The Right Time to Stop Competing

Meet Tarra Quismundo, the unsung hero of Globe’s Public Relations – you've probably read some of her articles and never knew it! Read about her experience volunteering for World Food Day, an activity made more meaningful by her realizations about how we work along the way. 

Working in a fast-paced industry, we are used to measuring ourselves against targets. What’s more, we are measured against competition. How much media space did they land today? Did we beat their promo offer? Is our base growing faster than theirs? 

Indeed, we live and breathe competition – and for good measure, because that’s how we stay sharp, stay on our toes, and stay ahead. The desire to remain the dominant brand keeps the fire in our bellies and fuels our drive to show up every day and work hard to reach for the next level, and then the next, and then the next.  

For us, competition is second nature. Competing has become a habit. Being so, it may take some effort for us to know just when to stop competing.

Sustainability and Corporate Communications volunteers

On October 15, I got the answer. That day, the Sustainability and Corporate Communications (SCC) group led a Repacking Marathon to mark World Food Day, an initiative in support of Rise Against Hunger, a global movement that does exactly as it is called.

This support is just one of the ways Globe is addressing involuntary hunger, which continues to afflict millions of Filipinos. A September 2024 survey of the Social Weather Stations showed that a staggering 22.9% of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger – essentially having nothing to eat – at least once in the past three months from the time of the study. 

On the afternoon of the Repacking Marathon, my SCC colleagues and I were among 470 Globe employees who volunteered. We came into the room quite excited and ready to take on our mission for the day. We were divided into groups, assigned to separate tables, and instructed to operate as an assembly line. 

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The end goal was to put together meal packs for Rise Against Hunger beneficiaries. The process involved several steps: 

Step 1: Stick label onto plastic pack. 

Step 2: Add flavoring packets. 

Step 3: Add dried ingredients. 

Step 4: Add rice. 

Step 5: Weigh pack. 

Step 6: Remove excess rice in case the pack is overweight or add more in case the pack is underweight. 

Step 7: Seal pack. 

Step 8: Add pack to pile. 

Our group was quite strategic in assigning people to separate tasks. We planned our repacking like an NBA championship team creating plays for a do-or-die Game 7. “There should be four people here.” “You should be here.” “You should stand here.” 

One in the group naturally emerged as the leader and called the shots – the coach, if you will. What naturally set in, too, was the instinct to be competitive. Without anyone saying it out loud, we were intent on finishing the fastest and beating every other group in the room. 

And so, face masks, hair nets, and gloves on, Team Beef Congee proceeded to repack. 

Team Beef Congee

We were just warming up at first until we found our rhythm. At one point, we figured there were too many people assigned to Step 1, so we had to recalibrate. 

In no time, we were working like clockwork – that is, if the clock was configured to go twice as fast. We were just going at it so much that my colleague Tam del Poso, among those who organized the volunteering event, had to remind us: “This is not a competition.” 

That line brought us back to Philippine Standard Time. I felt the group tempering our pace in collective recognition that, indeed, we were not supposed to compete against each other and, in fact, we had a singular goal. 

We were not supposed to compete against each other and, in fact, we had a singular goal. 

In the end, our group finished last. Fifth out of five. LOL. Then again, it wasn’t a competition. What truly matters is that together, all Globe volunteers during that daylong marathon achieved an astonishing feat: repacking a total of 2,160 food packs, enough to feed 12,960 people. 

Everyone won that day. Indeed, there should be no competition when it comes to helping. Because our real adversary was not each other; it was the lingering social problem that brought us together in the first place. 

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Hey, Ka-Globe! It's easy to get caught up in the competition of a fast-paced industry. How does this affect how you work? Let us know in the comments below and don't forget to leave a like on this story!

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