The times call for ‘kwekkwek’ thinking

IN primary school, on our way home, a few classmates and I would often help ourselves to cheap street food to quell our growlingstomachs. our favorite was boiled eggs, which we would sprinkle with a little rock salt, and eat with gusto. It was just your commonplace boiled egg that looked like any other.

Then as the years went by, someone had a bright idea. He added a twist to the same boiled egg that everybody was peddling. He breaded the boiled egg, and then he furbished it with an artificial attractive orange color to catch the eye. And to pep it up, there’s spicy vinegar as dip. Voila! It worked! Thus was born the kwek-kwek—the

glorified boiled egg you see in street food stalls everywhere.

That’s Pinoy innovative thinking at the grassroots. Maybe, someone will also add a new twist to other street food offerings like fishball or skewered bituka or lugaw. In fact, I wonder what would be the next creative mutation of the kwek-kwek.

What goes for food, can also go for other products and services.

This becomes even more relevant now because the pandemic has devastated a lot of small and medium businesses. Analysts say up to 45 percent of nearly a million micro, small and medium enterprises have closed shop or are about to shutter. Ideally, the state should come to their rescue. But no less than the President has said that our national coffers are now empty. Wala na tayong pera.

Hoping to gamble what remains of his depleted savings, the poor Pinoy entrepreneur can only rely now on his native gift of creativity and resourcefulness. Be ingenious or go hungry. It’s the only way to survive, recover and thrive.

In our community, the chosen way is food retailing online. But like the hot pan de sal or pearl milk tea craze, everybody is doing it. Nagsulputan parang kabute, goes the expression. Many of them have come and gone, disheartened by the usual problems of ningas-cogon business projects.

One big problem is the sameness or parity of the food items being offered online. Everyone seems just ready to follow a trend like salted egg something or ube whatnot. There is a lack of kwek-kwek thinking behind many ventures. No real standouts in terms of taste, packaging, and variety of menu. Gayagaya, puto maya.

This is not the way it should be because the Filipino is inherently innovative and adoptive. Malikot ang utak, malikhain. And it is this natural talent that is precisely what the country needs to put to work to haul itself back to health, economically.

I strongly urge the country’s leadership to make it a national mission to make innovation a way of thinking and doing for the Filipino. Kwek-kwek thinking as a mindset, a habit, a way of life.

Let’s harness our natural abilidad. But it should be the kind of ingenious thinking that transcends our pwede na mentality and stopgap approach to problem solving.

Our businesses and public service institutions should learn from companies, such as Apple, Google, Starbucks, Youtube and Facebook that keep introducing game-changing innovations in small ways that add up to the big picture. To people with an innovative mindset, there’s always a better way.

Tried-and-tested methods maybe reliable, but trying out new things, even crazy ideas, is a worthwhile experiment that can make a difference and lead to rewarding returns. Innovation can give you an edge in penetrating markets faster, especially in the international marketplace.

The main pitfall is doing something because it’s the new thing, rather than because it’s anchored on a distinctive idea that meets the needs and wants of consumers or constituents. Any innovation that a business or public service agency decides to adopt must always be based on a solid grasp of the people to whom you’re trying to sell to, or to serve.

Just the other day, my wife complained about having to endure the ordeal of wearing a face mask for hours. After using it several times, she finds the smell repulsive and suffocating. Light bulb. Why not come up with a face mask that has just a whiff of refreshing long lasting scent like lemon or sea breeze, without overwhelming the nose?

This is why it’s important to observe or talk to people. By doing so, you can pick up some fresh ideas. You must also be open to different ideas from different minds. Surround yourself with people who have ideas that differ from yours. Creativity oftentimes can be sparked by the clashing of ideas.

An unfortunate example of closed thinking is shown by our country’s economic managers. In their press conferences, they keep brandishing the Build, Build, Build program as the main strategy for economic recovery in the light of the recession we are in. This, to me, is myopic thinking. Their focus is too single-minded. They are putting all the eggs in one basket of a solution. Why limit your thinking to just big ticket hard infrastructure projects?

Maybe, they need to listen to others outside their closed circle for alternative and out of the box ideas. They should do a little kwekkwek thinking.

For instance, why not first take stock of what we have already on hand, our use able assets? let’ s admit the fact that we don’ t have unlimited financial resources, nor a developed industrialized sector nor the advanced technology needed to compete man o-a-ma no with developed countries.

What we have is a vast organic pool of talents and artists who can compete in the area of cultural economy: music, food, performing arts, cinema and digital arts. that’ s our intrinsicwealth, our cultural capital, or what is called “soft” assets. Shouldn’t our so-called experts consider this sector as another way to generate jobs and revenues for the country in addition to their beloved BBB?

As we ordinary citizens try to navigate our way through the debris and the wreckage left on the wayside by the relentless pandemic, my advice is to spend the quarantine time to think, recalibrate innovative ways to start a new business or re-invigorate the old one we had before the pandemic. Use the downtime to get the pulse of the people who you will be interacting with. Understand them as human beings, not just their attitude to your product or category in the new business that you plan to launch. Show your ideas and concepts to others, check their reactions, and then go back to the drawing board and reimagine or rebuild the idea.

Remember, there’s always a better idea waiting somewhere, even amid the economic wreckage. Find it and run with it.

Kwek-kwek thinking pa more!