Business Tools Blog

Are you Considerate of Others?

The conference room picture shown on the right, may not seem especially messy, but that isn’t the point.  A group of people met, drank 4 bottles of water and 2 Diet Cokes.   2 of the people in the meeting cleaned up after themselves.  4 left a mess for someone else to clean up. There is a trash can in the room, right before the exit door, so tossing an empty bottle would take very little effort.

This seems to be a theme for me this week.

Incident #1: The doctor’s office

On Saturday, I took my daughter for her annual physical.  We were about 10 steps from the double entry glass door, when we spotted an elderly woman carrying an oxygen tank exiting the building - she had just entered the foyer when we caught sight of her.  She wasn’t moving very quickly, and I hurried forward to open the door.  Just then, a young man - in his twenties - shot past her.  He opened the door and then dropped it so that it swung back and hit her.  I was horrified.  She looked like she was about to cry.  The man didn’t even look back.

Incident #2: Dogs on the lawn

Last night, my husband and I were sitting on the porch talking.  A man, woman and their dog walked by.  The dog pooped on our lawn.  The couple walked on without cleaning up after the dog.  (We live on a park, and there are free bags and a trash can less than 20 feet from where the incident took place.  There is sign on the trash can that says $250 fine for not cleaning up after your dog.)  My husband followed them (he’s from Chicago) and asked them to please come back and clean up their dog’s mess.  The man said, “No” and walked on without a care in the world.

Incident #3: Merging in traffic

Every morning I merge onto I-36.  A few days ago, there were no cars in the right lane, so I turned on my turn signal and started to merge.  As I started to move over, the car behind me moved to the right lane and cut me off.  I had to swerve to avoid being hit.

The theme through the above stories is people being inconsiderate (lacking in care or thought for others; thoughtless).

I remember a lesson that I learned in 8th grade on an algebra final.  The last question was:

What is the name of the woman who cleans the school?

When asked, Mr. Hoffman assured us that the question counted.  He further explained that it is important to be considerate, especially with those who take care of you. I am sad to report that I missed that question, but the lesson stuck with me.   Being considerate and showing appreciation are extremely important, both in business and in your personal life.

I may add this to the interview process.  I could take the interviewee to a conference room.  If he/she leaves a mess, I will know that they shouldn’t be hired for any job that requires basic human consideration.