Holiparent Food Division: Balancing Concept with Technical Implementation

There are some leaders in the company who, whenever I ask about the implementation details of an issue we are discussing during meetings, always reply, "That’s just a technical matter." I am always more wary when working with leaders like this, because they are experts at speaking at length about broad concepts but are neither willing nor able to get involved in the technical execution. In reality, my level of authority is on par with those leaders. The difference is that I maintain a balanced combination of two things: 1) developing the broad conceptual framework, and 2) designing the execution techniques for that concept.

This stands in contrast to them—those who discuss only the concepts but are no longer willing to give thought to the technical aspects of executing those concepts.

What is the result? It simply wastes time holding meetings with them about this or that concept without any clarity regarding the execution techniques.

The question is, why do they do that? There are several answers: 1) They lack technical expertise, so they avoid technical discussions regarding the concepts they propose; this occurs because they hold high-ranking positions due to personal closeness with the company owner rather than because of the competence required for the role. 2) They once possessed technical expertise but have long since failed to hone those skills, leaving them unable to discuss the technical execution of their proposed concepts. 3) They believe that technical discussions should be handled by employees at lower levels; this is highly detrimental, as a concept cannot be implemented without a proper technical plan.

What are the consequences? 1) The concepts proposed by such leaders remain merely theoretical, as they are unwilling to discuss the technicalities of implementation. 2) Employees become frustrated, perceiving that these leaders offer ideas solely to appear intelligent. 3) Company owners—who had originally appointed these individuals to high-ranking positions due to personal connections—eventually realize they are incapable of doing the job (specifically, the ability to both devise a concept and formulate the technical plan for its execution); consequently, these leaders are removed from their positions (and are not employed again).

In conclusion: 1) The skill of conceptualizing must be balanced with the skill of technically formulating the execution of that concept. 2) A lack of balance—where conceptual skills are not matched by technical formulation skills (such as determining who will execute the plan, the roles involved, the necessary tools, the required stages and their completion timelines, the budget for each stage, the evaluation methods, and so forth)—can lead to a person being dishonorably removed from their position.

Sunday, July 12, 2026, 16:15 – 16:45 WIB

Monday, July 13, 2026, 01:00 – 01:34 WIB

Dr. Constantinus, S.Pi, M.M., M.Psi (Green Industry & Management) 

Written for: Holiparent Food Division Holiparent Food Division is managed by: 1) Bernardine Agatha Adi Konstantia, S.T.P., M.Sc (Green Food Science & Technology), 2) Dr. Susana Adi Astuti, S.Pi, M.M., M.Si (Green Industrial Behaviour), 3) Dr. Constantinus, S.Pi, M.M., M.Psi (Green Industry & Management) 

Office: Kedaton Terrace D9/3, BSB, Semarang City 

Telephone: +62 82 136 424 089 

In collaboration with "Industrial Psychology Bureau – Dr. Constantinus"

Holiparent Food Division: Green Industry for Fresh Graduates

There are three questions I have received repeatedly from different people: 1) What is the green industry? 2) As a fresh graduate, what is the benefit of understanding the green industry? 3) How can social science graduates start learning about the green industry?

A "green industry" is one that seeks financial profit while simultaneously caring for the natural environment and fostering the well-being of the broader community. In my experience, traditional companies aim solely for financial profit (which automatically benefits the owners). Better companies aim for financial profit (benefiting the owners) as well as the well-being of their employees. Even better still—specifically, green industry companies—aim to achieve three objectives: generating financial profit (benefiting owners), ensuring employee well-being, and fostering the well-being of the community—an effort closely linked to caring for the natural environment where that community resides.

For a fresh graduate, understanding the "green industry" concept is crucial for several reasons: 1) It demonstrates that one's knowledge is up-to-date and not rooted in outdated practices that predate the green industry era. 2) It allows one to assess whether a prospective employer is driven solely by financial profit, balances profit with employee well-being, or is genuinely oriented toward the green industry. 3) It enables one to make informed career decisions—such as whether to stay for a short term (1–4 years) at a profit-only company, a medium term (4–8 years) at a company that values ​​both profit and employee well-being, or a long-term career lasting until retirement at a green-oriented company. It is important to note that a company initially focused solely on financial profit (and owner prosperity) can gradually shift its orientation toward the green industry, even if the process takes a decade or more. Therefore, one should not hastily leave a company simply because it is not yet a green industry player; instead, while working there, one should continuously analyze the situation to detect any shifts in the company's orientation.

