Do you work with important people?

Who is this famous guy having lunch at Zuma?

We were having lunch at Zuma, one of the best restaurants in Dubai, when we saw a guy arriving with two other people. They sat at the counter, close to us. All the employees at Zuma came to say hi to him. People were genuinely happy to see him, and they were greeting him and his two friends with excitement and contagious smiles. Some people even came out of the kitchen to say hi.

We were wondering: “Who is he? Some famous actor? Maybe the owner?"

Certainly, someone very important!

After sometime, we asked the waiter: "Who is he?”

And the answer was “He works here with us. He works in the kitchen." And he added “We are happy when any of us comes here as a customer”

OMG! We certainly were not expecting this answer, but we just loved it. We were wrong and we were right!

He was not a famous actor, nor the owner of the restaurant. But he was indeed someone important. He was a friend from work (or colleague, as some people prefer to say).

The people we work with are, indeed, very important and deserve our genuine happiness and excitement for them.

Many of us spend from 8 to 12 hours at work every day. Many times, we spend more time with people at work, than with other people, including family, partners and other friends.

To enjoy or not enjoy the people you work with, may have a huge impact on your life, for good or bad.

I invite you to think about it, and to ask yourself: How is your working environment? Are you genuinely happy for the people you work with? How do you greet them? What are you doing to make of it good place to be in? Add a why, in each answer.

Please, note these questions are about YOU not about the people you work with. It is easy and comfortable to talk about other people, especially to complain on them. “In my work people are not happy for me, they don`t say hi etc.” You may not have control over others, and on what they do or how they feel, but you definitely are in charge of yourself - or should be.

Work is much more than the services or products you provide.  For it to be a good place to be in depends on several factors, but it definitely depends on the people that work there. Including YOU.

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Rodrigo Exman is passionate about people, development and business. Rodrigo believes in the positive impact of collaboration and a great work. Lawyer by training, people oriented by heart, Rodrigo has more than 18 years of experience in big multinational companies, such as Johnson & Johnson, Abbott, Sanofi and Stiefel.

Rodrigo has experience in different regions, such as: Latin America, Middle East, Turkey and Africa.

Rodrigo has executive education in Mediation and Negotiation at Harvard Law School; International Law, Contractual Law in Brazil.

*The views expressed here are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my current or past employers.