February 18, 2007
A few days ago, while driving to work, I heard a small story on the radio about a Filipino engineer who was assigned to the Sweden plant of Volvo, the prestigious automaker.
The Pinoy engineer did not have his own car in the beginning so he hitched a ride with a Swedish co-worker each morning. On his first working day, they made it to the plant very early in the morning and the co-worker parked his car at the farthest end of the parking lot. Ang layo pa ng lalakarin!
On the second morning, the same story unfolded, and on the third morning, our Pinoy engineer gave in to his curiosity. Ang dami namang parking space na malapit sa gate ng planta, why is this guy always parking at the farthest end of the parking lot? Masisira na ang ulo ng bida natin, so he asked the inevitable question. And he got an unusual answer!
Sagot ng Swedish co-worker: “I park at the farthest end of the parking lot since we always arrive early and there is more than enough time to walk to the gate. We leave the slots near the gate for our co-workers who are in a hurry to come on time and avoid being late. If they have to park at the farthest end, they will surely check in late.”
Posible ba itong pananaw na ito sa Pilipinas???
This shows that the Swedish thinks and cares not only of himself but also of the welfare of others. Hindi siya makasarili.
Maybe this is the reason why Sweden, although a very small country of only two million people, has managed to produce quality products which command very high prices in the world market. The Volvo car is supposed to be the favorite of Japanese millionaires, over their own Toyota or Lexus.
Ang sabi pa: At the Volvo plant, projects often have two years gestation period because they adhere to the saying – slow but sure. This attitude goes well with an emerging “no-rush” attitude in the European continent where the concept of ‘slow food” or eating your food slowly has become the order of the day.
Back here, our order is always fast food!
YouCanDoIt 