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Español With average experience of 15 years and average age of 38 years, the businesspeople and managers who have successfully concluded the PYMEX Program celebrated yesterday the closure of this edition, maintaining safety and hygiene measures.
The master class was given at 20:00, at the Seville’s headquarters, by Juan Ramón Hernández Pérez, general director of PERLAHUELVA FRUITS EXPORT, S.L., and advisory council member of the San Telmo Center of Excellence for SMEs.
Further participants in the closing included: general director Juan Pérez Gálvez; Pablo Pérez Fernández, director of the edition; and Francisco Fernando Hernández de Guzmán, class president of the edition just finalized.
The rules of the game of business
Juan Ramón, former student of the program, told attendees about his classroom experience three years ago, when he decided to undertake this program, after eighteen years as a businessman.
Juan Ramón started his professional career as an entrepreneur by founding his first company in 2003. Later on, he set up a few more companies, and after several years as manager of Perlahuelva, he realized that it was time to begin the training adventure.
Perlahuelva has its base of operations in Rociana del Condado. It produces, stores, packages and exports high quality fresh fruit to the world´s most important markets.
For him, changes in his company had been remarkable since he undertook the program in 2017 until the present day. “I always say that before PYMEX I was playing a sport without knowing its rules. I was lucky that the wind was coming from the stern and the boat was moving forward, but It was not clear where I wanted to go,” he said.
He explained that after finishing the program, "I found a purpose and put all my efforts into learning how to become a better businessman and a better person." He said that, having enough tools and knowledge management in order to effectively run the company, he knew “how to adjust the sails to the direction and intensity of the wind which blows. Now we know where we are and we have made explicit a destination to get there.”
Facing the question of "what have we managed to change in PERLAHUELVA during this time?", the general director of the company considered the most relevant milestones.
He started defining the business model, which he stated that it is a fundamental process to really get to know the business, the sector and the value chain of a company.
Second, he spoke on developing a strategic plan as a way to be guided and focused. “This strategic plan is like the travel plan of a family that goes on vacation to another country. So, in your companies do not go on a trip without a plan,” he stated.
He also indicated the importance of creating a shared mission, written and created by all employees. That gives meaning and purpose to the day-to-day work of every single one. He also noted the value of implementing a performance management system, as it helps employees in achieving professional excellence and consistent improvement.
Juan Ramón claimed that a training plan is required as a pillar of support for any company, as well as financial and budgetary control, development of a business plan and creation of a good organizational chart that identifies the collaborators duties and responsibilities.
Learning is the first, then action
According to Juan Ramón, after the acquired knowledge, the most important is to take action “because there is nothing without action. Actually, doing nothing is the best guarantee of failure.” In the same line, he recalled attendees the responsibility that their acts will have for society: “You are chosen and lucky people. You must lead not only companies, but also people. As leaders, you must be an example for others. You must be good people, not with words, but with actions everyday” he argued.
During his master class, the CEO of PERLAHUELVA highlighted the importance of putting passion and love at work. “A company without passion and without love is a company without a soul. Do not settle for mediocrity, be perseverant. The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat fruit,” he stated.
