One afternoon over coffee with a well-known fashion designer in Cebu, he picked his phone while I listened to him declining a gown order from an equally prominent person.
After his call, my 20-year-old self innocently asked him “Sir, why don’t you accept the order? More orders, more money!”
He looked at me and replied, “Young boy, this is not about money. This is about protecting your brand. The reality is we can’t serve everybody. We just can’t accept projects just for the money. It’s not like that.” And that hit me hard.
He taught me this value that I still carry on until now.
In the corporate world, there will always be competition and politics. Competing with each other, and proving to the clients/ bosses who’s the best to make them look worthy than the other.
My point here is there will always be competition, and that is normal. But pulling someone down for your gain is not normal. Even so, as much as we fight for fair competition, there will always be these people, so all we have to do is to be vigilant and be on guard.
My wish to my fellow professionals: Stop unhealthy competition. There is enough for everyone. May we all make our hearts desire. 🙏