Recent graduates from social science programs can readily familiarize themselves with the "green industry" by integrating a focus on environmental sustainability and broader societal well-being with the technical skills acquired during their studies. For instance, graduates in Psychology or Law could study how ecology, ecosystems, and environmental science impact a company's sustainability and business development. It is crucial to understand that environmental degradation and a lack of community well-being can hinder a company's sustainability—let alone its growth—due to factors such as: 1) a poor corporate image among consumers; 2) frequent protests by local communities; 3) the risk of having operating licenses revoked by the government; and 4) a negative corporate image among employees, which causes high-quality staff to resign (moving to other companies) while deterring top-tier applicants (as a poor reputation is easily visible online or on social media).

Sunday, July 12, 2026, at 08:30 WIB

Dr. Constantinus, S.Pi, M.M., M.Psi (Green Industry & Management) 

Written for: Holiparent Food Division

Holiparent Food Division is managed by: 1) Bernardine Agatha Adi Konstantia, S.T.P., M.Sc (Green Food Science & Technology), 2) Dr. Susana Adi Astuti, S.Pi, M.M., M.Si (Green Industrial Behaviour), 3) Dr. Constantinus, S.Pi, M.M., M.Psi (Green Industry & Management) 

Office: Kedaton Terrace D9/3, BSB, Semarang City Telephone: +62 82 136 424 089 

In collaboration with "Industrial Psychology Bureau – Dr. Constantinus"

Member of Holiparent Research & Education

Holiparent Food Division: English is not a dichotomy of "can" versus "cannot"

"How long have you been learning?" That is a sentence I learned from Dr. Tony Garthwaite, a visiting lecturer from Humberside Polytechnic (UK), in 1991. At the time, I was a fourth-semester undergraduate student in the Fisheries Study Program at the Faculty of Animal Science, Diponegoro University.

At that time, I not only learned about post-harvest technology from Dr. Garthwaite but also improved my English speaking skills, as he did not speak Indonesian. Dr. Garthwaite gave me tips on how to communicate fluently in spoken English.

I admit that my aptitude for learning English is not as strong as my wife's (we were classmates during our undergraduate studies in Fisheries Science at the Faculty of Animal Science, Diponegoro University). My ability also pales in comparison to my daughter's; after all, she completed her Master’s degree in Food Technology at Ghent University and KU Leuven in Belgium (where she used English in her daily life). To be honest, when I first started my undergraduate studies, I used to feel anxious about speaking English, fearing that my grammar or pronunciation might be flawed or my vocabulary limited. However, a conversation I had with Dr. Garthwaite—a native speaker—gave me the confidence to realize that it is perfectly fine not to be perfect.

My communication experiences in 1991 gave me the confidence to communicate in English, even though my English was not perfect. While working in export/import (1995–1998) and later in export marketing (1999–2002), I communicated with many people, and not all of them were fluent in English.

When I traveled to several European countries to visit my daughter, who was pursuing her master's degree in Belgium, I also met many people there whose English was not perfect.

I am sharing this experience to encourage the many people in Indonesia who feel afraid, embarrassed, or lack confidence because their English proficiency isn't as good as that of their school English teachers or university English lecturers.

In conclusion: 1) English speaking ability is not a matter of simply "can" versus "cannot." 2) I view English speaking proficiency as falling on a scale of 0 to 10. 3) I have met people in Europe whose English speaking skills were imperfect, yet they spoke the language with confidence. 4) I eventually gained the confidence to speak English, even though my proficiency level was only a 6 or 7. 5) It was precisely by consistently practicing that my ability gradually improved.

Friday, July 10, 2026, at 10:55 WIB

Author: Dr. Constantinus, S.Pi, M.M. (Green Industry & Management)

Holiparent Food Division is managed by: 1) Bernardine Agatha Adi Konstantia, S.T.P., M.Sc (Green Food Science & Technology), 2) Dr. Susana Adi Astuti, S.Pi, M.Si (Green Industrial Behavior), 3) Dr. Constantinus, S.Pi, M.M. (Green Industry & Management)

Holiparent Food Division: Pasar sebagai tempat belajar 😀👍

 

Holiparent Food Division: Natural science experiments always yield results, so they never fail

 

I enjoyed Natural Science classes in elementary school. In junior high school, I liked physics and biology. In senior high school, I chose the natural sciences stream (with a focus on physics). Later, I pursued a bachelor's degree in Fisheries at the Faculty of Animal Science, as I was interested in natural sciences related to seawater.

Do I enjoy practical activities? Yes, I certainly do! To me, there are three types of practical activities: 1) conducting experiments inside the laboratory; 2) conducting fieldwork outside the laboratory (in the actual natural environment)—which I particularly enjoy because I love being outdoors; and 3) applying a treatment or intervention (such as mixing chemicals in the lab) and then observing the resulting changes.

