This
extremely valuable lesson comes from my son. It was learnt by him one sunny
inconspicuous Sunday. It was such a revelation to him , that he could not wait
to share it with me.
This was the event as related to me by him on the way home
from work. My son works at a local cafe as one of the waiting staff, serving
coffee and food. The cafe shop has a serving capacity of about 50-60 people. On
this particular day, a fellow worker did not call in that day – that is to say
did not call in and did not show up. This meant the venue operated at one
person short, putting strain on the team for the whole day.
Without any reason for not showing up or calling, the owner
really had no choice but to let the staff member go.
Lesson: I asked
my son what was the lesson he had learnt? He responded simply, “Tell your
employer if you are not coming into work, whatever the reason.”
The other night I went to a client site for our first
appointment. I knew I was not going to be on time so I phoned them so they knew
I was going to be late.
Lesson: a verbal
conversation over the telephone has much more impact than text or email – your
use of the telephone has a direct proportion to the results you get. The person
at the other end believes they have enough value to you that you would actually
make voice contact rather than a text.
Recently I was asked for a telephone number from some one
reasonably close. The request came via text. I sent the number back by text,
mirroring the request. I did wonder though, why a text message and not a phone
call. The reason for many of the texts is so that we avoid having to hear a human being on the other end…and all
that that entails.
Lesson:
Fundamental communication includes the ability to have a conversation with
people over all mediums, especially those close to you.
The above lessons could be described as the “bleeding
obvious”, but clearly they are not.
It means a great deal more. What is occurring is:
The Phil’s-osophy
We
are losing our understanding for the concept of respect. Having enough respect
for another person to let them know you will not be where you were supposed to
be.
We
have forgotten how to use a telephone. In fact we have become scared of using
the telephone because we have to actually speak to the person at the other end,
relying on texting, email and Facebook.
So amazed was I by this that I wrote a course on this aspect
of communication, which will be available soon.
It comes back to RESPECT; Respect for your fellow colleagues,
family members people you pass in the street.
What you put out comes back three-fold.
Use the telephone to communicate; the voice has more magic
than a text! You’ll probably be part of a minority but you’ll become far more
connected to others.
Abide by
these simple rules and you’ll be regarded more highly by all.
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