Adrie's Blog

Respect

These past weeks I have come across many situations that keep make me wonder if people have lost all sense of respect for each other.

I shake my head in disbelief at the reactions in the US, where pro- and anti-Healthcare reform parties bombard each other with filth, throw stones through windows or, unbelievable but true, worse shoot at each other's houses.

Or look at the abuse of children, over many decades, by priests. Children who have been placed in the hands of those priests in good faith (no pun intended) by their parents in the expectation that priest, of all people maintained high standards of etiquette. And the church simply covering this up and sending those same priests to other locations where they will start all over again. Abuse of children, be it direct (the priest) or indirect (the church) is in my mind one of the worst crimes there is.

Or take the Members of Parliament in the UK - who allow themselves to be bought and thereby show a total lack of respect for the public that elected them, and disregard for their oath. Or a politician in the Netherlands who openly discriminates against other-minded groups in our society and speaks with disdain about other religions and people.

The world seems to be hardening and becoming a worse place to be. I am afraid that all the electronic tools we have nowadays will even speed up this process - it places the individual more in an isolated position, strengthening the sense that it is all about the person instead of society and it allows a quick, at-a-safe-distance way of sending insulting, defamatory messages.

In Business Development, of any company, it is extremely important to communicate in the correct way with your customer. Email may not always be that method of communication. It is important that you follow up on your agreements, that you show up in time for your meetings, that you communicate if there is an issue well in time, that you address people politely, that you prepare yourself well for your meeting, that you are attentive and listen carefully to the other party and don't sit in meetings looking at your PDA - so that you use your partner's time well and show respect for the fact they too, may be busy people.

I was confronted this past week repeatedly with people that wanted to meet me, and then showed up late - even up to one and a half hours late! - even though I had clearly indicated being pressed for time.

I attended 2 network events these past weeks. I was the speaker at one of these, which was organised by Merrill Lynch - great atmosphere and everyone was prepared to listen to the other speakers and gave them space to finish. The other was our own E.Factor event where we had Tom Trainer, former CIO of Pepsi and CitiCorp present - whose keynote was again extremely well received. Both of these events were so good because there was a feeling of mutual respect and trust between the audience and speakers and amongst individuals themselves. Everyone attending was there to learn and listen and share information.

I have always seen myself as being rather unconventional. I am not keen on authorities - or showing respect just because those individuals carried a title. But I have always been immensely respectful of people such as Mandela, or Steve Jobs who have something to say and exude a natural authority rather then one that came with the job so to speak.

With everything you do - or want to undertake - think about it for a minute and consider the consequences to others. If it is something you would not wish upon yourself - then you should not do it.
There is no excuse for irreverent action - not even if you claim to be stressed, busy, inexperienced. You can always be respectful and courteous in your interactions with others.