Chairman Chan was a great leader that everyone trusted. He was a man of his words, and never broke a promise he made, even if keeping it meant suffering a loss.
"Principles, Sin," he said, "live beyond your life time. What I upheld today set us back, and people will surely remember it as a failure."
I simply stood quietly back then. To be honest, I was rather angry.
We've just lost a tender that I thought we surely had in the bag. It was something we've spent considerable time preparing. As things go in this industry, that means years of playing the game—playing the chess, trading pawns, making small concessions to win in the end game.
Nothing is won without sacrifices, but the victory in the end justified everything.
But when you lose, it meant you just sacrificed with nothing tangible in return.
Why did Chairman Chan have to fold?
There were surely ways we could turn things around. I suggested them myself.
