What to do when your first team member leaves? Shake it Off (Warning: Corny Video Included)

vince award

This attention-grabbing headline is really a note of acknowledgement to Banna Property Group’s first ever team member, Vince Santos, who today is going off to different pastures after 10 years with us.

A company is only as good as the people that it is made up of, and Banna has had one of the best you could find. When Vince first joined me in 2007, we were both young and extremely ambitious. And 10 years on, I can safely say that we are both still extremely ambitious (but no longer young). Our ambitions have also shifted from always wanting to BE the best individual to wanting to DEVELOP the best people. A profound change in thinking about how we spend our time.

A decade can go by so fast and even more so when you are having a blast. Yes, in our time we have experienced fires, floods and failures. However, it all pales in comparison to the fun, friendships and food we have had!

Because of Vince, I know that I have become a better leader, and I have also learnt the following from him:

  • Culture eats strategy for breakfast and it also driven from the top;
  • Team members of Filipino background make great hires (which is why I have hired a few more after Vince) and they all seem to know each other in some way;
  • Emotional intelligence and growth starts with building self-awareness; and
  • The Banna Property Group will never be the same without Vince Santos

So what do you do when your first team member leaves? At Banna, we try to do the following:

  • give him a send-off he will never forget
  • name an annual award after him in this case the Vince Santos Award for iFACT (based on our company values of integrity, family, accountability, continuous improvement and teamwork),
  • channel our inner Taylor Swift and sing a song for him – VIDEO

Thanks Vince for all the memories and best of luck.