People: Where Reverence Wears a Nón Lá
At bàbu, we believe that every organization begins not with a strategy, a logo, or a business plan—but with a person. Or more precisely, people. That’s why our “HR department” isn’t called HR. It’s called People, because that’s what (and who) we care about most.
Think of us not as a corporate function, but as a cultural garden. We water, we tend, we prune when needed—but mostly, we pay attention. Because at the heart of it all is the quiet, stubborn belief that people are not assets to be managed but lives to be honored.
Wood: Our Element of Growth
If bàbu were a tree, People would be the roots and the sap—invisible, maybe, but essential. We align with the element of Wood: not just because it’s the first in the five-element cycle, but because it speaks to what we do best—growing things.
Wood stretches.
Wood roots.
Wood bends with the wind but does not break.
We see people like that, too. Not static job titles, but living beings in motion. Full of potential. Always becoming.
Reverence: Our First Principle
The core value we hold is Reverence. Not the stiff kind. Not something locked away in a shrine. But reverence as a daily gesture—a way of showing up for others with care, presence, and dignity.
It’s in the way we listen, not just hear.
The way we welcome, not just process.
The way we remember birthdays (and heartbreaks) without needing a CRM to prompt us.
You could say we practice HR like your bà ngoại might: full of grace, tough love, and just enough unsolicited wisdom to make you feel known.
The Emblem: Nón Lá and Áo Dài
We chose nón lá and áo dài to represent us for a reason. They are familiar to the world—symbols of Vietnamese softness and strength—but to us, they are reminders.
Nón lá protects gently, never forcefully. It shades without blocking the sun.
Áo dài embraces without constraining. It flows with the body, not against it.
That’s how we aim to hold space for people here: not molding them into something else, but helping them feel safe enough to be more of themselves.
Answering the Question: "Who?"
Each department at bàbu answers a question. Ours is "Who?"
Who are we building this for?
Who walks through our space and changes it, even a little, just by being here?
Who feels unseen, and how do we begin to see them?
We’re not in the business of defining people. We’re in the quiet work of remembering their humanity, even when the emails pile up and the coffee runs out.
Because at the end of the day, strategy won’t save you. But being seen might.
Not HR. Not Culture. Just People.
“HR” often comes with a whiff of performance reviews and awkward birthday cakes.
“Culture” can sound like an inspirational poster no one reads.
But People?
People is simple.
People is tender.
People is complicated in the best way.
We are here to ask the quiet questions. To make space for the answers that don’t fit in spreadsheets. To grow, as wood does, patiently and persistently.
In a world obsessed with speed, scale, and systems, we are the pause.
The breath before the meeting.
The hand on your shoulder after a hard day.
The gentle reminder that who you are matters, even when no one’s watching.
---
At bàbu, People is not a department. It’s a practice. A philosophy. A promise to carry reverence into the everyday—not with grand gestures, but with the simple act of showing up, eyes open, heart soft, hands steady.
