popped up into our mind.  To be honest, I was the one who talked a lot.  At that time I was worried that he might change his class.  I had no idea whether he liked my teaching style or not.  However, for almost three months, we had been doing the same routine and it was really surprising for me that he had stayed in my class.

 

 

In July that year, he graduated and returned to Japan. For almost five years, I got used to that situation. Students came, studied and left.  It was just an ordinary day for me. Before he left, he gave me a wrist watch which he bought in Hongkong, and his old camera as presents.  I felt grateful for his kind gesture. If a student gives us something, in our mind as teachers we think that our effort is being acknowledged and appreciated.   The last memory I could remember before he left was his plan to study in Singapore or have business in there.

 

After a month I received a message from him.

 

He said that he was coming back to Cebu and he wanted to meet me.

 

Yes he did return and invite me for dinner in one of the famous restaurants in Cebu.  The first words he uttered when we started talking,

 

“Edo let’s talk something serious."

 

I was really surprised to have heard it.  He offered me to do business with him.  The news was beyond my imagination.  To make the story short, he told me that he would establish a company in Cebu and he needed my help.   After that night, we often met in the afternoon to brainstorm about business ideas.  I was confused from the beginning because I wasn't sure what we were doing.  Until such things were clear, he told me that he and his friends would like to establish a language school.   Then that’s the time I got a little serious.  That was something new to me.  I was assigned to research about the legal and corporate affairs of the school.   While processing the incorporation of the company, he told me a flattering but shocking news.   He would want me to be the General Manager of the company. I was very hesitant about it knowing I couldn’t handle the job.  I felt the responsibility was too big.  Most Filipinos might be happy to be offered with that position but in my case, I was just scared.  It was a sudden climb up to the corporate ladder. I felt I wasn’t ready.   I knew that my future was brighter given the opportunity presented, but at the back of my mind I also thought it’s an uphill battle and struggle. There was nothing in my past that got me prepared to that future, however, maybe I was chosen by fate.  After I consulted my family and friends about it, I took the challenge.

 

 

Looking back then, I was still wondering why he chose me to become the General Manager of the company. At that time, I had no managerial experience; my English skills were not perfect. Most of the time, I just talked to him in class. I wasn't even the best teacher in the academy.

 

 

Reflection

 

An Important Skill a Consultant Must Possess

 

Why did he choose me?

 

I realized as a consultant himself, he came to Cebu not only to study English but also to venture on the possibilities of having business.  During our classes, he didn’t complain about my teaching skill.  He just listened to me carefully while I was discussing about my plans. 

 

One day to satisfy my curiosity, I asked him,

 

“Why did you choose me to be the General Manager of the company?”

“Until now I have no idea why you’ve given me this once in a life time opportunity.”

 

Two things, he replied,

 

“I trust you and despite your inexperience, I can see in your eyes the passion that you are willing to learn.”

 

What did the experience teach me?

 

Now as a consultant myself, one simple skill but very critical and essential in the field of consulting is to have the ability to develop a “sense of listening.” Each time I meet a client, I have to listen carefully about what he/she says because through that, I will be able to find out some factors that need to be improved. After that, I can propose a good solution or suggestion to the issues presented.

 

During our classes, he was not really interested whether I was a good teacher or not. He was mostly observing me on how to assist me in the future.  He studied my strength and my weaknesses.  So by the time I encountered problems in the company, it was not surprising for him anymore.  He already expected that I would have a hard time.  All he could do was just to support and not give up on me.   He believed that through experience I would learn a lot and I must say, “Yes!  definitely I did.”

 

Aside from experiences, he also encouraged me to continue learning.  He told me that there are problems in the future in which answers can’t be found in my past but through preparing in the present by reading a lot of books.

 

 

How did the experience change me as an ESL teacher?

 

As a teacher to foreigners, I must be a consultant as well. First meeting is very critical. I have to listen to the student carefully what he really needs, and what his purpose of studying English is.  It's very important to write down notes and set some goals.  Discuss whether the goals are achievable during a short period of time. Finally, there must be a follow up of the progress each week or month. The goal should not focus on what to do during the class but what a student will do after studying in Cebu.

 

Quotes from the experience

 

 “In life we definitely know when to quit, but why quit now if you haven't started it yet?”

 

“It was difficult but I took it as a challenge.” I learned from it and when it’s time to quit, it’s worth it.”