Bonding

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Singapore 19^th August 2011

Another “bonding” session with some friends and potential clients made it rather late last night, hence my delayed entry for yesterday. It is often said that you get your jobs through who you know, not necessarily what you know. It is a shame but unfortunately that is how life works. People like to work with people they know, I am the same. It gives a level of trust and comfort as you can easily communicate and pick up the phone to resolve any issues. But as I am getting older and my health of prime importance, drink binging, girls and late nights are not necessarily the wisest thing to do. Been there, done that, but it should not be the standard for being “accepted”. I am sure many of my colleagues in the business have encountered situations where they had to participate in “bonding” sessions as to not offend the host or client. It is at times a fine line and you need to know your own limits. Having said that I enjoyed last night… 🙂

One of my first encounters of such a session now more than 20 years ago, was in Taiwan, the first time I got introduced to karaoke. Having played in a band in my student years I thought I was up to it, but up there it felt like a big embarrassment. Not to my client and host though, who had a ball of a time and had great fun at my expense. I was suddenly their hero…know that before that we had a dinner where alcohol had flowed more than generously. Till today I don’t know how I survived, but the next morning my host offered me a bottle of his own home made brandy as a token of appreciation. Like I needed more alcohol! But the gesture
was a big token of his the respect that I had earned from him. We worked together for many years.

PS: Following up on yesterday’s note regarding the Philips blog, I got a friendly call from Philips in Holland (thanks Matt) eacting on my query to clarify that it has never been the intention to copy or compete with my Light Talk blog and that it happened without any mal intent. They will look into the matter and advise if they can change the name to avoid any conflicts…

In Light Watch today one of the iconic bars in Singapore, the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel. One of my first projects in the region
together with Bent Severin the Interior designers. Still standing the test of time…