Nice is so NOW — The Importance of Kindness as a Core Value
posted in Motivation & Self-Improvement, New Thought, Organizational Behavior, Personal Transformation, Spirituality, Strategy & Competition |
Kind is Cool!
In Joe Vitale’s “Life’s Missing Instruction Manual, The Guidebook You Should Have Been Given at Birth, he discusses the importance of living a good and moral life. As he talked about the importance of kindness as a core value, I felt his energy, the essence of kindness, move through me as I listened to his voice.
As I relaxed into that wonderful, feeling-level of giving and receiving simple kindness, I noticed that although we have called ourselves “Humankind”, and kindness may be simple, it also seems somehow rare.
How can we bring more kindness into our lives?
In one form or the other, we have heard the answer all our lives. Some call it the “Golden Rule”, some the ethic of reciprocity, or yet others recite Matthew 7:12, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” All of these thoughts suggest we practice kindness in every aspect of our lives.
If we want kindness we must give kindness.
The beautiful “sound thought”, “Let There Be Peace on Earth”, sung in many non-denominational churches, culminates with this stanza:
“Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.
With every step I take
Let this be my solemn vow.
To take each moment
And live each moment
In peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.”
To me, peace is a manifestation of universal kindness, and the seeds of that kindness are given to each one of us to nurture grow and share with the world.
Synchronicity is always with us. I focused on universal kindness during my morning meditation and on my way to my desk, I noticed a book, “The Power of Nice: How to Conquer the Business World With Kindness” by Linda Kaplan Thaler, with co-author Robin Koval
You might not recognize, Linda Kaplan Thaler, CEO and chief creative officer of the Kaplan Thaler Group Inc., (one of the fastest-growing advertising agency in America) by name or occupation, but you love her duck.
Who doesn’t love the trusty and trustworthy AFLAC Duck?
Kaplan Thaler attributes her company’s success to a corporate culture of niceness. In her 2006 book, The Power of Nice, she shares her winning business strategy — kindness as an antidote to an increasingly ruthless competitive environment. In the book, Kaplan Thaler explores the fallacy of America’s zero-sum business culture: Unless you lose, I can’t win — think survivor-like “reality shows”. She reminds us that deceitful machinations are not the stuff of true winners. The “ME vs. YOU mentality” is simply not a sustainable strategy.
I’m smiling as I write this, and thinking, “Do I find her approach brilliant because she agrees with me or, or because her approach simply makes for a good business practice?”
Linda Kaplan Thaler, winner of dozens Clio awards, explores collaborative success and argues that good deeds are returned, not punished. Her book is well thought out and engagingly written, offering core values, case studies and exercises to help make niceness habitual. Exercises, like turning personal disappointment into positive energy really work and encourage the reader to approach the business of life differently.
The book is written in a conversational style and makes the reader feel like they are part of an engaging discussion that explores the possibility, “What if everyone approached life with kindness?” Kaplan Thaler addresses the Power of Nice Principles; Bake a Bigger Pie; Sweeten the Deal; Help Your Enemies; Tell the Truth; “Yes” Your Way to the Top; Shut Up and Listen; Put Your Head on Their Shoulders; and Create a Nicer Universe.
I love reading something that makes me smile and encourages the feeling of hope and joy. Kindness-centered business — its yours for the sharing.
As my granddaughter Audrey would say, “Mean is so yesterday.”
We all have kind millionaire minds!
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