Home Features Mastermind Videos About Advertise Blog Network Contact
   

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

Featured Ebook


ebook Famous Entrepreneurs - Modern Empire Builders


Featured Ebook

More Evan Carmichael
Have A Suggestion?

Sales Lessons From Starbucks And Dell

Competent Jerk versus Lovable Fool? (Network Member Question)



Competent Jerk versus Lovable Fool? (Network Member Question)
   

As human beings I am certain that we all have at one point in time or another fallen into either one of these two categories.

Your question reminds me of a story I had once read about Willard Scott the famed weatherman.

Early in his career, Willard worked for a boss whom he considered to be both unreasonable and incompetent. In fact the acrimony between the two was so great that Willard and his partner's hit program was moved to what was affectionately called the "graveyard shift" time slot.

Willard was of course furious and came within a breath of quitting. (Think what that might have done to his career given its eventual course to stardom.)

Instead he made the decision to buckle down and made the best of a difficult situation ultimately taking his program to the number one spot at the station.

Not long afterwards, he and his wife attended a company function in which his nemesis' wife was also present. After talking with her for a short time Willard found her to be a lovely, intelligent and personable woman. He concluded that if a woman like this could be married to his boss, his boss could not be as bad as he thought. From that moment on he made a concentrated effort to both understand and build a relationship with his boss. In essence he recognized that he too had contributed to the tension and took responsibility for making an effort to improve their rapport.

Over a period of time he and his boss developed a close and lasting friendship, which even today (many decades later) is one of the best and strongest relationships Willard has ever had.

The moral of the story is that rarely do we see the real person behind the outward or public-facing persona. And when we consider our own shortcomings in the equation, we should realize that we have a part to play in either making a relationship better or making it worse.

Competent Jerk versus Lovable Fool? (Network Member Question) - To learn more about this author, visit Jon Hansen's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends
[Get Copyright Permissions] E-Mail | Print | More  


Related Articles Related Articles
What to do when Someone says you Suck!
  In business, it’s probably inevitable. At some point, you’re going to do something that pisses someone off. That’s just a fact of life.
Five Tips for Using Great Questions
  We are always seeking better answers. Yet these only become available through great questions. Here are 5 tips for using great questions to get the answers and results you want.
Why Six Sigma Initiatives Fail A PI Q and A
  Member Question: What’s the #1 reason Six Sigma initiatives fail? (Maybe Six Sigma needs to be applied to Six Sigma . . . ?) My Response: At a Value Network Summit in 2007 Glenda Turner (a Supply Chain Int...
Create Your Own Referral Sales Force
  Joining referral networks like BNI or local chamber groups can be a great way to help you network and generate referrals. The most powerful way to use this strategy, however, is to grow your own.
The Nine Biggest Myths of the Workplace by Penelope Trunk
  I liked Penelop Trunk's interview so much that I asked her for more material. Here's her list of the nine biggest workplace myths:

Related Forum Posts Related Forum Posts
1,000 members! 1,000 members!
Do Women Play the Stock Market? Do Women Play the Stock Market?
10 best franchises to get involved 10 best franchises to get involved
Re: Dealing with businesses that won't pay... Re: Dealing with businesses that won't pay...
Re: Is Your Blog Right For Dyan Garris' Tour Re: Is Your Blog Right For Dyan Garris' Tour
Harsh reality Harsh reality
Re: Is Your Blog Right For Dyan Garris' Tour Re: Is Your Blog Right For Dyan Garris' Tour
Famous Entrepreneur Question? Famous Entrepreneur Question?

 
About the Author
Have A Suggestion?

View Author's Blog
Become An Author

View Author's Video
Become An Author

Free Downloads


Jon Hansen's

Complete
List Of
Small-Business-Consulting
Articles

First Name
Last Name
Email
 
If you enjoyed this article, get Jon Hansen's Complete List of Small-Business-Consulting Articles For FREE!
Become An Author