Often when we greet people that we encounter during our daily activities, we say something like, “Hi, how are things going?” They may respond with something like, “Fine.” “Great!” or “Not bad.” And that’s the end of it. Now, if you want to get the most out of your greetings, when the other person tells how they are doing, take the time to say something that begs a response like, “Oh really.” “Tell me more.” or “I’m sorry to hear that?” Doing this sends that person a convincing message that that you care about them which most people are dying to hear. As a result, you’ve not only brightened the entire rest of their day, but they’re not likely to forget about you anytime soon. For example, I was in a check-out line in a crowded Safeway supermarket near Lake Tahoe and I asked the checker how her day was going. She responded with, “Not very well.” Then I said, “I’m very sorry to hear that.” She went on, “A wildfire is threatening our home.” I then told her that I would pray for her and her family.” She came back with, “Thanks Ross, that means a lot,” (she had read my name when I swiped my Safeway Club Card). The next day, I went back to that same store and got into her check-out line. When she started to check-out my groceries, she said, “Things are much better today Ross. We are going to get through this. Thank you for caring.” The lesson here is that when you take the time to show that you care, people will remember who you are.
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Recommended Reading
Instant Turnaround!: Getting People Excited About Coming to Work and Working Hard
Transform Your Workplace!
Imagine a company where people are excited about coming to work and giving their best efforts every day. In this innovative and engrossing business parable, Harry Paul and Ross Reck show managers at all levels how they can immediately and easily increase productivity by tapping into the discretionary effort of the people who work for them. Starting from the most basic aspect of business reality—that people intentionally regulate the amount of effort they put into their jobs based upon how they feel they’re being treated—the authors point out that the most important part of the job of every manager, team leader, supervisor, and executive is to treat people in such a way that they become excited about applying all their discretionary effort toward performing their jobs.
At the book’s center is the story of Nancy Kim, a human resources director at a magazine that is struggling with all the problems associated with unhappy employees—low productivity and morale along with high absenteeism and turnover. After she openly challenges the CEO’s new management-by-the-numbers system, she’s charged with turning the situation around immediately. Filled with real-world studies, Instant Turnaround! shows anyone how to turn the workplace into a destination—a place where working hard feels like hardly working because it’s engaging, enjoyable, and fulfilling.
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