Clear signals now, more than ever

‘Bummer,’ I told myself as successive news stories on the widening graft mess further eroding our economic growth prospects and business sentiment, and pushing the country into “high” political risk territory, hogged headlines in recent days.

- VISUM WILFREDO G. REYES

I mean, sure: who among us did not expect a controversy of this scale to hit the economy? But I'd prefer more uplifting news to go with my coffee any morning.

As with many of my fellow BusinessWorld readers and audience members (of this publication’s various fora and webinars which have yielded compelling content), I always look for useful takeaways even from dire situations. Was it Britain’s wartime prime minister, Winston Churchill, or Renaissance writer Niccolo Machiavelli who admonished to “never let a good crisis go to waste?”

ABCs

Take the pandemic years that were marked with gnawing uncertainty especially as the COVID-19 virus spread in 2020-2021. One crucial prescription which consultancies like McKinsey & Company, the Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Co. agreed on was the need to communicate key messages, especially on an organization’s state of affairs and a road map out of the crisis, clearly to employees, customers, and other stakeholders. This tack assures that everyone who matters is on the same page every step of the way.

I'd say this prescription holds true nowadays, wouldn’t you agree?

In his keynote speech kicking off the whole-day BusinessWorld Forecast 2026 forum (a biannual event) at the Grand Hyatt Manila in Taguig City on Nov. 25, SM Investments Corp. Chairman Amando M. Tetangco, Jr., a former central bank governor, said that: “In this environment, investors and consumers look for clarity — clarity of direction, policy consistency, and disciplined execution... Credibility is the foundation of trust, and trust is the foundation of confidence.”