Cynics not Allowed

I attended a “what’s happening to the company and where is it going” video presentation last week dito sa Siyudad. As expected – the big bosses talked and talked tungkol sa mga bagay na gusto nilang mangyari, saan dapat mag-improve, new project schedules etc..etc.. There was also the usual pep talk by the Big Man. In fairness… the new Big Man spoke rather eloquently and he did point out few good things na kung magkakatotoo – ay mainam naman.

Then he mentioned something about the new work culture that he wants everyone to adapt. A culture where cynicism has no place. What? Cynicism? No place? Sa lahat ng sinabi nya — this caught my attention the most… and it didn’t help na nung tapos na syang magsalita – a friend who was in the same session told me that she thought of me when she heard that as well.

My name is ***** — and I am a cynic.. And based on what the Big Man said — has no place whatsoever sa bagong Siyudad.

Ano nga ba ang “Cynicism”? Well.. sabi sa MS Word Thesaurus :

Cynicism —- Pessimism, sarcasm, skepticism, distrust, doubt, suspicion

I do admit that I am a cynical person and never have I though that it’s a bad quality. Don’t get me wrong – I am not an overly negative person. I also try to look at the more positive things of life — like the birds…. bees….. bird and the bees (hehehehe), flowers, trees… crap like that. Pero – I am also a realist. Naniniwala ako na life isn’t always good. You will always have a fair share of bad things. And sometimes – not expecting that everything will turn out good.. or okay… or for the better… isn’t really bad. For me – it would be great if everything turns out okay … but it never hurts to prepare if it doesn’t. Sabi nga sa Scouting — Laging Handa…. Always be prepared. Hindi ba somehow – this is the Scouting’s subtle way of saying – be a little cynical?

My former supervisors also keep on telling me and my teammates —“Always look at the bigger picture”. A rather non-subtle way of saying “make sure that everything is well covered – both negative and positive cases”. Isn’t this just a nicer way of saying “ be cynical”?

My job requires me to look into a requirement – and think of all the possibilities for this requirement – both positive and negative. I need to find faults and point them out to business. Without cynicism – how can I be the problem seeker that I should be? How can I do my job?

Feeling ko pa naman – my cynicism helps me be good on what I do. If cynicism has no place to the company where I currently belong (GMA?)…… does this mean that I am born to be a Kapamilya? Or is cynicism banned there as well?