By Content and Strategy Director, Kat Torrefranca

Key Takeaways

The best creative work is supported by strong business fundamentals, clear processes, and aligned teams.
Leadership starts by asking better questions before searching for solutions.
Understanding finance, operations, human resources, and marketing leads to more thoughtful strategic decisions.
Learning from leaders outside the agency world broadens perspective and strengthens client partnerships.
Continuous learning keeps leaders curious, adaptable, and prepared for the challenges ahead.

Almost every Saturday ended the same way.

"Another information overload session."

I probably said that at the end of almost every class.

After spending the day at the University of the Philippines Institute for Small-Scale Industries (UP ISSI) Managers Course, I'd leave with pages of notes, settle into a Grab for the ride home, and spend most of the trip replaying everything we had discussed. Somewhere between UP Diliman and home, I'd catch myself mentally translating every lesson into our world at VCS.

How would this work for our team?

Could we improve this process?

Is there a better way to make decisions?

Looking back, I don't think those rides home were simply time spent processing what I'd learned. They were where the learning actually happened. Ideas slowly turned into questions, and those questions gradually changed the way I looked at leadership, organizations, and even my own role at VCS.

When I enrolled in the Managers Course, I was hoping to become a better manager. I expected practical frameworks, new tools, and ideas I could immediately apply at work. I found all of those, yes. But what surprised me was how the course reframed the way I think. Every module became another lens for understanding organizations. Every class gave me a different way of looking at decisions I had been making for years.

*Twenty-one Saturdays later. Completing the UP ISSI Managers Course became one of the most meaningful learning experiences of my career.*

Learning to Ask Better Questions

Agency life moves quickly. There is always another proposal to prepare, another client meeting to attend, another presentation to refine, another deadline to meet. It's easy to become very good at responding to whatever is in front of you.

One of the earliest ideas that stayed with me came from our discussions on systems thinking and organizational development.

Instead of immediately asking how to solve a problem, we were encouraged to ask different questions.

Why does this issue keep happening?
What process created it?
How do we make this easier for the people who come after us?

That shift seems small on paper, but it changed the way I approached work.

I realized leadership becomes much more sustainable when we spend time improving the system instead of relying on people to solve the same problem over and over again. Sometimes the best solution isn't another workaround. Sometimes it's creating an environment where the problem is less likely to happen in the first place.

That mindset followed me throughout the rest of the course.

Every Business Has a Story

If you had asked me before the course which topic intimidated me the most, I probably would have answered finance. Numbers have never been where I feel most confident.

Surprisingly, those sessions became some of the ones I found myself thinking about long after class ended. One discussion centered on Jollibee Foods Corporation. At the beginning of class, our professor asked a simple question.

"Would you lend Jollibee billions of pesos?"

Almost everyone answered yes. Of course we would. It's Jollibee.

As the discussion unfolded, the conversation became much more interesting. We looked beyond the financial statements and started asking about leadership, acquisitions, industry conditions, business strategy, and long-term sustainability. The numbers mattered, but they only made sense when we understood the context behind them.

That realization stayed with me because it applies far beyond finance.

*Some of the best conversations happened around these tables. Every Saturday brought a new perspective.*

Whether we're developing a strategy, reviewing campaign performance, or helping a client navigate a business challenge, context matters. Data gives us valuable information. Asking the right questions helps us understand what that information actually means.

I found myself looking at businesses less as collections of departments and more as interconnected systems where every decision creates ripple effects somewhere else.

One Classroom, Many Different Perspectives

One of my favorite parts of the Managers Course had nothing to do with the lectures. It was the people.

Our class was made up of business owners, managers, and leaders from industries like manufacturing, distribution, logistics, agribusiness, and other small and medium enterprises. Many of them were entrepreneurs who had spent years building their own businesses. Every conversation reminded me that no two organizations operate exactly the same way, even when everyone is working toward sustainable growth.

