In business and in life, three simple rules will take you far:

1. Be kind.

2. Work hard.

3. Maintain control.

I’ve printed the above three points out in large font and stuck them above my monitor in order to provide a constant reminder.

Be Kind

The practice of being kind starts when I open my eyes in the morning, because usually the first thing we see is our phone… emails, texts, posts, headlines… so many things to utter unkind words about, but to what end? Let it go. Exhale.

When we do utter our first words, or dash off the first text, post, or email we can choose to be kind. It takes a bit longer sometimes to find the words, although these days we have CHatGPT to help.

IE

input; Hey Chat GPT please make this next sentence much kinder sounding; ‘What the hell you were thinking when you made that decision, I can tell you what – not a damn thing – and now I am meant to help fix this fiasco… seriously what a mess you’ve made!!!’

Response; Hey there, I can understand that decisions can sometimes be challenging, and it seems like this one didn’t turn out as expected. I’m here to lend a helping hand and find a way to address the situation together. Let’s work on resolving this situation and turning things around. Mistakes happen to all of us, and it’s essential to learn from them to prevent any future mishaps. Let’s focus on finding a solution and moving forward positively.

Part of being kind is knowing when we may not be in the best frame of mind, and limiting people’s exposure to our communications accordingly.

If you’re grouchy in the mornings, limit your interactions by leaving your phone in another room, or at home while you go for a 20min walk. The same rules apply at the office. Consider resetting your voicemail on a daily basis with a greeting that states the day, the date, and the time after which you will be returning calls. An example of one of my voicemail greetings is, “Good morning, it’s Monday July 31st, I’ll be returning calls after 11am. Thanks, have a great day and I’ll speak to you soon.” If you are going to adopt a daily updated voicemail message always record the night before as your voice will be smoother and your memory sharper. It’s all too easy for the first half of the day to slip past without remembering to update. Either way, this gives you space the night before, because anyone calling knows you will be back tomorrow at 11am. And it gives you space that morning, because the date makes it clear that you’re already in the office.

Once engaged at the office and answering your telephone, as well as responding to texts, emails, and other methods of inquiry, slow down a bit, learn to pause, and word responses carefully, with consideration for clarity, and always with the understanding that what you’re truly getting paid to do is really one simple thing; Communicate.

How well you communicate will directly impact your results.

Communication is the essence of Brokering.

Be calm, be clear, and be kind.

A standard client text response, saved as a shortcut, could be, “Thanks for your text. Due to regulatory requirements, all written communications re your file must be done via email. Please copy & paste and re-send your message to dustan@btbb.ca Thank you for your time. Dustan Woodhouse—Mortgage Broker“

Sure that is long.

but short isn’t always sweet.

Take this kindness thing a step further throughout your day. Look for opportunities to hold doors, put a fresh pot of coffee on at the office, smile, ask people, any and all people, how they’re doing. Be the ray of sunshine in other people’s days that you desire in your own. Smiles, much like yawns, are contagious.

Skeptical? Is everyone around you a grouch?

Ask yourself if you were scowling first. Make a social experiment of this theory. When next standing in a crowd or a line, alternate between a yawn and a smile. Smiles ripple further and faster.

A nice work-life begets a nice home-life and vice versa. Strive to be a pleasant person to those you love, and to those whose business you love. This will pay dividends in both of your worlds.

DW