ENDEAVOR
New Paradigms for Business Sustainability was the theme of the 28th World Congress of the Union Internationale des Associations Patronales Catholiquesis (UNIAPAC), or the International Christian Union of Business Executives, that was held in Manila last Oct. 23-26. Nearly a thousand delegates from all over the world and local chapters of the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP) braved the winds and rain brought on by Typhoon Kristine that flooded and severely damaged homes and crops in the Bicol region and northern Luzon.
Business Serving the Common Good was tackled on Day 2, featuring the Grupo Bimbo and Polydeck Screen Corporation. Ignacio Pugliese, Grupo Bimbo president for Asia Region and Peter Freissle, Polydeck CEO, were the speakers. It was a Saturday morning well-spent; I came away enlightened and inspired.
Established in Mexico 77 years ago, Grupo Bimbo stakes a claim to being the world’s largest and leading bakery company with stores in 34 countries across North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Its brands include Sara Lee, Harvest Gold, Artesano Pullman, Brownie, New York Bakery Co. Bagels, and Little Bites Chocolate Chip Muffins.
Based on a survey by Forbes and Statista of “more than 300,000 employees in over 50 countries who work for multinational corporations that have more than 1,000 employees and operate in at least two continental regions of the world,” Grupo Bimbo was named one of the world’s best employers.
Mr. Pugliese pointed out that Grupo Bimbo’s emphasis on its people, the 152,000 associates who serve customers worldwide, are chiefly responsible for gaining widespread acceptance of its products and achieving profitable operations; 78 percent of profits are reinvested. “To build a sustainable, highly productive and deeply humane company” is our philosophy, he said.
Polydeck Screen Corporation was founded by Messrs. Manfred Freiselle and Dieter Engler in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in the late seventies. In 1969, Mr. Freiselle invented and patented lighter and longer-lasting polyurethane modular panels, branded as Polydex, that displaced heavy wire cloth sheets. In 1990, Polydeck patented PipeTop, “a new support frame system that enhanced the production of the modular media design and expanding its capabilities and products to include rubber injection molded panels.”
By the year 2000, Peter Freissle, son of the co-founder, was appointed president and spurred the next generation of innovation at Polydeck. In 2001 PipeTop II was introduced and became the industry gold standard for support frame systems. PolySnap, A new panel fastening system, was patented and introduced in 2002.
In 2006, after a life changing experience at a religious retreat, Peter Freissle created the Polydeck Caring Culture and formed the non-profit “His Way At Work (HWAW)” as a way to share this culture with other companies.
Mr. Freissle emphasized that Polydeck is a company founded and run on Christian principles:
“To serve our customers and shareholders with excellence so that we can achieve profitable growth enables us to create eternal value by conducting our business and caring for people in a way that honors God.” In sum, “treat everyone as family.”
He is an advocate of a new paradigm for business: “I don’t own the business,” he said, “God owns it all. I am a steward.” This underlines the trusteeship element. The leader is entrusted to take care of God’s people who are the people employed by the company. Stewardship is also akin to the concept of servant leadership that has Biblical roots. In the Last Super, Jesus Christ humbled himself by washing the feet of his apostles. It is an antidote to authoritarian leadership as it emphasizes that the whole point of being a leader is to take care of the needs and well-being of one’s followers. The company “is a platform of excellence through a circle of influence,” he said.
He answered the question in Harvard Professor Clayton M. Christensen’s classic book, “How Will I Measure My Life?”, by citing three mandates from Scripture: First, “Love God with all your heart, with all your mind, and all your strength.” Second: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Third: “Share the gospel and help others get to heaven.” He also stressed the call of the Second Vatican Council encouraging the laity to use their gifts in the service of God’s people.
His Way At Work invites company owners to join the mission of “transforming workplaces with God’s love through a four-way process.”
While research that shows fewer people go to Church on Sunday, the business owner has the opportunity to influence and impact the lives of people who work for his enterprise. Hence, His Way At Work, an Association of Consecrated Companies, “empowers business owners to transform their companies with God’s love.”
Step one: Consecrate your business by attending one of the Association’s Consecration Masses, “where you can set your businesses apart for God and commit to stewarding His plan on a mission.”
Step two: Engage in community. Like-minded business leaders intentionally commit their businesses to pursue “a higher calling” and “empower (others) to fully live out their faith in personal and professional settings.” Through monthly meetings, they become more cohesively bonded. They also receive “faith-based leadership resources for their business, and support one another in their journey.”
Step three: Implement a proven process. Business owners demonstrate their love of God and love of neighbors “by providing care for their employees, their families, customers and the community.” HWAW’s methods “have positively impacted nearly 500,000 people by introducing a caring operating system” founded on Christian principles and guaranteed to achieve an “eternal return on investment (ROI).”
In sum, caring companies that join His Way At Work “create eternal value.”
Join the forum on Filipino Management Ethos: Pathways to Shared Growth and Prosperity at the AIM Conference Center, Paseo de Roxas, Makati City on Nov. 21. Register through: https://forms.gle/CP9vVvt5TbSZloBV7