*Learning alongside business owners and leaders from different fields broadened my perspective in ways I never expected.*

Some were navigating rising production costs and supply chain disruptions. Others were managing inventory, workforce challenges, expansion plans, or changing customer behavior. Listening to their experiences gave me a much deeper appreciation of the realities they face every day.

Working in strategy, I couldn't help translating those conversations into the work we do every day.

Every creative brief represents a business making difficult decisions behind the scenes. Budgets, operational capacity, people, timelines, and long-term priorities all shape the choices our clients make. Understanding those realities helps us ask better questions, create more practical recommendations, and become stronger partners because we're able to appreciate the bigger picture behind every project.

When Everything Came Together

The biggest test of everything we learned came through the Integrated Organizational Survey and Assessment (IOSA), one of the culminating requirements of the Managers Course.

Our group was assigned to a family-owned agribusiness in Rizal as part of our Integrated Organizational Survey and Assessment (IOSA). Over several weeks, we interviewed the owners, visited the site, observed their operations, and looked at the business through the different frameworks we had been studying throughout the course.

*Conducting interviews and gathering data during our Integrated Organizational Survey and Assessment.*

Earlier in the course, I probably would have looked at the enterprise primarily through a marketing lens.

This time, I found myself asking very different questions.

How do they make decisions?
Which revenue streams keep the business sustainable?
Where are the operational bottlenecks?
How do finance, operations, human resources, and marketing influence one another?
What trade-offs does the business have to make every day?

Those conversations reminded me that meaningful recommendations begin with understanding before problem-solving.

Presenting our IOSA Report, one of the highlights of the Managers Course. It was an opportunity to apply what we learned in finance, operations, marketing, and human resources to a real business.

Looking back, I think that's what made the experience so rewarding. Our team spent far more time understanding the business than trying to immediately offer solutions.

Receiving the Best IOSA Report award during graduation made that lesson even more meaningful. The recognition was something all of us were incredibly proud of, but what stayed with me even more was the process that got us there. Curiosity, thoughtful analysis, and genuinely listening to the people behind the business made all the difference.

*Receiving the Best IOSA Report Award with my teammates and our coach. A proud milestone after weeks of research, collaboration, and learning.*

The Lesson I'm Bringing Home

Graduation naturally came with celebrations, photos, and congratulations. The message that has stayed with me the most, though, came from UP ISSI Director Melanie Moraga-Leaño. She shared a new meaning for MMK. Yes, that MMK. Maalaala Mo Kaya.

This time, it stood for Mangarap. Manindigan. Kumilos.

The more I thought about it, the more it felt like a simple framework for leadership.

These days, it's easy to become so focused on deadlines, responsibilities, and solving today's problems that you stop imagining what tomorrow could look like. Hearing Mangarap reminded me that leaders have a responsibility to keep looking ahead. Progress begins because someone believes there is a better way to do things, whether that's improving a process, developing people, serving clients more meaningfully, or building a stronger organization.

Manindigan reminded me to stay grounded in my values, especially when decisions become difficult.

Kumilos was the final push. Learning creates opportunities for growth, but growth only happens when we choose to apply what we've learned.

I don't think I'll remember every framework we discussed over six months. What I know I'll remember is the way the course changed the questions I ask.

*Celebrating the end of twenty-one Saturdays of learning with the UP ISSI Managers Course Class of 2026.*

Choosing to Stay Curious

When I look back on the past six months, I don't immediately think about the lectures, the quizzes, or the assignments. I think about the conversations.

I think about the business owners who generously shared their experiences. I think about classmates who challenged the way I looked at familiar problems. I think about the ride home after every Saturday session, when ideas slowly started connecting with one another.

Most of all, I think about curiosity.

The Managers Course reminded me that leadership is a practice. It grows every time we're willing to ask better questions, listen carefully, and remain open to learning.

I walked into UP ISSI hoping to become a better manager. I left with a much deeper appreciation of how organizations work, how different parts of a business influence one another, and how asking better questions often leads to better decisions.

For someone working in strategy, I can't think of a more valuable lesson than that.