June 25, 2004
Quote of the Day
There's this great passage in "How to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie when he mentions telling some people about how he'd made the day of some person working a menial job by smiling at them and giving them a compliment about their work. "What did you want to get out of him", someone in the audience asks. Carnegie got upset at this. "What's wrong with just wanting to make another human being happy?"
When I mention things like getting to know the people you're dealing with, it isn't so you can exploit them. It is because you and they will be more genuinely happy with an environment where you understand each other better. When I say it is a mistake not to listen to your neighbors, it isn't just so that they'll feel "included" -- you aren't perfect and might actually learn something you didn't know. Besides, it is rude to assume that everyone around you is an idiot, and you wouldn't want to be treated that way, so why treat others that way?
Even if you don't agree with a person, you have valuable things to learn from hearing what they have to say. Maybe their proposed solution to a social problem isn't what you would propose, but perhaps you weren't aware of the problem. Maybe it is valuable just to know that some people are concerned about the issue. Who knows. In any case, it is always better to listen, and listen well.
Perry Metzger
Posted by Russell Whitaker at June 25, 2004 08:33 AM | TrackBackRussell,
Hear! Hear! Excellent QotD.
Perry adds a dynamic insight into what Carnegie said.
I read Carnegie's book for the first time when I was in high school. Later, I came across an article by Stewart Brand--of Whole Earth Catalog fame--who had the highest recommendation for it.
I just bought a fresh copy a few months ago.
BTW, have you ever met Brand, Russell?
Cheers,
Michael
