As many of you know, this is my last day as an Aprimo employee.

Why did I decided to leave? A matter of principle. Let me first share the creed that I follow in life – a variation of Elbert Hubbard’s Loyalty Pledge.

If you work for a man in heaven’s name, work for him, speak well of him, stand by him and stand by the institution that he represents. Remember that an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.

If you must growl, condemn and eternally find fault then resign your position and when you are at the outside, damn to your heart’s content. But as long as you are part of the institution, do not condemn it because if you do, the first high wind that comes along will blow you away and you will probably never know why.

So why did I decide to move on? Truth be told, I lost hope. I conceded to the thought of things not getting better with the leadership, or lack thereof, in Manila.

Many sacrifices were made. Some were shoved aside, others did not get the point across, but collectively came to fruition. I am not sure how much damage was done and how deep it goes as far as the morale of the Manila center is concerned but with the recent changes and with a familiar face soon at the helm of the Manila center, things are finally taking a turn for the better, moving forward. I did not expect the needed change to come so swiftly and abruptly but it did.

Everyone now knows that there is hope, myself included.

Despite how things turned out and the generous counter-offer, I still decided to move on. Every time I think about the people I consider as my family at work, I could not separate the thought of how much injustice has been allowed to persist for the longest time and from how it should have been if only the right person was placed in the right role in the first place. As a result, there are those who are putting their self-interest first instead of the greater good. Not long after the buyout, I witnessed self-preservation over truthfulness, favoritism over loyalty and weight on tenure over merit. I can no longer do my responsibilities without being cynical. I think that at this point, moving on is better than second-guessing actions and motives. Trust is the only currency we need, for without it, there is nothing more to say.

I will not ask you to be happy for me nor to be worried for me nor will I tell you that I am surprised to make this announcement because I am doing this on my own accord and not because I am being pushed out of the company with a graceful exit. I am moving on in pursuit of maturity in my career and to temper my emotions when the subject matter turns into my work family because the recent experiences left that much bad taste in my mouth that I cannot stay.

But in spite of the things that went wrong, I met you. To each and everyone of you whom I have been able to work with, share light moments with, laugh with or even suffer with… I thank you for making this chapter in my career worth looking back to.

To those who are asking which company I will be moving on to, it is Within The Walls of this building. 😉 So if there is something that needs to be said, you know where to find me.

In any case, don’t be a stranger and say hi every now and then.

Andy