Thursday, July 12, 2007
Exactly 5 years ago
In 2002, I left Abbott as the Medical Director to join Pharmacia as the Medical Director for Malaysia/Singapore.
I remember I turned up to work at CP Tower on July 15, 2002 (exactly 5 years ago) at 8am, and had a welcome lunch at noon. Then after the lunch at 2pm, the HR Manager told me that Pfizer had acquired Pharmacia for US$60 billion. My face went red and my spirit sank! Lord how can this happen? This is my first day of work! I had sought You before taking this job and even thanked You for this job.
I left in 2.5 months even though they wanted to keep me as I had to drop down 2 levels, but the Lord opened another door though it was a roller-coaster for many years. But I really developed a lot more as a person having left to rough it out.
I wrote a farewell letter to them before I left.
Dear colleagues and friends.
Now is a good time as any to say goodbye. Will have to return this notebook after sending this mail. I look back on the last 2 and a-half months with a touch of ambivalence. Certainly, on one hand it is sad to leave, but on the other side I am also looking forward to new challenges, to new horizons.
My first day at work in Pharmacia on July 15th will always be a story to tell. I believe that our interactions and voicing out our grievances regarding the acquisition was not only therapeutic, but have given valuable insights about each other, about our own human weaknesses, hopes and desires. My subsequent time here was a journey of human experience. There was a kaleidoscope of emotions, some with a sense of insecurity, betrayal or anger. Likewise, for me, it was also a time to see how I was to react to all this. I too had to dig deep in for strength and courage.
Seeing both the fears and joy of the human soul in others has been enriching for all. It brings about a connection or bond that otherwise is not possible. It tears down the veil, which we bring to work, which we otherwise would not unmask. It makes us realize that there is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us, that it ill behoves any of us to criticize the rest of us. It exposes the humanity in all of us and this is nothing to be ashamed of.
All of us have our own feelings towards the acquisition. To some of you, there will be a need to seek a new job, while some will have to fit into the merged entity. How does one fit into all these changes? But what does Pharmacia means to you currently, with or without the acquisition? Sure it’s about making sales budgets, offering good product knowledge, providing customer service, beating competitors at the game, keeping to our budgeted expenses, and delivering our top and bottom line commitments.
It may also be about interaction with colleagues, the minute annual merit increases, or an opportunity to learn about diseases and medicine that has fascinated us since childhood. Maybe to some, Pharmacia is about getting the bills paid, the installments for the car, and being able to settle the monthly house mortgage, seeing the kids through school, or the little vacation now and then. To some, you may have a little extra to do a little charity.
Some of you have spent a large part of your lives here, braving and surviving through many mergers. Some successful, some not so successful. Some with the gratitude to count your blessings, yet some have bitter experiences and hurts where no one understands.
With the impending acquisition, some are still wanting, while some have gone beyond the “I” to bring back joy and sense of self-worth to others. And yet some content to remain addicted to compensating for their own insecurities, whilst others have gained a measure of consciousness by challenging status quo, searching for a connection between the soul and need for security, and the courage to seek a deeper meaning in their lives.
There seem to be a great yearning in us all, for hope, healing and balance in our lives. Yes, hope not just growth, healing not just dealing, to be balanced and not be burned out. Even if there was no acquisition, in reality how much longer can we keep doing “more of the same” without a different perspective to things. We will just end up being chronic co-dependents of growth, for growth’s sake.
As we move on towards closing out the year and nearing towards the merger, to reconnect our soul with our needs, of hope, healing and balance, there is a realization that a new wave of faith and courage are required. I am sure you all have it within you.
Change is inevitable. In the environment, as well as ourselves. In two months time, it is not whom we work for or where we end up, but what we are, in the inner side, that counts. As I wish you all the best in your future, let me humbly share a thought from Oliver Wendell Holmes,
“What lies behind us and what lies before us
are tiny matters
compared to what lies within us”.
Best regards,
V.Chen.
I remember I turned up to work at CP Tower on July 15, 2002 (exactly 5 years ago) at 8am, and had a welcome lunch at noon. Then after the lunch at 2pm, the HR Manager told me that Pfizer had acquired Pharmacia for US$60 billion. My face went red and my spirit sank! Lord how can this happen? This is my first day of work! I had sought You before taking this job and even thanked You for this job.
I left in 2.5 months even though they wanted to keep me as I had to drop down 2 levels, but the Lord opened another door though it was a roller-coaster for many years. But I really developed a lot more as a person having left to rough it out.
I wrote a farewell letter to them before I left.
Dear colleagues and friends.
Now is a good time as any to say goodbye. Will have to return this notebook after sending this mail. I look back on the last 2 and a-half months with a touch of ambivalence. Certainly, on one hand it is sad to leave, but on the other side I am also looking forward to new challenges, to new horizons.
My first day at work in Pharmacia on July 15th will always be a story to tell. I believe that our interactions and voicing out our grievances regarding the acquisition was not only therapeutic, but have given valuable insights about each other, about our own human weaknesses, hopes and desires. My subsequent time here was a journey of human experience. There was a kaleidoscope of emotions, some with a sense of insecurity, betrayal or anger. Likewise, for me, it was also a time to see how I was to react to all this. I too had to dig deep in for strength and courage.
Seeing both the fears and joy of the human soul in others has been enriching for all. It brings about a connection or bond that otherwise is not possible. It tears down the veil, which we bring to work, which we otherwise would not unmask. It makes us realize that there is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us, that it ill behoves any of us to criticize the rest of us. It exposes the humanity in all of us and this is nothing to be ashamed of.
All of us have our own feelings towards the acquisition. To some of you, there will be a need to seek a new job, while some will have to fit into the merged entity. How does one fit into all these changes? But what does Pharmacia means to you currently, with or without the acquisition? Sure it’s about making sales budgets, offering good product knowledge, providing customer service, beating competitors at the game, keeping to our budgeted expenses, and delivering our top and bottom line commitments.
It may also be about interaction with colleagues, the minute annual merit increases, or an opportunity to learn about diseases and medicine that has fascinated us since childhood. Maybe to some, Pharmacia is about getting the bills paid, the installments for the car, and being able to settle the monthly house mortgage, seeing the kids through school, or the little vacation now and then. To some, you may have a little extra to do a little charity.
Some of you have spent a large part of your lives here, braving and surviving through many mergers. Some successful, some not so successful. Some with the gratitude to count your blessings, yet some have bitter experiences and hurts where no one understands.
With the impending acquisition, some are still wanting, while some have gone beyond the “I” to bring back joy and sense of self-worth to others. And yet some content to remain addicted to compensating for their own insecurities, whilst others have gained a measure of consciousness by challenging status quo, searching for a connection between the soul and need for security, and the courage to seek a deeper meaning in their lives.
There seem to be a great yearning in us all, for hope, healing and balance in our lives. Yes, hope not just growth, healing not just dealing, to be balanced and not be burned out. Even if there was no acquisition, in reality how much longer can we keep doing “more of the same” without a different perspective to things. We will just end up being chronic co-dependents of growth, for growth’s sake.
As we move on towards closing out the year and nearing towards the merger, to reconnect our soul with our needs, of hope, healing and balance, there is a realization that a new wave of faith and courage are required. I am sure you all have it within you.
Change is inevitable. In the environment, as well as ourselves. In two months time, it is not whom we work for or where we end up, but what we are, in the inner side, that counts. As I wish you all the best in your future, let me humbly share a thought from Oliver Wendell Holmes,
“What lies behind us and what lies before us
are tiny matters
compared to what lies within us”.
Best regards,
V.Chen.
