Being an entrustee (3)

Moral values

Twenty years ago, I started a new job as a General Manager in one of the public institutions. We were overwhelmed with bureaucracy and protocol rather than work. In the usual way, things always "come and go like this" prevailed.

Turning and turning things around was tiring and tedious. Change was necessary to make things happen. The changes that took place would be difficult to own, as they would be authoritarian and imposing approaches. The only way to overcome this was to take part in the activities to be done with the motto "knowing is not enough" and to set an example. I should have shown this in my actions, not in words.

Excuse me a lot, but I really want to share what was going through my mind at that moment. I said excuse me because what I went through at that moment was to be an animal. If we said animal, I didn't mean it in any contempt sense.

We know that an important element that distinguishes animals from humans is the "mind". Reason is a human phenomenon, but animals act on their natural instincts. At least that's how we've been taught. Let's assume this is how it is.

Animals act with their natural instincts for survival and shelter. This is how they survive and survive. Animals instinctively overcome the risks they face; man uses his mind. Strange animals make fewer mistakes, perhaps because of the nature of their work. We, on the other hand, can only achieve 20% of the projects we start.

Please don't be misunderstood. I certainly do not mean that we should act instinctively like animals, even if we wanted to, that naturalness was not given to us enough because of our minds. Whether we want it or not, we are programmed to use our minds. When we do not use our minds correctly, it is inevitable to make mistakes. For this reason, it is essential to act with the spirit of "not knowing, but being".

Considering these, the first project that came to me in my Head Office job, which I just started, was a subject that I had no knowledge of from afar. Dia work. What was requested from us was the digitization of 30000 black and white old pictures. Retouching, repair and, if necessary, coloring work would be done. It was essential that it was of the quality to represent the country. I had a file of the work that was previously made for 1000 pictures.

As I said, I had no experience with the subject. The point was that it was more about getting on the road I believed in than the destination. I was going to find my own way on this road. Let's not forget that the light we need is in ourselves.

I decided to start with the file in my hand. I called the company representative who had done this job before. With the incoming representative;

Welcome
Here we will do more of the work you did before
How can you support this?
With the self-confidence of having done the job before
We will gladly give you any kind of support.
I thanked him and said that we would talk again.

Somehow, there were many gray areas that I hadn't thought of. I gave it to not being in control of the subject. However, to be sure, I asked the relevant department to contact other companies on this subject and be called. Along with the old company, 12 companies were identified. We made appointments and planned meetings with 4 companies per day.

Since I don't know much about the subject, I only listened to the first 4 companies. I tried to understand a little bit. I had reached the level of making some mutual evaluations with the second 4 companies. However, I did not consider myself sufficient. I believed in the importance of being careful not to be embarrassed or to do anything wrong on the way we started. The responsibility was great. When the last 4 companies came, I was now able to explain the details of the business without having to say much. We suggested that the companies submit bids after consultation with all of them.

Offers were starting to come in. The issues we paid attention to for the project were duration, quality, property rights and price criteria. We had mechanisms to control time and quality. There were no issues with copyright or ownership either. But the price issue was very interestingly different. By the way, it should be noted that the company I work for is within the scope of the revolving fund of a public institution. It was not subject to state procurement legislation. With the approval of the board of directors, we were able to do business with any company we wanted. You see, we were alone with our conscience.

The company, which had done the same job before, was paid 30 USD for each slide. It was natural for price differences to occur in the intervening time. Still, the inconsistencies in the offers were interesting. The company that had done the job before had offered 18 USD. This was the highest offer. There were those who gave 12, 9, 7, 6 and 4.5 USD. The offer of only one firm was very interesting; He offered 1 USD. I wondered if there was a mistake, I called the company to confirm. No, there was no mistake, the company accepted that it would do it at this price.

Out of curiosity, I called this company that offered the lowest price. I clearly stated that he gave a very low price and asked him if he could actually do it. The firm was ambitious about what it would do. Then;

You know the sensitivity of this subject. 

has a public responsibility
You will need to fulfill some commitments before assigning the job to you.
The company said it would be ok.
Then we will give you 10 pictures and ask you to make 5 samples of each.
You will make a commitment on how long it will take to complete if the desired quality is achieved
It was said no problem
In another matter, the payment will be made after the work is finished.
When it was said that this would happen, there was nothing left to do.

