MANILA, PHILIPPINES – In March 2020, a dream was hatched. Four people full of ideals and ideas on how an independent local agency could rise, so many hopes.
And then we were locked down and the whole world changed.
The dreams remained, but the path became unclear.
There was no blueprint for how to build an agency in such times. All the old rules went out the window, all the previous assumptions, gone. This was the context in which Intersections planted its roots.
But as the old adage goes – the finest gold is forged in the hottest fires.
It took an exceptional balance of historical wisdom, a commitment to future-facing thinking, and the willingness to break down old structures, to navigate the past year and succeed. It took a team that believed in each other to keep moving forward.
So on March 2021, 14 people were on Zoom with their grazing boxes and bottles of wine, playing Bring Me, telling each other how much they were appreciated. Going through greetings and well wishes of clients – TCCCI, Tanduay, SMDC, RealMe, Firefly, Lamoiyan. Plans for pitches. It was almost unbelievable how much growth could happen in a year.
Earlier that day was a session on the core values of Intersections. Not cliches thrown around in the happy haze of dreaming. But real values, borne out of lessons learned, heartbreaks shared, but also true victories and milestones of success.
What does Intersections really and truly believe in, after its first year born during the pandemic?
Compassion, Learning, and Courage.
Courage is a good word.
