Manulife China Bank Life Assurance (MCBL) recently organized a webinar titled “Business
Resilience in the time of COVID-19,” featuring globally renowned Filipino industrial designer
Kenneth Cobonpue and entrepreneur, actor, and China Bank brand ambassador Richard Yap,
as they share the lessons they have learned pivoting and reinventing their respective
businesses amid today’s crisis.
At the webinar, Cobonpue shared how he harnessed and fueled his creativity during the
lockdown by devoting specific time for creativity, imagination and bursts of inspiration. He also
inspired his team to increase productivity while working remotely.
“There should be a good balance of maintaining creativity and running a business. We had to reinvent ourselves and
maintain discipline while we’re working from home. At the height of the lockdowns, we decided
to boost our online presence and render our designs digitally because we couldn’t go to our
showrooms. I also kept the communication with my people going through our daily check-ins,”
shared Cobonpue. He also believes in the importance of self-care to remain creative.
Meanwhile, Yap shared practical tips that he learned from his different ventures on building
online presence, re-assessing business operations, improving products and services, optimizing
employees’ skills and capabilities, and cultivating customer relationships.
“We had to innovate in many areas to meet our customers’ needs. The lockdown disallowed dine-in options,
so we had to grow our online presence, came up with promos to offer budget-friendly meals, partnered
with delivery riders to help us reach our customers, and even trained our wait staff to have our
own food delivery system as well. This not only allowed us to keep our business afloat and
expand our delivery areas, but also helped us save people’s jobs.”
To provide more insights and tips on how entrepreneurs and business leaders can keep their workforce and their
loved ones protected, MCBL also invited Atty. Victoria Hilado, estate planning and settlement lawyer.
She highlighted the importance of “keyman insurance,” which protects employees and businesses in the face of
unexpected loss or sudden death of a key personnel.
“At MCBL, it is important for us to support our customers, many of whom are entrepreneurs and
business leaders, as they face disruption, volatility and uncertainty resulting from the pandemic,”
said Sandeep Deobhakta, President and Chief Executive Officer of MCBL. “This webinar gives
them a platform to learn from peers who are also running businesses, and who have managed
to weather today’s difficulties, by finding and developing growth opportunities through agility and
reinvention.”
The webinar is part of MCBL’s 13th anniversary celebration, and only the latest of Manulife
Philippines’ free webinars. To watch previous installments or know more about succeeding
episodes, follow Manulife’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ManulifePH
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