Driver Lifestyles
Business and the Golden Rule: Are You Doing It?
It's an axiom with quite a history, and one with countless subscribers. The Golden Rule appears in numerous religions, and is, as you're aware, a widely-applied principle in the everyday lives of people young and old--we teach it to our children, and remind ourselves of it reasonably regularly. But how often do we think of the Golden Rule as it relates to business?
To be sure, it's most likely that when we're applying the Golden Rule when we're doing business, we're calling it "Good customer service" or some similar terminology. Ultimately, if we're being treated how we'd like and expect, and as long as we're treating people how they'd expect to be treated, that's fulfilling the requirements of the Golden Rule--and it's something that typically goes unstated. And why not? Generally speaking, that's what we expect. If a customer orders something to be delivered within a specific time frame, and we deliver it within that period of time, nothing happens. You delivered the cargo when they expected to get it--because that's what they wanted, and you put in the effort to get it there because that's what you'd want were you in their shoes, right?
The point is this: you can apply the Golden Rule to just about anything: supply and demand, customer service, product quality--it's really an endless list. I'd argue that this openness of the Golden Rule (let's just say GR from now on, eh?) is where its value lies; its apparent ability to be applied to just about anything gives us a potential moral compass that we can use to assist in our decisionmaking, in laying out our priorities, and in looking at the things that are expected of us. An added bonus: we don't necessarily have to be of any specific religion to use it.
The GR appears in (and this is by no means an exhaustive list), Christian, Taoist, Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Buddhist, and Confucian texts, and they all essentially say exactly the same thing: Don't do stuff to people you wouldn't want done to you.
Again, this is likely stuff that you're already doing on a consistent, day-in-day-out basis, and in the grand scheme of things, that's probably enough. But if you want to be more mindful about practicing the GR, I did manage to find some tips to help keep you on the straight and narrow, so to speak:
Be empathetic. Simple enough, right? Put yourself in the shoes of others and be mindful of how they feel in whatever situation you happen to be in with them. The chances aren't that bad that your companion is doing it, too. Plus, you're pretty much guaranteed to have a more pleasant, civil experience--and who wouldn't want that?
How would you like to be treated? This is sort of the opposite of empathy in that the perspective is different, but the end result, generally speaking, should be more or less the same. Remember, the goal here, ultimately, is to improve your life and to improve your dealings with people.
Help people. If you haven't picked up on the pattern as yet, now's a good time. People like to receive help. People need help sometimes. You need help sometimes. The more you help people, the more likely you're not going to feel uncomfortable asking when the time comes. Note that it's not a situation where you're keeping score, but rather one of self-improvement. The fact of your helping should make you feel better--that someone else also benefits from it is gravy.
Friendliness should rule. Even during times when you've had, say, a long, grueling day on the road and you've had to wade your way through a veritable sea of jerky drivers and rush-hour standstills, nervous about whether you're going to get the shipment where it needs to go, simply being friendly can still go a long way. There are numerous cliches about friendliness and the things it does for you (as well as others), and I'll avoid recounting them here. But note this: cliches become cliches for a reason.
Try to overcome prejudice. Doesn't matter what that prejudice might be, succumbing to whatever prejudices you might have grown up with or developed can find you in a funk. Do your best to rise above them in all your interactions with others. Doing so is virtuous at a minimum, and at best simply makes you a good, upstanding person. Not bad, eh?
Be selective with criticism. There's a place and time for everything, and this firmly applies for criticism. Some people don't mind criticism from time to time--especially if it's constructive. To be sure, constructive criticism can be pretty important--but if, say, it's just not the right time, it's probably better to keep it to yourself. Again, a reminder: before you start, think about whether you'd want the criticism at that point in time. Look before you leap, right?
Try to remind yourself of the GR as regularly as possible. This is about as self-explanatory as it gets. The more often you think about the GR, the more often you're going to be likely to practice it. Simple, yes?
Retaliation is a no-no. Let's say that someone does something to you that's, well, the opposite of what you want. Retaliating can lead down a dark road. Now, I know that most situations aren't going to be quite serious enough to go to that kind of place, but still--if you're not practicing the GR, you're probably getting away from the person that you'd probably most like to be.
I noted earlier that the GR can be applied to everything. I've never come across any situation where this isn't the case, anyway. In expediting, speed and accuracy are at a premium. You're on the road all the time, and when you're not, you're waiting--sometimes impatiently (and rightfully so). The GR applies to the road, to your dealings with dispatchers, recruiters, the folks on the receiving end of your deliveries, the clerks at the gas stations, and really, every person you come into contact with. I'm willing to bet that you can think of a few people with whom you've broken the GR. It's probably fairly easy for you to come up with at least one--and I'm also willing to bet that you don't feel particularly good about it. But for every one person with whom you've strayed from the GR, how many did you treat the way you wanted to be? My guess is that you never thought to count--and therein lies the beauty.
Further reading:
http://www.jcu.edu/philosophy/gensler/goldrule.htm
http://ezinearticles.com/?Observe-the-Golden-Rule-in-Business&id=214602
http://www.scarboromissions.ca/Golden_rule/business_ethics.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Rule
http://www.teachingvalues.com/goldenrule.html
http://zenhabits.net/18-practical-tips-for-living-the-golden-rule/