Just a few weeks (or months) ago, I talked about the lack of loyalty in our world. Then I recalled one story which my sister told me before.

A friend of hers has just started a new job in a multinational company. After only 1 month, she wanted to resign because of the ill treatments she received from a senior operation manager. The manager has been with the company for 30 years and used to be a star performer. But for the past few years (according to many), he has been a star performer only when bosses were around. Otherwise, he would just sleep in the office for whole day or disappeared into nothingness. He also started to force other people out, people who he did not like.

I think this is quite a good example where being loyal actually brings more bad than good. For someone who has been working in the company for 30 years, his position in the company (and in the bosses’ mind) should be pretty secure. But that does not mean he is contributing to the company. In the example above, he is actually bringing the company down due to his ego.

And this kind of scenario also applies to other things such as a long-term relationship gone sour, a long term customer who starts to be overly demanding, a friend who becomes overly possessive, etc. These scenarios will most likely turn from bad to worse in the long run, and this can be very bad for everyone.

Maybe this is the reason why people should know how to assess things properly and able to make the right decision(s). In the end, just like everything else in this world, being loyal can be good and bad, depending on which context. Sometimes, it pays to remain loyal but there will also be moments when calling it quit is the best option available.

The title will surely raise some eyebrows.

What I mean here is loyalty. We all know that dogs are very loyal animals who will always stand by their owners. The perfect example is the famous Japanese dog Hachikō who waited for his owner for 10 years without realizing that his owner has passed away due to stroke.

It was a story which has touched the hearts of millions and it is still very popular now. I believe that a lot of us have a thing for ‘loyalty’ but sadly, it is also something which is becoming rare in our society nowadays.

• A job hopper who will change job to get better salary even if the company treats him very well.
• A company which decided to cut its hardworking employees off just because the CEO screwed up.
• A company which ignores the fact that a particular employee has worked more than 40 years for it.
• A lover who decided to ditch his/her spouse of over 5 years just because the person is no longer interesting.
• A security guard which is paid to look after a warehouse ended up as the thief.
• A son who decided to place his parents at old folks home without asking them.
• or an old friend who decided to betray his friend for a few thousand dollars.
• etc.

The list can go on forever. It’s really obvious that as our society progresses or so-called “improves”, the level of trust will deteriorate, and thus making the word ‘loyalty’ more like a myth. Perhaps this got something to do with the greediness in us? Or perhaps it has something to do with the unlimited number of choices we have nowadays (good friend selling 1000, but someone I don’t know selling 500 for the same thing. Which one will you go?).

Well, I don’t know about you guys but I personally feel that this is quite a bad sign. With the direction that we (as a society) are moving to, I do wonder if people will still trust each other in the future.

Hopefully, more and more people will read about the story of Hachikō and maybe..just maybe…..bring ‘loyalty’ back to the picture.

I’ve subscribed to PlayStation Blog‘s RSS and today i saw a very pleasing news – New Burnout Paradise updates coming to PS3. This is actually the 2nd major updates from the game developer since the game’s release in January 2008.

Guess what, unlike most other games’ updates, this comes FREE. Yes, it’s free of charge, just like the previous update. And it’s not a small update..there are some big hidden goodies and some bug fixes (plus improving the overall graphic quality bla bla bla).

It’s nice to see that there ARE some people out there who are willing to do stuff like this – to go an extra mile for the customers, FOR FREE. I’ve mentioned this in my previous post before and here it is, a very good example.

So what’s in for the game developer in this? They are building a big fanbase…loyal fanbase. If they are coming out with another game, i will definitely get it because i know them…and i know they will always go that extra mile to satisfy the customers’ needs.

Kudos to them.

p/s….. oh, and i own the game that’s why i’m so happy.