A Promise is a Promise…

Early in the 80’s my work started taking me around to many places which, up to that point, had been simply names on a map. Needless to say, it was wonder time for me, since as it happens I really like enjoy meeting new people and learning their cultures… Even when these cultures are really a variation of my own, their tree roots springing from the same old patch of European land; they have just been raised with a slightly different fertilizer along the way.

My first trip to Santiago, Chile, was described elsewhere in these ramblings; this particular one which takes up the space today, was perhaps the second or third visit to this beautiful and then somewhat isolated country. We (the association) had a new regional chairman and it was my responsibility to bring him all the needed information as well as giving him a formal introduction to his peers as the New Regional Chairman. He was the President of a Chilean company which was part of a large multinational headquartered in Europe.

Why were this trip and the activity that surrounded it special? This gentleman (and this he was, of the old school) was (and I hope still is) a good man, who believed in insurance and in life insurance specifically. He was trying, at a time of changing markets and parameters, to institute a good, solid life insurance company in Chile and it was not easy. As part of the business trip, we had several private meetings with his management and corporate staff and were able to, as a working group, develop a market plan which would be successful as long as the basic indications were followed. They did and, over a period of time, it was.

The above commercial snippet is not really an important part of this entry ergo, it's over. Much more important, this trip gave me a weekend in Santiago and this weekend happened to include my birthday. After working closely with Fernando (not his real name, as usual) we found out we had much in common and became friendlier than we might have during the course of a regular visit. In our conversations it also came out that his daughter, then 9, would have her 10^th birthday during the weekend, one day before mine.  My… My… do we smell an opportunity for a party here? You bet!! His family was going to spend the weekend at their apartment in Viña del Mar, a beautiful coastal city famed for its beaches, night life and casino, a couple of hours from Santiago. On Saturday the whole family would celebrate the young lady’s birthday and, on Sunday, they were asking me to be their luncheon guest at a waterside restaurant in the port of Valparaiso, which is immediately next to Viña on the other side of the bay, the difference being that this is a working marine terminal, not a tourist town.

I immediately accepted but insisted on staying at a hotel in Viña, not accepting a gracious offer to stay at what I knew would be an already crowded apartment. I think Fernando was somewhat relieved, although the social insistence was made. In reality, after traveling for a while, I learned to cherish having my own room in a hotel, where I would not impose on someone else’s routine, and also where there would be total privacy when so desired. This last became extremely important as my travel time extended in different directions and time zones.

Beach front at Vina del Mar

So, on Saturday afternoon I went to the local market and bought several bottles of Chilean whites and a couple of reds; these last mainly for me, since the preferred local wine was then the white version. And believe me, there is nothing wrong with the Chilean version of whites, or reds for that matter. When time came to go to their apartment, most of the family was there already and some new friends were made. 

For those of my non-latin friends who read this, I have to digress and help you understand that we do business a little differently in Latin America. It is person/skin based. If you get along on a personal basis then the probability of being able to develop a good work relationship increases ten fold; especially at the higher corporate levels where we usually managed our work relations. Once I was invited to spend the weekend with the family, I knew the relationship was being offered. I only had to follow up and not botch it up;  something especial had to be done and I did not know what this should be just yet.

Colorful Houses overlooking Valparaiso Port

When we finished the night feast, we agreed to meet at the restaurant at about 2pm the next day, Sunday, on my birthday. That morning was a beautiful spring morning (remember in the southern lats, Sept/Oct/Nov are spring months), a breeze coming in from the bay and it begged to be walked. So I did; the coast of Viña, where I was staying, is pretty much a beach front. Much like any other beach front you have seen elsewhere, but with not too many palm trees; more a colder, England like setting. But it is a beautiful town. I found myself leaving early enough to go to the Mirador (The Lookout) in Valparaiso, the working town next to the tourist town. This town was founded more than a century ago and the colorful hillside houses in the old neighborhood were originally built of tin from ships. There is a tram which goes up the very steep hillside regularly (yes… it comes down also!!!) and that is where I spent the rest of the morning until lunch time.

As we gathered at the waterfront restaurant, I was treated to a great seafood meal. Won’t go into the details here, just that it was really good. However, as we were coming to the end of the meal it came to my attention the fact that yesterday’s birthday lady had a rather long face on.  As the question -“what is the matter” was asked, she quietly said “nada..” the Spanish equivalent of “nuthin’”. Having girls of my own and of about the same age, I knew this was an answer which in either language means that indeed something was going on. After much cajoling, I managed to get out of her that she had really, really wanted to take a boat ride around the bay, but had been told it was not possible.

sightseeing boats on the bay

The way I figured it, this had probably been a heavy weekend on Fernando’s pocketbook, and the added expense of renting the boat was really not within the plans at this moment. This was my opening to do what had to be done. I excused myself, went to the pier just outside the restaurant and rented a boat along with the owner's time that went with it, all courtesy of the association’s credit card. At the agreed time, the boat captain came to our table and asked for the young lady by name, gave her a rose and told her that her water carriage was waiting for her and her family.

I wish I had had a camera to capture her face and her father’s face as well… and I knew immediately the right thing had been done. Needless to say, we had a wonderful time in that boat. She –and everyone else- laughed all the time we were going around in the bay, identifying the sites for me and I loving the sights. It was tremendously enjoyable; most importantly, a good personal as well as a productive professional relationship was born.

A moment in time; a great afternoon had by all.

Sea Lions at Valparaiso

Valparaiso, Chile,  September of 1983.

Be well… Be Back!!!