We gave this company 10 pictures and asked them to complete the samples within 1 week. In the meantime, the requested work was completed. We wanted to make sure that the samples produced were of the desired quality. For this reason, we requested their evaluations in writing, without explaining what we will do to the different representatives of our institution. The evaluations that came in a period of ten days were positive. The work performed met the desired criteria. Naturally, we decided to give the job to this company.

Meanwhile, an interesting development has occurred. The company, which had done a similar job before for 30 USD and asked for 18 USD in its new offer, somehow reached the minister at the head of our institution and said about us;

Our General Manager is very well-intentioned and sincere.
I'm afraid he makes mistakes because he doesn't know the job.
There is a big gap between our offer and the company's offer.
We did this for 30 USD when technology was expensive.
We have taken into account the technology that has been developing and getting cheaper over time, and we have provided the necessary tolerance,

he had journaled us for not knowing the business. Then the gentleman called us. Thank you for sharing everything.

The company claims that you made a serious mistake, he said.
let there be no mistake
If the work done is garbage, both you and we will be sad.
Above all, it is a public duty and we must do the right thing with our conscience.
At that time, I shared the evaluations that I sent to the representatives I had and received confirmation.
Sir we will not make any payment unless it is of this quality
We undertake to review each output one by one and to be an error-free study.
Appreciation and evaluation are yours and we believe that this job is well worth it.
Yes, he does it a little cheaply, but that's at the discretion of that company.
Mr. Minister; then he said do as you know
...........
We got approval

The company that kept us in the journal was informed that everything was fine and that the job would be done correctly, and it was disabled.

Our job was completed within 90 days. Within 60 days, we made the necessary quality controls and made the payment to the company. Thankfully, we completed this work with the flow of our faces.

After everything was done well, I invited the company for a hot coffee and after having a friendly conversation;

I will ask you a sincere question
We took a big risk in having you do this job.
First of all, thank you for not embarrassing us.
Thank you too, Mr. General Manager.
We did this because of you.
lowest bid was yours
But the closest offer to you was as much as 4.5 USD
Although you did not know about the other offers, but if you wanted even 3 USD, we could still give it to you maybe
How did this happen, I really don't understand how you made money from this business
Sir, you are correct. We didn't gain much. For your information, the unit cost is 0.85 USD.
But I can admit this. We didn't do this to make money. We did this for two purely reasons;
First, in order to be a very important reference for us,
The second is entirely for your attitude.
I couldn't understand the second one, what attitude of mine?
I don't know how to say. I even hesitate to say it.
I have been working in this industry for 26 years. I believe I am doing well at my job.
But it was the first official public job I ever got.
Because each time, different expectations were implied for me to get the job.
I didn't get a job because I refused to do so.
I was very impressed by the fact that you have been negotiating with me, but you haven't made any hints.
That's why I wanted to try you by making an offer that is almost close to its capital.
Thankfully, you did not disappoint us.
Therefore, we would like you to know that we are very helpful and honored to know you.
I was very emotional
Trying not to show my feelings, I thanked him as if I understood what he meant.
Thankfully, we came out of this business with a clear face without deviating from lying.

Just when this project was completed, our accounting manager entered my office and stated that he needed to present a subject.

I asked our accounting manager to sit down to explain the issue.
yes what is the topic
Sir, there are 600 people affiliated with us.
Our contract with the bank to which we deposited their salaries ends at the end of this month.
That's why this bank and 3 other banks want an appointment from you on the subject.

.............

This situation was new to me. I didn't understand what they were going to discuss first.

I asked what they were going to discuss with me
You will need to decide which bank to deposit the salaries
You will have to choose one of the future banks
Because I don't understand the subject. Ask if there is a problem with the bank we work with. 

Here I am

It's okay, sir, but it would be beneficial for you to have a formal meeting.
When I question a little more about how it will benefit
The banks with which the salary is deposited bring different promotional offers and it is up to me to choose this one.
I more or less understood the subject.

..........

I decided. I told 4 bank representatives to make an appointment on the same day and at the same time.
He wanted to object, saying that the accounting manager would not be, sir. He said it may not be appropriate to talk at the same time.
Don't get involved, we'll do it like this this time.
A few days later, all four bank representatives were in my office at the same time.
While sipping our teas and coffees that were said for treats
First of all, you are all welcome. I'm sorry, but I'm going to ask everyone one by one.
Those who want will answer, those who don't may leave, but I will not meet with the one who quit.

