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Empathy and humility are God's gift. U unlock a super power when u know how they work. It can come in many ways & if ur the recipient of either, u never forget ur first interaction. The first time u do some thing new there is a chance that u are lost due to lack of exposure
So the first time I got a credit card & just having a bank account & check book also very recently , the first time I used it is fresh in my memory. So as a college student in the US an American express blue card shows up With a pre defined limit of $200 I think. Leading upto
The card showing up I did have an atm card whose sole purpose was to identify atms on campus that would dispense 5$ bills vs 10$ ones as it served as a rationing tool for expenses & meals. Having ten meant it had the likely hood that when a craving came calling it would win
It's winning would imply the lack of having money till the next campus paycheck rolled in at about 3-4$/h to replenish the kitty in small increments. So a creditcard was a big deal. Not that I intended to max it out. But it brought a profound sense of financial security
Growing up fairly middle class and not being rich from behind the university experience was not akin to making a choice between a convertible or an suv it was more about walking vs the bus. So coming back to the credit card. I still had not used it months after getting it
A friend said u don't have to take the credit just use it and payback on time so ur credit score builds up. So a university break approaches & I decide to take a Grey hound bus to Chicago. I arrive at the counter. Give the ticket lady the card. Not really knowing the motions
She takes the card runs it through the machine and hands me a ticket. Not being sure what happens next she gives me a receipt, I pocket the ticket and receipt, momentarily forgetting that I'd seen literally every one sign it. Any how so comes the first lesson in empathy.
She goes to me.Sweetie if u take that home I'm going to be on the hook for the money. Looks like you've had a long day.I hope ur going on a vacation to sleep it off. So slightly embarrassed I get the receipt back and sign and give it to her.She could visibly see I was new to this
She could have been nasty she could have been like what the hell but she didn't. She clearly saw I fumbled and used her super power of empathy and kindness to course correct. You don't need to be a CEO or an anybody to be kind towards people. I bet she dealt with 100 ppl an hour
Yet she chose to bring that attitude with her. Next we come to humility. Fast fwd a few yrs and I had my first internship in the US. It was at GE. So as the interns rolled out of the office block in the evening a little bit later than most people I'd see this guy, lets call him X
Hanging out first at the mailroom of the building and them making his way to the exit but stopping and chit chatting with the building security guards. He'd always spend a few mins with the mail crew and then with the security. I saw this for a good month.
One evening I exited the premises right behind him as he shook every ones hands at the security desk and I see an uncommon sight for the US. A chauffer got out and opened the door to his limo and he left. Didn't think much of it but kept on running into him. So finally asked
One of the mailroom staff who this chap was. Oh they were like man that's X. He's a swell guy he comes by every evening and thanks us for all his mail and let's us know that on a particular contract or deal he got every thing and he couldn't have done it without us. I said ok
Repeated the question to the security guys the response was man X is a cool guy every evening he stops by to ask how are families are doing and says thanks for Making sure I can safely go see mine now. I was intrigued. There was no fb or Google searches then to locate mr X
I asked my assigned manager and he goes oh X is one of the former board members who is helping the firm out on some thing so this month he's working out of one of the executive suites upstairs. Talk about humility. Later on in life I get to find out more about Mr X.
A successful ceo, a board member a ranking lawyer and prominent philanthropist I wouldn't have known had I not asked. He wasn't waiting on any one else to be humble to be empathetic to be kind. Two yrs ago I heard a podcast he was on, some one asked him, Mr X I've not met any one
That doesn't like u. Even after the disastrous few yrs of GE stock and your long standing association with the company literally no ones ever said anything negative in the press or otherwise about u as an individual. Actually most ex employees we interviewed for research said
That the one thing they remember about working with u or around u is the fact that u would always make time for them and ask how they were. So whilst the tabloids were vilifying former execs u made them look bad by coming out as Mr nice guy. He laughed.
He said. When I was growing up there was corner store in my neighborhood that every one went to even though a big shiny grocery store had come up recently. The reason was the man behind the check out counter. Every time I went he'd ask me. X how's ur mom, how's ur little sister
How's your dad. How's school. Growing up in a tough neighbourhood where both my parents did two to three jobs to put food on the table this exchange was the most comforting thing for 10yr old me before going to an empty apartment. The way he made me feel is something I wanted to
Pay forward. It reminded me of where I came from and the struggle real people have & what a little kindness does to shape the outcomes in people's lives. So I guess old man Willy at the grocery store is the reason I am the way I am. This was an absolute lesson in humility for me.
From a ticket sales rep to a board member of a large Co, empathy & humility go a long way. Kindness only multiplies in good karma. @rebootdude @raza_matin @jehan_ara @Ash_Kalim @FaizaYousuf @SaadGH @ZMoosaPK @TheNestiO @CodeGirlsKhi
