The world we live in is an interesting place. At any given moment, during any given day, you never know how you help some else. If you make someone’s day, smile at them, give them an ear, coach them or inspire them with a few words of wisdom, hold them accountable or teach them lessons, they may learn and go on to do the same for others in the future.
By doing good for just one person, in just one moment, you can affect the trajectory of many things, of many lives, within your business environment. Even if it’s not easy to be kind, gracious, or positive in some situations, keep in mind it’s not just that moment that you are affecting; it’s many moments into the future. Let that motivate you to see beyond frustrating moments and contribute more kindness, respect, and happiness throughout your organization.
To adhesive this, it requires an awareness of self, an awareness of others, a genuine desire to leave people, places, and things better than you found them, and a basic belief in the good in people. If you don’t have those, what I am suggesting can be difficult to do.
You see, in my life, through my eyes, I have always believed in and seen what is possible when many others do not. Sometimes business colleagues, family, and friends will tell you to the point of going after what is quite clearly impossible, but I rarely see things that way. I am acutely aware that most people are capable of more than they know. And because people are capable of more than they know, they then possess the capabilities to expand that willingness to others around them.
When I am around people every day, my heart and soul radiate with the awareness that I am in the presence of greatness. Maybe greatness unfounded, or greatness underdeveloped, but the potential or existence of greatness nonetheless. You never know who will go on to do good or even great things or become the next great influence in your organization – so treat everyone like they are that person.
For these reasons and more, I believe we should all ‘assume positive intent. While believing that can put you in a position to be let down occasionally, that is by far the minority outcome. In general, when you assume positive intent, that is a version of believing in others more than they may believe in themselves, and often leaves a situation’s momentum moving forward for people to act more like the person they can become than the person they may have otherwise been in that moment.
Some people are farther away from the best version of themselves than others – they are affected by their environment over time, how much good or bad they’ve seen in their lives, and what they believe is possible at any given moment. That is why it’s so important for each person to spread respect and kindness as possible. If every person on the planet gave one effort of kindness or respect tomorrow, the positive ripple effects are so great that they are difficult to quantify.
Every person has the possibility to do one small thing today that can create many more great things in the future. The small things, the little actions of respect and caring, and the expressed belief in others can create big changes in the world for the better over time. People believe more in themselves when there is something to reach for when they believe in tomorrow. When people believe in tomorrow, they almost always rise to the occasion when they feel they can be a part of progress. But, unfortunately, sometimes they also fall and fail.
See what’s possible not only in the world in general but, more importantly, in the people you interact with every day. See people for what they can do, not for what they are doing – and do your part to give them access to opportunity, respectful coaching, provide accountability, and help them see that they are capable of more than they know.
Oh… and if you do encounter the occasional exception, the person who sucks the life out of you and spreads more negativity than they do positive, move along…swiftly, and focus again on the rest of the possibility and good around you.
Steven Cohen, Principal of GreenMark Consulting Group, is a business management and operations consultant with more than 25 years of landscape/snow industry experience. Steven has an extensive background in managing cross-functional business operations, business strategy, and market growth projects. He prides himself on being analytical and a conceptual thinker who effectively partners with business owners to assess opportunities, facilitate strategic decisions, and drive successful implementations. GreenMark Consulting Group specializes in helping growth-oriented companies see through challenges and map out operational and growth strategies.
Questions? Email him at scohen@greenmarkgroup.com.
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