We also had an accounting manager and a marketing manager in my office. Everyone was so stunned. They looked at each other. Apparently they all wanted to stay because no one showed up. I think it was the first time they had seen someone bargaining so openly in their heads. I guess they thought it was crazy or stupid dare. I was pretty sure that they were thinking about how reckless this was.

It seems like everyone wants to stay, so without worrying too much, let's start in order.
Directly to one of the leading representatives; I said what do you suggest?
It curved slightly left and right. It was obvious that he was not very comfortable with this situation.
We can offer you and your family a 3-week holiday in Switzerland.
I said nice. Looking at their stunned faces, I asked the second representative
What do you suggest, please?
With the same surprise, he offered you an apartment with 2 rooms, a living room, in a mid-level neighborhood in this city.
I was trying not to show it but I almost swallowed my little tongue myself. While I was thinking how immoral this is, I wanted this crush to end as soon as possible. I was starting to get more and more disgusted with the situation.
These professional looking scammers were offering bribes outright and publicly.
I turned to the third and asked what about you gentleman?
He was also very hot, saying that we can give you a new middle segment car in order not to stay behind the competition.
The blood was now rushing to my brain. Turning to the fourth, I said, sir, what will your offer be different from what has been done.
This is the fourth, I think he understood my mood and shamefully
Whichever offer is suitable for you and something reasonable you can add on top of it will be suitable for us.

What can I say to all of them, I looked at them with pity. For a moment, it occurred to me to fire them all. Anyway, let's go back to;

Your offers are very interesting. But unfortunately I can't accept any of yours.
Because the offer I expected from you should have been for the benefit of the institution or all our employees.
However, your offers were made on my behalf and I want you to know that this is very sad.
I don't want anything from you.
I will make an offer to make up for this disgrace. Whoever accepts, the salaries will go there.
Whoever provides job opportunities to 4 job seekers, whom I will name, the salaries will be deposited in that bank. Otherwise, goodbye to all of you.
I also said that this recruitment will be guaranteed for the duration of the contract.

It was freezing cold. Everyone's head was on the ground. It was a truly pathetic sight. It was a different situation than the usual situation. All of them said something about apology.

In the end, the person who offered the car said that he could accept my offer after a lot of apologies.
There was an intense emotional load in the environment.
The representative who made the last proposal, with an embarrassed expression
I think we all learned a lesson we will never forget.
You can also send 2 people to us without any salary issues.

Everything was tied up. Thank God, we have completed this situation with our hearts open and peaceful.

Years later, a similar situation occurred in another company I worked for. The issue of which bank the salaries should be deposited was on the agenda. It was the General Manager's first year at the firm. The number of employees of this company was about ten thousand and it was a fairly large company. The General Manager had ensured that each employee received a bonus or promotion fee equal to one month's salary from the bank where the salaries were to be deposited. In fact, for the first time in the company of these years, bank premiums were deposited directly into the accounts of the employees without any deductions. It was the first time that such an evaluation was made in favor of the employees, according to the later reports. I was positively touched by this behavior, which was taken in terms of fairness rather than the premium received. At least for myself, this had a very positive impact on my commitment to the company.

As a result,

We have shared the subject that we are 'trustees' in three parts with some lived experiences. In general, if we accept the perception that we are a 'trustee' at every stage of our lives, we will find what is desired in our efforts and endeavors.

What we mean by being custodian is the value given to ourselves and that we are human with the same approach. We hand over something valuable to us only to those who are trusted. Possession of something that we think of as having an office, a property, or a title is not sufficient to become a trustee.

Here, I am not talking about an ideological concept as if it is against the concept of property, it is the value given to us as someone who is trusted and trusted by accepting to be a 'trustee' with our discourse. As long as we are aware of that value and fulfill what is necessary, we will be reliable and valuable. We can do this not with the eternal right of ownership to the thing we think we have, but with the assurance of being the custodian of that value with merit. This is convincing in the framework of the work done or the authority and authorities that we think we have.

For this reason, it is essential to act with the spirit of "not knowing, but being". The two key words to being a good custodian and persuasive are “trust” and “appreciation”.

In fact, aren't we even the owners of our own lives and not their trustees? It is valuable when people are aware of this.

Business cards and badges given in companies and schools do not add value to the people they are given, in fact, they are valuable when those people add value to those labels.

We are valuable as long as we keep the feeling that we are alone and only trustees in life with the enthusiasm of our body made of earth, our heart from our body and our love that we believe in from our heart...