Boss no.1 was the typical manager with many years of accomplishments and accolades tucked under his belt. He was righteously elevated into his position where only the inner circle of his top management level can have an audience with him whenever he is around. He practices and demands adherance to the age-old manager principle of “black box” which is mainly concern about the company output more than the daily grind of factory works. He almost always have a negative comment about other people’s performance even without any personal background about that person. Everytime he sees a mistake, he will always narrate his past achievements as an example of what a good employee must be. He is the sole walking company standard in his mind.
Boss no. 1 is the impersonal boss.
Boss no. 2 was like the absentee-landlord whom anybody hardly know and even met except for some lone and single and short meeting if ever he is in town. He is a well-respected and well-known technocrat (technical-bureaucrat) in a foreign region whose knowledge of safety standards is unquestionable. Unfortunately, his financial management of one regional office was in shatters, with months of overdue salaries up to the time when the company finally folded up.
Boss no. 2 is the missing-in-person boss.
Boss no. 3 was a sly businessman from any angle. One can never understand how a fast-paced growing company is not seemingly interested to protect its staffs with legalities and even basic insurance coverage. The basic salary is not even commensurate to the high-output he demands. Another big turn-off is his penchant to utter the foulest language you can hear whenever he is angry and it does not even matter to him who hears it. He will say it whenever he likes it.
Boss no. 3 is the “anti-person” boss.
Boss no. 4 is genuinely supportive of his staffs’ concerns and he took necessary actions to address them. He is also based abroad but he visited them every month while staying for 4-5days every visit so he can have enough meetings to update his staffs . He also reprimands people for mistakes but he also appreciates productive contributions. To approach and communicate with him is easy and never an awkward thing to do because he encourages it. Year in and year out, he stays the same.
Boss no. 4 is the personal boss.
In every person’s life, there are also 4 bosses to choose to serve who can either make or break us, who will bless or blind us, who will guide or detour us from our heavenly destination.
The first 3 bosses command and demand our time but they are not really concerned of our total well being. They always are impossible to please and retain, thus keeping us in their vain pursuits everyday. They always entice us with empty promises of happiness, respect and love. They are also intricately connected to each other that if you decide to dedicate your life in complete service to one of them, they will work together to ultimately bring down those very people whom they have seduced to follow them blindly. The name of these bosses are Fame, Power and Money. They are impersonal (Fame says, “You are nothing without me”.), always missing (Money says, “You can never get enough of me”.) and are “anti-person” (Power says,”Serve me or suffer my wrath”.)
The fourth boss is the only one-true Boss who looks after each single one of us. He is based everywhere and will come to anybody’s presence with just a prayer-call away. We can always talk to Him and open-up our most deepest and hurting selves and expect the most consoling and comforting words. We can tell our most innermost secret and mistakes and all you will ever hear Him say is “Your sins are forgiven. Go and sin no more”. No condemnation or reprimand in the I-told-you-so intonation. And the best of all, He stays the same forever, always faithful despite our faithlessness, always hopeful despite our hopelessness and always in love with us despite our rejection of His love. Here’s the secret bonus – only He can tame the 3 other existing bosses in our lives as well. We will actually be in charge of them instead of them being in charge of us.
So who’s your boss?
Year 2011 is still very young, that as Christians, hopefully each one of us will be able to declare with conviction that effective this year, “God is my only Boss”.
God bless.
