trust

One of the surprising things I discovered about business is how it is founded on trust. In law school, I had read so many cases of breach of contract that I had assumed there was an element of coercion or fear in the enforcement of agreements, that business operates on mistrust. In the best business relationships I have, however, written contracts are mere formalities: someone trusts you to deliver a product or a service, and you trust that person to pay you in return.

In April 2006, I was tasked by one of the shareholders of Makati Medical Center (that's her golden shoe in the picture) to create a PowerPoint marketing presentation with simple animation for a global sharing center she was setting up in Makati. Prior to signing our agreement, I had met her once in Oakwood for about an hour after being introduced by W., who I had met in a conference that same day. They didn't ask for my CV or portfolio, they just wanted me to begin making the presentation right away!

For this project, I formed a team comprised of photographer Ric Lopez and graphic artist A.P., both of whom were former colleagues in Living News, and writer Gabby Lee, who was part of my production team for Dr. Custodio's biography. I had confidence in my team, even if we were working in different geographical locations and communicating by email most of the time.

The only kink in the process was when work on the animation caused us to be late in submitting the PowerPoint by a couple of minutes. I was chastised by our client and I learned that in the global services marketplace, submitting deliverables on time is paramount. Nonetheless, our client was able to fly to the US the following day with her marketing presentation and all members of our project team got paid. The greatest fulfillment for me was seeing the success of our virtual collaboration and contributing to the growth of a multi-billion dollar BPO industry in the Philippines.