Kormann Roque on Friendship
Have you ever had a person who had your back?
Being a friend. I've got a lot of work to do in this area. There I said it. Ever since I was a kid, I had the fortune of making friends easily and having some besties. In grade school, Carlos. In high school, the Steves. In college, Jorge.
And when I was with friends, I was really with them. Although strangely or not, I (and we) got into the habit of out of sight, out of mind. When we weren't conveniently around, I wouldn't stay in contact. Does that happen with you?
My wife, a clinical psychologist, thinks this is weird. She's probably right. Maybe it's narcissism, maybe hyper-focus, feelings of unworthiness...probably a combination of things. The point is: you can't take these gifts for granted.
Now let me tell you about my pal Kormann. He's amazing. And not just to me but a great friend to others too.
- When I started a company, he volunteered to drive cross-country with me and my friends (who he didn't know yet) for 4 days on the Road to Dreamforce (R2DF).
- I was building a pop-up Speakeasy that hosted a thousand people. With his knowledge of music, alcohol and events, he got me dj's, sourced me top shelf bootleg liquor!, had cheerleaders from the Golden State Warriors show up for a party...and more.
- When I was in-between jobs, he literally brought me to the Philippines to network with his friends. (In the photo, you can see Kor and me on one of the amazing beaches...think this is Palawan or Panglao)
Again, I've been lucky enough to have many friends. I single out Kormann because he exhibits so many of the qualities of great friends: trustworthy, empathy, generosity, sense of humor, honesty, listens, stays connected, no judgment.
We can all learn alot from his example. I wanna be more like Kor.