This third type of practicum is something I find sometimes enjoyable and sometimes not. It is enjoyable when the resulting changes align with the practicum protocol, and unpleasant when they do not. My impression is that if the outcome does not match the protocol, then the practicum has failed.

This unpleasant aspect (in my view) ought to change: the realization that a procedure might yield results inconsistent with the laboratory protocol—or even no change at all—should not be viewed as a failure, but rather as a step toward success. When the obtained results deviate from the protocol, they must still be recorded and analyzed to identify potential causes—such as chemical contamination. Subsequently, the experiment is repeated, addressing the factors suspected of causing the discrepancy between the actual results and those outlined in the protocol. This is followed by an analysis of the repeated experiment. The process continues in this manner until results aligning with the laboratory protocol are achieved.

Naturally, this requires more time and additional materials. However, there is no such thing as failure simply because the results—or changes in the results—differ from what is written in the laboratory protocol. After all, experiments always yield facts that can be analyzed and discussed as part of the learning process inherent in the practical method.

In conclusion: 1) In the learning process using the practicum method, there is no such thing as failure, because every experiment yields results—or variations in results—that are worthy of analysis and discussion. 2) When a practicum produces results that differ from those specified in the protocol, this should not be labeled a failure; instead, it should be regarded as an additional phenomenon to be analyzed and discussed, thereby enriching understanding regarding the reasons for the discrepancy. 3) Ideally, if a practicum yields results inconsistent with the protocol, the experiment should be repeated—with adjustments made to the suspected areas requiring improvement—and the resulting data subsequently analyzed and discussed.

Thursday, July 9, 2026, at 01:48 WIB

Dr. Constantinus, S.Pi, S.H., S.Psi, M.M., M.M., M.Psi, Adv., Psi. (Green Industry & Management)

holiparent.com

 

Holiparent Food Division: Opening Eyes & Getting Creative to Create New Products

 

I launched my first product—private tutoring services in Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry—in 1990. I was 19 and a half years old at the time, in my second semester of undergraduate studies in Fisheries at the Faculty of Animal Science. I also created advertisements to attract students and earn money to cover laboratory fees and purchase books.

In 1996, at the age of 26, I developed a software product for international banking and export/import transactions. I created this product using dBase III Plus, a program I had learned in late 1994 through a dBase III Plus programming course.

In 1999, I produced educational articles for "Job Indonesia", a tabloid published in Jakarta. I wrote these educational pieces on export and import, drawing upon the professional experience I had gained between 1995 and that time.

In 2002, at the age of 32, I became the Operations Director of a company in Semarang. At the same time, I served as the Quality & Relationship Manager for the corporate group that oversaw that company. In 2007, I took on the additional role of Independent Commissioner for three banking entities within the same group. Over a span of 20 years—lasting until my early retirement in 2022 at the age of 52—I developed various products and systems for the group. These included advertising materials, press releases for newspapers, and operational protocols for several departments established at my initiative: Branding/Marketing Communications, Legal, Human Resources, and Technical Training. I also created protocols regarding employee scholarships (for university studies in Law or Management), pension funds, and technical training programs. Furthermore, I developed protocols for handling non-performing loans, restructuring manufacturing management, and managing human resources.

The keys to creating these products are: 1) I always keep my eyes open to the problems right in front of me. 2) I use (and expand) my insights to solve those problems. 3) I build relationships with people I can collaborate with. 4) I respond to criticism or rejection by staying focused on the product I am developing—which will ultimately address those criticisms or objections (this requires long-term patience, potentially up to five years). 5) When a product of mine fails, I view it as part of the process of creating a better product.

Of course, there was a price I had to pay to create those products: 1) I used to sleep only four hours a day (fortunately, I was young back then); 2) I continued working on days off—of my own volition and without overtime pay—because there were urgent issues to resolve or because I had ideas for new products; and 3) I spent my own money to attend classes while continuing to work.

The price I had to pay was still small compared to the results I gained, namely: 1) My income was relatively very good; 2) I was able to realize my ideas for creating new products; 3) I built an extensive professional network; 4) I established a strong professional reputation; 5) I obtained additional academic degrees (in Law, Psychology, Management, and Environmental Studies) as well as professional qualifications (as a lawyer and an industrial psychologist); and 6) I gained real-world experience that served as material for writing books.

In conclusion: 1) I always keep my eyes open to identify existing problems and develop products to address them. 2) There is a price to pay for creating these products, but that cost is relatively small compared to the results and benefits I gain.

Wednesday, July 8, 2026, at 18:10 WIB

Dr. Constantinus, S.Pi, S.H., S.Psi, M.M., M.M., M.Psi, Adv., Psi. (Green Industry & Management)