This morning I read an article about the best advice famous people had ever received.
There were a few real nuggets in there. Like this one from Richard Branson’s mom…
“My mother, Eve, always taught me never to look back in regret but to move on to the next thing. A setback is never a bad experience, just another one of life’s lessons.”
And this from Chinese artist Ai Weiwei…
“Not many people give me advice, but the most memorable came from a police officer when I was released from the 81-day detention in June 2011. He said: “If you work hard, you can become a good artist.” It has inspired me to work harder to become a good activist.”
It got me thinking. What advice would I give, and would it be the best that someone ever receives?
I own a company. I’m an entrepreneur. Okay, I don’t employ anybody, but I’m sure someone somewhere would take my advice on-board.
So I got to thinking. What business advice would I give a newbie freelancer or business owner?
And you know what. It’s pretty simple: be nice.
Be nice to other people.
That’s it.
It’s the ol’ Luke 6:31: Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Treat others how you would wish to be treated.
Or, to quote Yo Gabba Gabba, ‘It’s nice to be nice.’
It’s the most common sense advice you could ever hope to receive. But I found out it’s not widely adopted by managers in the workplace.
According to recent survey by human resources software firm, BambooHR, 44 percent of employees say that a boss has been the primary reason for them leaving a job. The most common reasons for leaving were management style (37%), inappropriate behavior (26%), and harassment of employees (24%).
Not very nice.
The survey asked 1000 U.S employees were asked to rank ‘typical boss behaviours’ from ‘totally acceptable’ to totally unacceptable”. Taking credit for work (63%), lack of trust or empowerment (62%), and bosses not caring if employees are overworked (58%) proved to be the biggest deal breakers.
A similar survey in the UK by Crunch Accounting had almost matching results. Never giving praise, bosses shouting at you, and no pay rise or bonus, some of the top annoyances there.
Now, I get it. It’s business. You can’t always be friends. Sometimes a bit of bad cop is called for.
But being nice goes a long way.
People remember niceness and respond in kind. It works to your advantage.
Like, I once helped someone out with a problem they were having on social media. A few months later when I needed help with an article, they were there to assist.
I talk nicely to people in everyday dealings and they’re happy to help me out when I need something doing — like sharing a new HuffPost blog post, for example. ;-)
It contagious. Being nice to someone sets off a chain reaction of niceness, and it’s fucking beautiful.
Try it. Even just for a few hours. I promise it’ll work.