My first encounters with Brian at work
I first met Brian when I started working for the former Ontario Realty Corporation (now Infrastructure Ontario) in April 2007. Of course, when I was first introduced to him, he was loudly talking on the phone and thoroughly engaged in his conversation. Back then, we each had tall cubicle walls, so hardly any natural light came through the office and it was difficult to see if people were at their desks or not unless you went right into their cubicle space. Brian sat next to a window and I sat adjacent to his cubicle, but it felt like I was in a separate room away from him...except for the fact that I could hear his voice quite distinctly, especially when he was on the phone, which was many times throughout the day.
My manager at the time spoke very well of him, describing him as being "full of life". It didn't take long before I understood what he meant. He had a charismatic type of personality with a dramatic flair. He had a great voice that could easily be on the radio and you could always hear him before you see him. He had a natural talent for comedy with a biting sarcastic wit. On the flip side, he had no time to suffer from fools. He had no tolerance for incompetence or unpreparedness of any kind and he let you know it with thundering disapproval.
To his credit, the organization had undergone many dramatic changes during and after the rule of the infamous Tony Miele, the former president and CEO who had been let go the previous year. People were being fired left and right depending on whether you ticked off the wrong person. In addition, over 2000 staff had been laid off to outsource property management of government owned buildings throughout the province. Some former staff were involved in scandals that made the headlines and created a very negative atmosphere for the entire organization. Everyone there kept their heads down to survive. It was each one for him- or herself.
So when I met Brian, he was not in a charitable mood to show a new person the ropes. I, however, had no idea about the organization's ill history, so I was at first taken aback by his apparent callousness towards me. Looking back, I now see his behaviour back then as a defensive mechanism that had more to do with the prevailing circumstances at work, rather than disrespect.
After a few weeks or just over a month, he started to warm up to me. At one time he exclaimed plaintively to me, "How can anyone possibly be so nice all the time!" Meaning that he found it hard to believe that my generally kind and friendly disposition was genuine and not an act. And he followed up by saying, "You must have had good parents that were always showed you kindness and loving support." (Or something to that effect.) Since that moment, he opened up more to me and we became friends. I felt, and still do feel, honoured to have earned his respect and friendship.
My manager at the time spoke very well of him, describing him as being "full of life". It didn't take long before I understood what he meant. He had a charismatic type of personality with a dramatic flair. He had a great voice that could easily be on the radio and you could always hear him before you see him. He had a natural talent for comedy with a biting sarcastic wit. On the flip side, he had no time to suffer from fools. He had no tolerance for incompetence or unpreparedness of any kind and he let you know it with thundering disapproval.
To his credit, the organization had undergone many dramatic changes during and after the rule of the infamous Tony Miele, the former president and CEO who had been let go the previous year. People were being fired left and right depending on whether you ticked off the wrong person. In addition, over 2000 staff had been laid off to outsource property management of government owned buildings throughout the province. Some former staff were involved in scandals that made the headlines and created a very negative atmosphere for the entire organization. Everyone there kept their heads down to survive. It was each one for him- or herself.
So when I met Brian, he was not in a charitable mood to show a new person the ropes. I, however, had no idea about the organization's ill history, so I was at first taken aback by his apparent callousness towards me. Looking back, I now see his behaviour back then as a defensive mechanism that had more to do with the prevailing circumstances at work, rather than disrespect.
After a few weeks or just over a month, he started to warm up to me. At one time he exclaimed plaintively to me, "How can anyone possibly be so nice all the time!" Meaning that he found it hard to believe that my generally kind and friendly disposition was genuine and not an act. And he followed up by saying, "You must have had good parents that were always showed you kindness and loving support." (Or something to that effect.) Since that moment, he opened up more to me and we became friends. I felt, and still do feel, honoured to have earned his respect and friendship.
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Anyone who knew Brian Agensky of Toronto, Ontario (born in Montreal, QC), please post a comment with your own stories of Brian to keep his memory alive. I can repost your comment as a main blog entry.