Tragic Circumstances

An absence of words has been noticeable in this blog for a little over two weeks.  You may have formed your own conclusion that perhaps I had lost interest or been too busy to write. Neither of those things are true.  A tragedy is at the heart of the absence.

It was a painful tragedy that only those involved can fully understand yet as readers you are involved.  Because of that I will do my best to describe the details so you can understand for yourself why for two weeks I have not been able to write.

My Commitment

Before I do I want to make a comment about the rest of this series.  There are going to be at least six more parts and that could change because I haven't written them yet, but I do have them outlined.  They are very intense and can not be drug out so I am going to commit to posting three parts a week until this series is complete.

You are going to be made aware of the murders by the hundreds of the children of Davao by "death squads".  You will see how those children who are not fortunate enough to receive an education are often sold off by their families unknowingly into lives of teenage prostitution.

We will look at the Philippines transportation system where only the wealthy have the luxury of owning their own automobile, and we will look at how the Philippine government has built one of the most sophisticated electronic infrastructures in the world in its effort to attract world business.

The Upcoming Final Chapter

In my final part you will hear first hand from the girl whom this series is named after.  Her name is Jeng, she is one of my employees and she only has one eye.  Her story will touch your heart.

Over the last two weeks what was five employees when I stepped off the plane in Davao City had became three.  

How We Lost Two More Team Members

From the very beginning I never felt like Dan, the youngest male employee,  was as committed to our team as the other four employees.  We had a banquet the last night I was there and he didn't show up.  I had tried to practice being mellow as John Jonas had suggested and not read a lot into that, but I had sensed an indifference in Dan that never went away so it didn't surprise me when he left the company and we were down to four employees, but Michael was a completely different case.

Michael was incredibly talented and overly qualified for anything I could possibly need him to do. He was able to program in three different computer languages and after two months I had not been able to come up with work that utilized his skills.  I had the best of intentions when I hired Michael, but I had the cart before the horse and I was forced to do one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life and lay Michael off.

It caused a lot of stress in our organization because we had come together as a team.  We had grown to love each other and nobody wanted to see a "family" member go. Still, I could not continue to keep someone on the payroll (even if it was a bargain) if there was no need for his skills. Michael was also the highest paid member on the team.

So I hope as readers you understand the importance I placed on dealing with my staff and how it took my thoughts away from my keyboard.  This past week I had daily meetings with Analine, Millie and Jeng via skype and it was a week of healing.  We all feel wonderful about the future and we are looking forward to making a very special announcement at the end of this series that will be an exciting one you won't want to miss.

Watch for a new segment of this blog every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until this series is concluded and watch for our special announcement.  It is something the girls and I are really looking forward to telling you about, but we have to keep it under wraps until this series on outsourcing is complete as it would only distract from the current project.