Nov 24, 2022
Reunion Dinner
As a friend of Unicorn, you would have heard about or even attended our monthly Reunion Dinner. We at Unicorn take this event very seriously and were over the moon with the resumption of social gatherings and quickly restarted our monthly reunion dinners at Kampung, hosting our friends and family over good food and hearty conversations!
The tradition of hosting reunion dinners started more than 20 years ago from a vision our Chairman Patrick Tan had. As he moved up the management ranks at his previous company, Chairman was reminded by his father’s sobering words of wisdom: with more power comes more responsibility. It would be his duty to take care of his team and help everyone become better people, both personally and professionally.
Wielding that knowledge and leadership, he was determined to cultivate a family-like culture among members of his team. From running an agency to now running his own company, he has never lost sight of his original intentions. His idea was to build a Unicorn that has no colleagues but family members, no clients but friends.
Patrick noticed that people evolved as they spent more time working in the society. Young people become enticed to chase material needs fuelled by their newfound affluence. Those who have been in the workforce longer may sacrifice work-life balance to get ahead in their careers, as well as to sustain their ever-growing material desires. With the blurring of professional and personal boundaries, most gradually forget what Family is and may even lose sight of their basic value as a human (本性).
Having been brought up in a Kampung, Patrick always enjoyed the “kampung spirit” and intimate relationships forged between human beings. Therefore, he wanted to replicate a similar environment where his staff can not only build meaningful relationships with one another while fulfilling their potential as a financial planner but also to grow and develop as a person.
Our reunion dinners, without fail, start with big-hearted family members gathering to prepare food and rearrange furniture at Kampung ahead of dinner. They willingly render their help to the entire company, like how family members help each other. From barbecuing food to serving our friends, everyone in Unicorn has this spirit inside them, where it is their second nature to treat and serve everyone like a part of our family.
“No one has ever become poor by giving.” -Anne Frank
Apart from having a hearty meal over home-cooked food, the purpose of our reunion dinner is to create opportunities to get to know our family members and encourage bonding in a relaxed and lively atmosphere. Real relationships can only be built when we start to trust and support each other. However, it will not be possible to render such support when we do not know our family member because all of us are busy with our individual work.
凡事人 皆须爱 天同覆 地同载.
Unicorn staff are always encouraged to invite their friends and family for reunion dinner. By opening up Kampung to everyone, we want to let everyone to feel for themselves, what Unicorn is about and what we stand for. Meetings are usually serious and formal, but reunion dinners are relaxed and just the right atmosphere for everyone to chill, enjoy and immerse into our Unicorn culture and experience the authentic way we handle things.
“Authenticity is more than speaking, authenticity is about doing. Every decision we make says something about who we are.”- Simon Sinek
Working hard and playing hard is a culture inherent to Unicorn. Reunion dinner is when we display to our friends our own unique way to engage in fun and laughter, and that we take enjoyment as seriously as we take our jobs! Within our relaxing compound, family and friends can enjoy playing pool or air hockey to work out their competitive streak after the meal. If chilling seems more attractive after a long week at work instead, one is welcome to hang-out downstairs in the breezy yard with our dog Ah-Hock. Free and easy, Kampung is a safe harbour for everyone to enjoy and let their guards down.
As the night winds down around 10 in the evening, cleaning is done as a collective effort by all Unicorn members. Kampung is our “home” and everyone does their bit to tidy up as much as possible as a form of respect to each other and the premises. A generous few will stay behind to ensure everything is in place before locking up.
“Service to others lead to greatness.” -Jim Rohn
The group first started out as a gathering of about 10 people. Now, we are more than a 100 strong. Through these dinners, we have been able to engage in deep conversations, delve into each other’s inner lives, and cultivate a strong family spirit. This indomitable spirit is being harnessed everyday as we grow into a bigger and stronger company. We are also proud of the fact that most of our family members can acknowledge and identify each other!
As a company grows, people may start to regard the workplace as a place of drudgery and does not want to get involved any more than that. To prevent that from happening, coming together for reunion dinner as a family has become a huge pillar of Unicorn’s DNA. By forging a sense of belonging for all of us, we can look upon our workplace as a home, enjoying the fruits of our labour alongside family members.
Unicorn is not a destination but a journey.
We trod the Prosperous Journey with Joy as one.
Unicorn does not merely want to become people of success,
but rather, an organisation of value.
