Written by Arcen Gabriel Nacorda & James Daniel Santos

“All of our knowledge, all of our experiences, and all of our successes would amount to nothing if we don’t have that purpose in life—to really find the passion in helping people,” Mr. Earl Guico remarked, taking time to laud the previous speakers and share his admiration for their passion to help others before beginning his talk.

Mr. Earl Guico is the co-founder, head of production, and CEO of Elesi Studios, one of the first technology-driven content creation houses in the Philippines. Prior to starting his own company, he had a fruitful career that spanned for over a decade in the media industry, serving as a broadcast journalist and as an executive producer for GMA News and Public Affairs. Currently, he is managing productions for a broad range of clientele, some of which include Google, Uniqlo, and Robinsons Malls. 

Throughout his prolific career, Mr. Guico has received multiple awards in both the media and advertising industries, including the New York Advertising Awards, London International Awards, and the prestigious 2013 George Foster Peabody Award for his coverage of Typhoon Yolanda. He is a proud alumnus of the BA Organizational Communication (OrCom) program, and he held multiple positions during his time as a student in UP Manila. He served as the resident host for almost every event in the university, as a former Vice Chairperson of the College of Arts and Sciences Student Council and a former president of the UP Manila Junior Marketing Association.

“We have that power and that knowledge to really disrupt necessarily.” Mr. Guico opened the heart of his talk with the concept of “necessary disruption.” Though the word disruption often entails a negative meaning, Mr. Guico defined it as the capability of OrCom majors to influence and shape (to necessarily disrupt) the different sectors of society. He narrated his journey as an OrCom student in the past and highlighted how the program prepared him with the transition from being a UP student to a professional. With these in mind, he built Elesi Studios with the intention of disrupting—to bring fresh and unique innovations into the Filipino media. 

“Real talk tayo,” Mr. Guico quipped. He emphasized that a vast part of the mindset of being a student involves excelling, standing out, and striving to be better. As a professional, he shared how his mindset changed from that to thinking differently, creating solutions, and breaking the mold. While these two mindsets are vastly different, he asserted that the OrCom program served as a uniting force for his academic and professional life.

 “The OrCom program was designed way ahead of its time.” 

From discovering more about people and culture in the year 2005 to learning different communication trends, styles, and strategies in the year 2008, Mr. Guico emphasized how OrCom was indeed ahead of its time. He recounted how the program tackled and encompassed concepts such as culture, technology, content, and communication trends even before these became widely talked about in the Filipino setting. The program helped Mr. Guico to become well-equipped in competently fulfilling his job in this evolving world. So how did Mr. Guico apply his learnings as an OrCom student in his professional life?

Intercultural and interpersonal communication, being two of the core courses of the OrCom program, provided Mr. Guico with pivotal foresight in managing his company in terms of dealing with employees and promoting a healthy work environment. “We want our talents to grow, not just professionally, but as human beings too.” He highlighted the critical role that culture plays in all organizations regardless of their nature, citing the importance of an inclusive culture in developing a positive well-being for employees.

Mr. Guico voiced how technology plays an essential role in the modern world. He enumerated various forms of technology, such as digital advertisements and augmented reality, sharing how these technologies dominate different parts of our lives. Furthermore, he could not stress enough how important technology is in content creation, his line of work. Mr. Guico has seen technology evolve in front of his own eyes. “Eto ang nakakatawa,” he proudly recalled with a grin how the OrCom program tackled the concepts of the various technologies that we see today, way before we could even use them.

Content is indeed everywhere. Not a single day in our lives goes by without the consumption of content—from the social media posts that we scroll through to the shows that we watch on streaming services. Mr. Guico even compared food to content, stating that we probably spend more time consuming content than eating. He recalled his college days, reminiscing how the content he consumed was much more limited compared to the content available now. During that time, however, Mr. Guico and his OrCom batchmates were already studying the ins and outs of content creation, including how to produce videos with a great narrative, engaging storytelling, and eye-catching cinematography.

The biggest realization of Mr. Guico was that he didn’t need an MBA in order to excel in his entrepreneurial ventures. For him and Ms. Ria Landingin, one of the previous speakers, effectively building a business is all about setting objectives, laying out a plan on how to achieve these objectives through the application of various strategies, and paying attention to metrics. Mr. Guico fondly shared how he first learned these steps during his time as an OrCom student, as well as how the application of these steps eventually leads into a successful business.

“Challenge the status quo.”

“Disrupt and innovate.”

“Shake things up!”
Mr. Guico concluded his talk by encouraging the students to break and surpass the current traditional norms by thinking differently among the rest. “Don’t just be someone in the same clothes as others,” he said, emphasizing the importance of standing out and innovating new ideas that will positively impact the status quo; that is, the masses. In addition, he urged the students to interact with and learn from others, as well as to have a desired goal in mind that will motivate them to work harder for not only their own future but also the future of the Filipino people. These powerful statements represent how the OrCom program opens limitless possibilities for the people to be a “step ahead of the curve.”