Admit it. In the process of working on a project, we often forget that people are more important than projects.
Yes. People are more important than projects. We should carve that in stone.
Maybe we should have a streamer made, and display it conspicuously– before, during, and after working on a project: “People are more important than projects.” Because in our zeal to perform, to accomplish, to achieve – we might forget that human beings are more important than things. Which is why hordes of married couples split up, by the way.
There was this group of top-notch people who were working on a housing project together. The project was supposed to benefit poor people. The buzz word for “poor” today is “marginalized.” A glossy, technical term that reduces poverty to some kind of impersonal, marketing jargon used in reports or brochures.
Anyway, this group started out sincerely wanting to help a poor community get decent housing in a developed property that would have their basic needs – livelihood, infrastructure, water and electricity. Toilets that actually flushed. Faucets that actually had running water. Lightbulbs that actually lit up the house when you turned on the switch.
The group had noble intentions. They were sincere, intelligent, and hard-working. They had a plethora of resources and connections. They had this sweet smell of success even before they started.
However, as they worked together, things got complicated. Disagreements strained their relationships. So much money was available from grants – but where to put it? How would they make the money earned while they weren’t using it yet?
Which design was the simplest, the fastest, the most cost-effective one so that the houses could be completed in six months, max? Which contractors and developers to use? How much should be spent for what?
They were all honest with money. They didn’t filch a single peso from the project funds. But towards the middle of project completion, when success was just two months away, their team was in shambles. Internal chaos had turned them into mortal enemies.
Thankfully, despite the problems, the houses were completed on schedule, and awarded to the qualified beneficiaries. There was great rejoicing among the poor families who finally, finally had their own homes. Thank goodness for that. Mission accomplished.
However, that team disintegrated. Painfully. In the process of making decisions, they forgot what brought them together in the first place – who mentored who. Who recommended who for a scholarship abroad. Who lent money to whom when he ran out of funds to finish his house. Who helped who to get his son accepted in an ivy-league school. Who brokered connections so that the project could get funding. Who helped who to get a better-paying job in a bigger company.
Tragically, they forgot what they owed each other. They forgot the favors, the kindness, the help that they got from each other. They forgot to value each other. They forgot what respect, gratitude, and loyalty meant in a relationship.
They chose to make the project more important than their friendships. Of course, transactional relationships can work if both parties benefit from it, and as long as no one exploits the other.
But here, at the end of the project there wasn’t even a transactional relationship to speak of. It just became a battle of egos, power tripping, and a war for control.
On the other hand, I remember a time when I watched a group of people who started off as strangers when they worked together. As time went on, as they worked together on a series of projects for the poor, they got to know each other better, learned to trust and respect each other more and more, and staunchly defended each other from external flak and vicious office politics. Their department not only survived, but thrived.
Take note: They started from a project-based, transactional relationship – but ended up as lifelong friends! Friends who were so close that they were there for each other during their darkest days, and happiest moments. A profound, thriving friendship that lasts to this day, 43 years hence.
I am so privileged to be part of this team, this “band of sisters” who know – from experience, and by God’s grace – that people are definitely more important than projects!
When I visited our former office some time back, I discovered that some of the projects we worked so hard on died natural deaths. Or transitioned into something else. Or were scrapped and promptly forgotten.
But our friendships that were forged while working on those projects – remain alive. Continue to thrive. And continue to be a deep, deep source of fulfillment, comfort, and joy because we profoundly treasure each other.
The most amazing bonus is this: all of us in our team have committed our lives to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. So we know that the best is yet to come! We’ll be enjoying each other’s company forever. In heaven.
