The CEO Magazine Asia — January 2018

theceomagazine.com | 115

Global Gateway Development Corporation

President Michael Russell found that building

a culture of excellence in the Philippines

meant overcoming one of the country’s

age-old cultural attitudes.

WORDS ADRIAN FLORES • IMAGES JASPER SALCEDA

T

here’s a saying in Tagalog, Pwede na. In English,

that translates into ‘It’s good enough’ or ‘That’ll

do.’ While it is a pithy two-word phrase, it also

encapsulates an attitude that can sometimes be

found in Filipino society. Academics have long

argued the origins of Pwede na. Some point to

the extensive history of colonisation in the Philippines, first by the

Spanish and then by the Americans, that has led to Filipino culture

occasionally being deemed ‘accepting’ of mediocrity.

For Global Gateway Development Corporation (GGDC)

President Michael Russell, this is something he has “tried to

completely eradicate”. “It’s always been my personal creed that

everything we do is done with excellence. There is another saying

that goes, ‘It’s the good that hates the best,’ and a lot of

organisations will just settle for what’s good enough,” he says.

“We should be setting ourselves above and beyond anyone

else in this industry in how we approach our business and how »

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