Leap of Faith

Summary

The author, after achieving significant sales success for their company and receiving minimal recognition and compensation, decides to leave the company and join a client, ultimately gaining a position of advantage over their former employer.

Abstract

The narrative describes the author's journey working for an Indian company's subsidiary, where they successfully established a corporate business in their country and exceeded sales targets. Despite their efforts and the success of the projects, the author was met with ingratitude and a dismal bonus, while their boss, Mr. Singh, took credit for the achievements. Feeling undervalued and disrespected, the author resigned and, during their notice period, secured a position with one of the company's clients who had a project with a foreign central bank. This new role not only ensured financial stability but also positioned the author in a place where their former employer would have to approach them for business, giving the author the satisfaction of having the last laugh.

Opinions

The author expresses frustration with the lack of recognition and inadequate compensation for their exceptional sales performance.
There is a sense of betrayal and hypocrisy perceived by the author in the actions of Mr. Singh and the HQ team, who benefited from the author's hard work but offered little in return.
The author feels that their dedication, including sacrificing personal time with family, was not appreciated by the company.
The decision to resign is portrayed as a necessary step for the author's dignity and self-worth, despite the risks involved with being a single mother and primary breadwinner.
The author's success in quickly finding a new position with a client suggests a strong professional reputation and network within the industry.
The author takes satisfaction in the role reversal after joining the client's team, where their former employer must now seek their expertise for business.

I had the last laugh

“We do not need your million dollar sales,” he said, smiling wickedly. That was my Boss from India, as we sat in a cab, travelling to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.

My Boss was Mr Singh, from our Indian headquarters. I had been played around like chess pawn ever since I joined the company, eventually ended up in his sales team. It was a prior relationship with other members of the HQ team that brought me on board their subsidiary in my city, where later I was transferred into Mr Singh’s team.

The mission was to set up corporate business for the company in my country; a move away from their traditional education business which was their bread and butter. Basically, starting from ground zero and it was not easy. Another person from the HQ was in the role earlier and he failed badly; you see, a foreigner will always be a foreigner. It was hard for them to penetrate the local business scene.

But within 24 months I did; I brought in sales of more that what was required — more than a million dollars worth of consulting business for the company. The projects were duly completed and payment collected. Thus, the HQ in India decided to expand to the other parts of Southeast Asia. Enter the Philippines.

I had reached out to a number of corporates in Manila and there I was on a business trip with Mr Singh. A few hours prior to his hurting words, I had received email from the HR department on our annual salary increment and bonuses. It was a very dismal bonus payment for someone who had created history by being the first person ever to hit the sales target for the company in their 65 years! No, I am not exaggerating. That was the truth.

My hitting the annual sales target had given a group of people a the HQ huge increases in salary and bonuses. Had a friend in HR who had shared that information and Mr Singh himself was said to have stood up and took all the credits though he hardly lent a hand in delivering the projects. I was the anchor person for those projects, supported by the technical team from India. Project closure and collection of the final payments were entirely on me which I delivered without a flaw, for all the projects. For that I was given an almost non existent bonus and no increment; punished for delivering my sales target. Mind boggling hypocrisy!

I made it a point to ask him about the bonus that I was accorded and that was when Mr Singh said that the million dollars that I had brought in was not needed.

Well, since he had been given double promotion for something that he was not entirely part of, I suppose he no longer needed my contribution in sales. The feeling at the pit of the stomach was sickening. Tears flowed down my cheeks though I tried to hold them back.

The million dollars did not roll in on their own. Sales was hard work. So was project delivery and I was the only anchor person handling every part of the project as well as facing our clients. In a moment, I felt as if all my efforts were wasted; all the nights that I had spent completing the presentation slides were not appreciated. The hour that I was supposed to have spent with my daughter but chose to work instead seemed like salt poured into the ocean — useless.

By the time our flight touched down at our own international airport, I had made up my mind. To me, it seemed disgraceful to continue in the role that I was in after being treated such. I had to take that leap of faith into the unknown for my own dignity.

I handed in my letter of resignation on the Monday I returned to office. There were a few calls from India asking me why I made such a drastic move. I was amazed. They knew all about it and yet asked? Hypocrites.

I did not have another job at hand but bills have to be paid. The only saving grace was the three months’ notice period that I had to serve. I decided to serve it full so that my vacation leave would be paid when I left. That would give me a bit more money to pay some of the bills.

It seemed impossible for me to secure a job within that three months. At best, it would take six months to be employed again. To say I was not worried was an understatement. A single mother with a school going child and bills to be paid.

I mustered all my courage and started calling my clients — actually, the company’s clients — to see whether they had opening for a person with my experiences.

Many calls and finally one client told me that they may have an opening for a role that was similar to what I was doing. The icing on the cake was that, they have already secured a project with a foreign central bank. All that was need was the delivery of the project thus they needed a technical expert like me on board. I wanted to jump and yell ‘Yahooooo!’

It was a feeling of relief knowing that I would still have pay check coming in, in the future and my daughter and I would not end up being homeless. I did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Joining the client meant that I was on the other side and the company that I was leaving, had to now come a begging for business from us. And I had the last laugh!