Of sandcastles and sea waves....
An ageing corporate magnate learns a life lesson from a beach outing with his grand kids.
Scene 1
Juan Serrano – a seventy-year-old corporate magnate - let out a heavy sigh as he looked out from the glass façade of his plush office.
Lately, he and his 2 children – Mariana and Xavier had frequent high voltage arguments on a new product launch.
Earlier, for about an hour, the three members of the Serrano family were in intense discussions. Polite arguments descended into harsh counters and ultimately Mariana lost her temper.
“You never seem to hear us! The market, as you know, has changed – Papa!” - shouted Mariana.
“I could say the same about you two! I have grown this business over 4 decades - through its lows and highs and I know the pulse more than you!” - retorted Juan.
Sensing that the discussion was out of control, Xavier – the elder sibling excused himself to take a call and walked out.
Frustrated and unable to control her anger, Mariana banged the cabin door as she too walked away.
Background
Juan was the founder of Serrano Industries – a forty -year-old enterprise that had grown from a garage shed to a behemoth with virtual monopoly in the insulation space. Their products were in high demand across multiple industry segments in Latin America and parts of US/Canada. About 2 decades ago, his kids joined the business and made significant contributions in growing the business.
Xavier was the brain behind many of the new product innovations while Mariana had explored and unlocked new geographies and customer segments. While Juan was proud of his kids, he struggled to relinquish control of the business. Continuing to play an active executive role, his interventions were becoming more of a hindrance than guidance.
The old guard that had walked with Juan from the earliest days had slowly moved on but stayed in touch with him and often hinted to Juan to hand over the reins. Juan nodded but hesitated to make the decision. Serrano industries was in his blood and too dear to give away.
Scene 2
It was summer and Juan was out on his beach villa with his grand kids. Hector – 9 years and Bianca - 5 years were playing in sand by the shoreline. The boy was busy making a castle while Bianca jumped in the waves splashing the beach.
Juan smiled as he reminisced his younger days. He often took Mariana and Xavier to the beach where Mariana loved chasing the waves and jumping in the receding waters while Xavier was busy building sandcastles. Now, Hector – Mariana’s son loved playing in sand while Bianca – Xavier’s daughter was more of the water splasher.
Bianca – “Come, let’s play with the waves!”
Hector barely looked at her as he was busy putting sand structures. Bianca tried a couple of different ways, but she knew her elder cousin was too busy to heed her pleas.
Eventually, she sat next to Hector and started playing in the sand. Hector began to teach her and within sometime Bianca was making simple sandcastles.
She was overjoyed and ran to her grandfather to drag him to see her creations – “Tito! See my castle!”
Hector watched with boyish pride as his little cousin glowed with happiness explaining her creation. Hector’s castle was more intricate, but he was content not flattering himself.
As much as Juan praised Bianca for her amateur castle, he could not miss the quiet pride the elder Hector showed.
Scene 3
That evening, Juan and Hector were sitting by the beach watching the sunset. Hector had made another magnificent sandcastle – replete with moat, high arches and walls. For a 9-year-old, it was a work of passion, not just fun.
Juan – “These are really good, sonny! Where did you learn all that?”
Hector – “I just love making them Tito! Every time we visit a fort, I study about it and then try to make one on the beach…”
Juan kissed the top of Hector’s head as he remembered his early days setting up his castle – Serrano industries.
Juan – “You taught Bianca well yesterday. But I noticed you didn’t show off your work while she was showing me…”
Hector (shrugged) – “She learnt pretty quickly, you know. Not everyone can make a sandcastle on their first try. I am so proud of her!”
Juan paused as he contemplated about things back at the office. There was an eerie sense of co-incidence, but he could not pinpoint it. He looked up across the horizon as the sun was just about to sink into the sea.
The waves were creeping up to them and within few minutes they washed up to their feet. Another few waves and the water engulfed the castle and took it away.
Juan watched Hector, half expecting him to be sad or at least express disappointment. The boy was calm and relaxed.
Juan could not help, but ask – “Aren’t you angry the sea swallowed your castle?”
Hector smiled as he reverted almost Zenlike – “Were you expecting the castle to always stay there?”
For a few moments Juan looked admiringly at the boy as if he was someone different than his grandson of 9 years.
Hector continued – “I love making castles, it fills me with joy to design new structures. I learnt long back that the sea will always take it away. Anyway, I can’t take it anywhere, can I, Tito?”
Juan nodded and the duo walked back to their villa for dinner.
That night, Juan did not sleep. Hector and his sand castles had opened his eyes and he was pacing back and forth on the porch thinking about something.
Scene 4
Mariana and Xavier were having a coffee and cake in the executive cafeteria. It was a quiet celebration – Juan had greenlighted their new product launch and also stepped back from operational charge of Serrano.
The siblings wondered why.
Back in his office, Juan flipped through the company’s milestones journal. He had come a long way, it was time he handed over the castle to his kids and admire them from his beach villa.
There was a different lightness descending on him as he looked out from the glass façade of his plush office.
Sahi!!!
Amazingly written