Gentleman's Handshake

Feeling a bit exhausted mentally. It's been a delicate moment, this evening, when I sat with my friend and foreman and talked about money. Labor charge to be precise. For the school project and for the water tank project. It has been always tense conversation throughout past 15 years, whenever we sat down to talk about money. In times like these friendship simply seizes to exist....

Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One supremo, once said in an interview I watched on TV that he was a gentleman's handshake type of businessman. In past times, it was enough to sign a verbal contract or business agreement between gentlemen with nothing else but a handshake. This meant much much more than any papers, documents, seals or signatures. The handshake bound both parties involved much more than anything else! Sadly, this type of businessmen is by large gone, as it seems...as the value of gentleman's handshake and a word given to another person means very little if nothing for so many in the modern world...

But this is a style I love and try to preserve in my life. This is so elegant to deliver on promises sealed with a gentleman's handshake. This is what I prefer to do. When I promise that I will do something, that I will deliver something and seal my pledge with a handshake, this promise becomes sacred to me. I will do my best to deliver, under circumstances. If only the result depends on me, you may rest assured that I will try my best to do it. No need to sign anything, no paperwork. I gave you my word. I will try my best to deliver on this promise...

Sadly again, in our construction business, taking under consideration people I deal with, there is a need for an agreement, first verbal, handshake (which binds me personally to deliver on my part of the contract), then the paperwork to protect safety of the parish, diocese, donors etc... And to be able to provide a written report to relevant parties involved.

So I sat this evening with my long time friend who is my right hand in this business to agree on labor charges for both projects. It took us some time to finish the tug-of-war of words and arguments, but eventually we were able to shake hands as gentlemen, content that justice has been agreed upon.

I will deliver on my promise to pay just wages and salaries as agreed today. And I do hope and pray that the workforce under my friend and foreman command will do the same in the time frame allocated for jobs and agreed upon.

Paperwork will follow of course, meticulously and bureaucratically as demanded by little faith of modern world of construction works... Shame, as I would love to seal everything with this elegant gentleman's handshake...

For me, no matter what people say or think, how impractical it is in the modern world, I stand firmly by this gentleman's code of conduct: 'A Gentleman’s handshake is as good as his word and his word is as good as a signed contract.' Period.