Nicest bus driver ever.
I was travelling the bus the other day. And I met the nicest bus driver ever. I was travelling in London suburb bus, normal routine morning bus travel. For the past year I have been travelling. And as often it happens, "Thames water" has blocked the road for their repairs and bus route was diverted. And before diversion the driver got out from his seat, a middle-aged Englishmen with a pretty smile, greeted everyone and spoke to the passengers as he was addressing a gathering, explaining diversion route and asking any more questions at the end. He took full two minutes explaining changes. And I thought to myself "What a nice bus driver". Of course nobody had questions. When the bus came to the town, half of the passengers got out of the bus, and everyone shouted with a loud "Thank you driver" with a big smile on their faces. I think his little speech was the nicest thing happened to everyone that morning, and it cheered most of them more than their morning coffee. And certainly, it made me write this column about Flattery.
Flattery Gets you Nowhere.
That is the old-fashioned way of thinking. I suggest that came into the English vocabulary when there was industrial revolution or popularized at those times. Where the workers are treated as slaves of the co-operation and to get the more work done often the owners just leave with harsh judgments than the flattery. Since the human rights evolve and Ethics are advanced now at least we find out that our outcomes are inherently increased when the workers are satisfied in their job. Not only salary, physical and mental capacity as well. So, it is important that you feel a part of a team, and that feeling you are doing some important work can make a difference. So, maybe it is time for us to crossover or even agree that "Flattery gets you Nowhere" is a historical mistake that we made.
Instead, nowadays it is replaced by "Flattery gets you everywhere."
Why Flattery gets you everywhere?
I first heard the term "Flattery gets you everywhere" in experiences in Ven Ajahn Brahm in Buddhist society of westerns Australia. He described the story of how he wrote a letter to the plumbers saying how helpful they have been when he was served one of their customer care centers for plumbing equipment. And following that he was returned with lot of favors from the company, and he was treated with a VIP customer service. If you are a politician, a CEO or anyone working with lot of people this is an important point to remember and you would agree with me. Words of encouragement goes a long way; it can make someone's day brighter.
Is it only applicable to the workplace ethics? I would not say so, if you are a teacher, you would know this applies to interaction with children in the classroom. If you are a parent, you would know this applies to your kids, sometimes they need is little appreciation and encouragement from you, which can carry a long way into their future life. If you are in a relationship this will apply to your partner. So, I suggest, if you are interacting with any human being, or even animal "Flattery gets you everywhere" is a good advice.
Follow this and make some smiles today. Be a true VIP yourself.
Following is a tale illustrating the fact.
A tale on flattery.
Once there was a cow, a strong one who used to pull carts. If you have seen in rural parts of Asia, people still use cows as a form of transport by means of carts they pull. This cow was so strong that it could pull 100 carts at once. And his owner adored the cow. Once there was a contest in local town, funded by merchants, to find out who has the strongest cow. Cows were attached to a row of carts and made to pull the carts. The owner of the cow who pulled most carts becomes the winner and he will get a big sum of money, if he wins. Think of this as a horse race. Everyone can bet right?
Now as the story goes our owner of the cow participated in this and knowing his cow could easily pull 100 carts, he knew he is going to win a lot, as there was no other cow stronger than his. When the race started as the money at stake, he caned the cow loudly shouting at it to drive it full speed. Even with his best efforts, cow did not move an inch and the carts did not move an inch. Lost of his all fortune the owner was very sad. And when he feed the cow next day back to his kind self, the cow felt sad of his owner and asked. (of course, in stories, cows can speak fluently)
"Why are you sad?"
Owner sad "I have lost a fortune because you did not pull the cart yesterday."
The cow said " Yes, unlike any other day, you hit me, why did you do that? you have never hit me before."
Owner was sad "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I did not know what came over me. Maybe its greed"
The cow, feeling sad, asked the owner to race again, and bet again with double the lost money and, to bet that he will pull 200 carts this time around. Owner did as the cow told and he bet double the money he had lost. Merchants on the other hand knowing what happed last time were confident that they would win. But on the day in front of thousands of spectators the cow pulled 200 carts. Easy as it could seem, with only few kind words from the owner.
So, flattery and kindness are better than punishment, so choose your words wisely.
In summary:
Flattery gets you nowhere is a historical mistake.
Flattery gets you everywhere is the correct term to use.
Thank you for reading, nicest bus driver ever.
You may also like to read: Floating leaf of life.
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