Have you noticed that a basic value seems to be lost?
I thought that we learned to respect others back in Kindergarten, if not AT HOME before we ever sat in a classroom. Apparently, if we.....and I use the word we to include EVERYONE....have forgotten it just a little bit.
I was prompted to talk about respect last winter after a situation that my son Alex and I encountered. We were at a Tennessee basketball game down at Thompson Boling Arena. In past years, we could place out jackets on empty seats near us. Well, now that Tennessee is decent at basketball again, Thompson Boling Arena fills up. So, we placed out jackets under our seats.
What happened? Someone sitting behind us spilled their Coca-Cola and it soaked Alex's jacket. Not a huge deal. It was an accident. But, they did not tell us about it. Nor did they apologize. So, we did not learn about it until we got up to leave after the game. And I had to give my jacket to Alex. He is a big boy, but not that big.
But this is not an isolated incident. I can't speak for your office, but at my office......at times it is simply amazing. A lot of these examples have happened at our office....and probably at your office as well.
I will put these all in a problem/solution format. Read on.....
Did you pour the last cup of coffee? MAKE ANOTHER POT!!
Is the printer/copier/fax is out of or low on paper. The common response seems to be to simply walk away from it. The RESPECTFUL thing to do would be to….PUT PAPER IN IT!!!The water cooler is empty. Replace the bottle OR ask someone who is strong enough to do it for you!!
AND OF COURSE…FLUSH THE TOILETS and URINALS!!! DUH!!!
Don’t leave trash in other people’s cars or IN COMPANY VEHICLES!! Do you know who cleans that up? (If the answer is NO that is another problem.)And trash in the parking lot. If members of senior management can take the time to pick up trash in the parking lot, WHICH I HAVE SEEN, we all can pick it up. Or more importantly, we can also see that the trash not get there in the first place.And the biggest and best one of all is...and it is the oddest at my work place considering the business that we are in, but we are not alone. COMMUNICATE!!!! CLEARLY!! Tell people above you, below you, next to you, tell the folks who might, just MIGHT possibly need to know, tell them what is going on. Not doing so is SIMPLY DISRESPECTFUL!!! Just like ASSUMING!! We should all be able to recall what happens when you ASSUME, right?? And those assumptions are what can make ALL OF US look bad when we assume incorrectly.
Am I perfect? Of course not. I try to make an effort to be better than other, but there are even more who do a better job than I do. That is great.
Everybody deserves a baseline level of respect. From that point, we all earn more on our own individual merits.
Your thoughts??
