Over this past December, my family and I went to Dubai, one of the most beautiful and captivating cities I’ve had the pleasure of visiting. Home to the tallest building, awesome desert safaris, and the largest water cannon show in the world; it’s definitely safe to say I was looking forward to this trip.
But let’s face it — going on vacation and expecting life to mind its own business for once is a bit idealistic. You try and get your major action items done ahead of time, you delegate your roles and assignments to your team so that they’ll have you covered… and yet there’s still this sinking feeling where you know you’re not actually going to get the vacation you were hoping for.
One of the things I love about this company, the people, and our values is how we understand. We’ve all experienced work environments where the company sometimes took unnecessary priority over the people. Just a couple unfortunate examples of this are when people get sick and are forced to use paid time off to cover their leave, or when people build up vacation days over the span of a year and lose brownie points with the boss when they actually decide to take them.
Understanding when life gets in the way and also when life should should take priority is what makes me not only respect Motoza, but also feel very loyal to the company. This sort of empathy is, of course, a two way street. In my particular case, I know that Motoza is a small business with big dreams. I don’t expect to go on vacation for a week and completely fall off the face of the earth with my co-workers because we all play different, unique roles in the company. I know that I need to make myself available to communicate with my team just in case my specific expertise is needed.
We as employees, who genuinely want our company to grow and succeed, need to anticipate and be accountable for the unique issues that may arise in our field. It’s our responsibility to understand the types of problems that can come up, the nature of them, and how to handle them when we’re in a different setting.
With this balance in place, I feel that the right expectations were set among myself and my team. I was able to deliver on my commitments and make the most of my trip too!
Now with that being said, let me just give you a rundown of some of the awesome activities I got to do in Dubai:
Browsed through the Mall of Emirates and found out that Vitas was promoted from Russian pop star to H&M model status.
Explored Gold Souq where my brother had to constantly remind me, “Abu!! Dont– touch– anything…”
Failed to my keep my eyes open in all of the pictures we took at the Miracle Garden.
Got a Henna tattoo after our desert safari and haggled a salesman for this ring that supposedly belonged to his great great grandmother… I’m hoping that was just a sales tactic.
Saw some views…
Saw some people seeing views.
Burj khalifa views!
Made a Motoza masterpiece with the coral and shells I found at Jumeirah Beach. It shall be re-crafted and framed in our office soon!
There are plenty more pictures, but I figured this was as good a stopping point as any. The trip was fantastic, and I have my team and Motoza’s core values to thank for that 😉
