Since March, I have been sending weekly, upbeat COVID-19 email messages to all Stanion employees. At first, the messages were positive articles about dealing with the pandemic. Later, they evolved into mostly funny or caring memes. The whole idea was to project caring and kindness more than anything else.
Trying to create positive ripples
I thought of myself as a good guy long before I started sending out those emails. I did not send those emails for pats on the back or recognition. I did it because I thought that it was the right thing to do during these challenging times. Caring and kindness in the business world is sometimes perceived as being weak or passive, especially if you hold a leadership role.
Stanion Wholesale Electric Co. has employed me for thirty-four years. As I have worked my way up through the company, I have learned that caring for others is the best business strategy. And caring for others has been a very important part of my personal life. Business is not only about sales, profits, and the bottom line.
You may never know the impact you will have on a person’s life by caring about them. As they say, “What goes around comes around.” Opportunities often develop for you or your company, which may not otherwise arise, just by being a good, caring person. Conversely, you can easily lose great opportunities by being uncaring or rude to others.
More than “just a job”
We want happy employees at Stanion, and we want the same for our customers and suppliers. We want them to buy from us or to sell to us because we care about them and their businesses, and we hope that they have the same feelings toward us. If we do not show a caring attitude or if we exhibit rude or negative behavior toward our business partners, resentment and hard feelings can build and create very negative business relationships for a long time.
I believe that we can all improve and be better at caring about others. The rewards are huge. If you aren’t caring for others as much as you can, try it. You’ll be glad you did.
