Mr. Green

Snyder, Mr. Green’s new secretary, was always impressed by how his boss conducted things.

“You know, Mr. Green,” the secretary told his boss, “you’re such a cheerful man. I notice that even when things go wrong, you’re always smiling.”

“Well, the boss grinned, “that’s because, when things go wrong, I always have other people to blame.”

I joined San Miguel in May 2006, 5 days after my birthday. That was the time when three QA staff, Mr Dax, Bell, and Cathy availed of the early retirement program. Ms Adee, Mr Mike, and I filled in the vacated positions. Eventually the two is now Mr and Mrs Loquellano.

As I recall 5 years ago, Bell is the person with a contagious, child-like smile, who treated us pizza even if it’s not his birthday. He would sing warrior is a child while degassing fermenter samples. Cathy on the other hand gave me her sharp cd player. She was a good listener and a profound conversationalist. Moreover, Dax, became close to me because he talked a lot and I do listened a lot. And vice versa! He was the one who patiently trained me in the process section. He also brought me to a lot of KTV and there we practice our unexplored singing careers.

When Mr. Noy left us, it felt a little pain in our hearts because we all miss his antics and humor. He always has a way of lifting our spirit when things go wrong. He was also our adviser/consultant in many QA activities. There was a little emptiness when we grouped together and LCR was not around.

When Julienne said goodbye to us, I missed her outgoing nature. Her outspokenness and candor. Her loud voice. And her struggling diva moments in the lab.

This year, a very good friend, LRB, moved out to Manila. And she brought along a little piece of myself in her new destination. I had to keep still and gather the pieces again and get used to have one less of my close friends in Bacolod.

I am taking about people and goodbyes. I am reminiscing down memory lane. I am talking about human relationships.

John C. Maxwell defines leadership as influence. The object of that influence is people. People-oriented leaders are more interested in the interpersonal relationships in the team. They asked the following questions: 1. Do your employees consider you a great manager? 2. Do you refer to yourself as a people person? 3. Do you ask yourself, if I were them, will I be happy about my decision? Simply put, 4. Do you care about your people?

The richest people in the world; even the most successful in their career; even the most popular, amidst their greatest accomplishment in life, when they are old and grey, the thing that matters most is not what they have become but how they have made relationships with other people.

When I recalled the memories I shared with Mr Dax, Bell, Cathy, Mr Noy, and LRB, I did not really mind that Dax and Bell were topnothers in the Chemistry Board Exam and that Cathy and LRB studied in UP Diliman. The things that I remembered were the good and happy moments we spent together and their random acts of kindness. Because what matters most is how we have built relationships with people around us. It’s either you are good at heart or the other way around. Not the millions you have. Not the trophies in your cabinets. Not the titles attached to your name. Not the positions you have held. People will remember you with the following remarks, "Ay huo, ka.maayo na sya nga tawo!" He is generous. He is caring. He has a good heart.

When the day ends, the ultimate question to ponder is, “How would you like to be remembered as a boss? That when you are old and retiring, can you still manage to smile looking back on the years past?