Tender Tantram

Something went wrong at a company. The CEO is outraged and he unloads on the President, who in turns takes it out on the GM. This process continues all the way down to the secretary, who yells at the receptionist. The one at the bottom of this hierarchy is the janitor, who bottles up his emotions till he gets home. Finding his son watching TV, he flares up, and gets into a tirade about how his “good for nothing son” is wasting his time in front of the idiot box. The son turns the TV off, and walks outside, frustrated. He comes across a cat, and kicks it.

The company hires a management consultant. After much research, she comes up with a proposal to improve efficiency. One of the recommendations she makes is to provide the CEO directly with a cat, saving time and sparing the people in between.

Have you ever kicked someone’s cat? I know I have.

We need to consciously minimize the kicking, and every now and then,  pay it forward in a good way. The idea is to do something good for someone without expecting anything in return. And hope that they pay it forward as well. My wife is a supreme example of that. Her peripheral vision is always looking for ways to help people, like assisting someone ten rows behind her in a plane push their carry on in an overhead bin, or running across the street to offer to take a picture of a tourist family. Handymen, landscape workers, music teachers, the PSE&G repairman – she always offers them a beverage or even a full meal, depending on the situation. It is not with the intention of deriving better service from them, but with a true spirit of caring. Anjali sets a great example.

Amit Dodani, a young social entrepreneur, advocates random acts of kindness  in schools and communities through his organization mynamemystory.org. Many children worldwide are benefiting from his message.

Blog Bites

Today I came across an online post in which Indira Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo, claims that she learned from Steve Jobs that a temper tantrum is sometimes effective. On occasion, it may be the only way to express passion or get someone’s attention, be it in  a business or family setting.  I understand this.

We can bring about change by consciously performing an act of physical, material or at the very least verbal kindness. How about we start with one a day? If this post inspired you to pay it forward with empathy and kindness, I would love to hear about your “Tender Tantram” in the Comments section.