I MAS MAITING in line to register a letter in the post office at Thirty-third Street and Eighth Avenue in New York. I noticed that the clerk appeared to be bored with the job – weighing envelopes, handing out stamps, making change, issuing receipts – the same monotonous grind year after year. So I said to myself: ‘I am going to try to make that clerk like me. Obviously to make him like me, I must say something nice, not about myself, but about him. So I asked myself, “What is there about him that I can honestly admire?” ’ That is sometimes a hard question to answer, especially with strangers; but, in this case, it happened to be easy. I instantly saw something I admired no end.
So while he was weighing my envelope, I remarked with enthusiasm: I wish I had your head of hair.’
He looked up, half-startled, his face beaming with smiles. ‘Well, it isn’t as good as it used to be,’ he said modestly. I assured him that although it might have lost some of its pristine glory, nevertheless it was still magnificent. He was immensely pleased. We carried on a pleasant little conversation and the last thing he said to me was: ‘Many people have admired my hair.’
I’ll bet that person went to lunch that day walking on air. I’ll bet he went home that night and told his wife about it. I’ll bet he looked in the mirror and said: ‘It is a beautiful head of hair.’
I told this story once in public and a man asked me afterwards: ‘What did you want to get out of him?’
What was I trying to get out of him!!! What was I trying to get out of him!!!
If we are so contemptibly selfish that we can’t radiate a little happiness and pass on a bit of honest appreciation without trying to get something out of the other person in return – if our souls are no bigger than sour crab apples, we shall meet with the failure we so richly deserve.
Oh yes, I did want something out of that chap. I wanted something priceless. And I got it. I got the feeling that I had done something for him without his being able to do anything whatever in return for me. That is a feeling that flows and sings in your memory long after the incident is past.
There is one all-important law of human conduct. If we obey that law, we shall almost never get into trouble. In fact, that law, if obeyed, will bring us countless friends and constant happiness. But the very instant we break the law, we shall get into endless trouble. The law is this: Always make the other person feel important. John Dewey, as we have already noted, said that the desire to be important is the deepest urge in human nature; and William James said: ‘The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.’ As I have already pointed out, it is this urge that differentiates us from the animals. It is this urge that has been responsible for civilisation itself.
Philosophers have been speculating on the rules of human relationships for thousands of years, and out of all that speculation, there has evolved only one important precept. It is not new. It is as old as history. Zoroaster taught it to his followers in Persia twenty-five hundred years ago. Confucius preached it in China twenty-four centuries ago. Lao-tse, the founder of Taoism, taught it to his disciples in the Valley of the Han. Buddha preached it on the bank of the Holy Ganges five hundred years before Christ. The sacred books of Hinduism taught it among the stony hills of Judea nineteen centuries ago. Jesus summed it up in one thought – probably the most important rule in the world: ‘Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.’
You want the approval of those with whom you come in contact. You want recognition of your true worth. You want a feeling that you are important in your little world. You don’t want to listen to cheap, insincere flattery, but you do crave sincere appreciation. You want your friends and associates to be, as Charles Schwab put it, ‘hearty in their approbation and lavish in their praise.’ All of us want that.
So let’s obey the Golden Rule, and give unto others what we would have others give unto us.
How? When? Where? The answer is: All the time, everywhere.
David G. Smith of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, told one of our classes how he handled a delicate situation when he was asked to take charge of the
refreshment booth at a charity concert.
‘The night of the concert I arrived at the park and found two elderly ladies in a very bad humour standing next to the refreshment stand. Apparently each thought that she was in charge of this project. As I stood there pondering what to do, one of the members of the sponsoring committee appeared and handed me a cash box and thanked me for taking over the project, She introduced Rose and Jane as my helpers and then ran off.
‘A great silence ensued. Realising that the cash box was a symbol of authority (of sorts), I gave the box to Rose and explained that I might not be able to keep the money straight and that if she took care of it I would feel better. I then suggested to Jane that she show two teenagers who had been assigned to refreshments how to operate the soda machine, and asked her to be responsible for that part of the project.
‘The whole evening was very enjoyable with Rose happily counting the money, Jane supervising the teenagers, and me enjoying the concert.’
You don’t have to wait until you are ambassador to France or chairman of the Clambake Committee of your lodge before you use this philosophy of appreciation. You can work magic with it almost every day.
If, for example, the waitress brings us mashed potatoes when we have ordered French fried, let’s say, ‘I’m sorry to trouble you, but I prefer the French fried.’ She’ll probably reply, ‘No trouble at all’ and will be glad to change the potatoes, because we have shown respect for her.
Little phrases such as ‘I’m sorry to trouble you,’ ‘Would you be so kind as to – ?’ ‘Won’t you please?’ ‘Would you mind?’ ‘Thank you’ – little courtesies like these oil the cogs of the monotonous grind of everyday life – and incidentally, they are the hallmark of good breeding.
Let’s take another illustration. Hall Caine’s novels – The Christian, The Deemster, The Manxman, among them – were all best-sellers in the early part of this century [20th]. Millions of people read his novels, countless millions. He was the son of a blacksmith. He never had more than eight years’ schooling in his life; yet when he died he was the richest literary man of his time.
The story goes like this: Hall Gaine loved sonnets and ballads; so he devoured all of Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s poetry. He even wrote a lecture chanting the praises of Rossetti’s artistic achievement – and sent a copy to
Rossetti himself. Rossetti was delighted. ‘Any young man who has such an exalted opinion of my ability,’ Rossetti probably said to himself, ‘must be brilliant.’ So Rossetti invited this blacksmith’s son to come to London and act as his secretary. That was the turning point in Hall Caine’s life; for, in his new position, he met the literary artists of the day. Profiting by their advice and inspired by their encouragement, he launched upon a career that emblazoned his name across the sky.
His home, Greeba Castle, on the Isle of Man, became a Mecca for tourists from the far corners of the world, and he left a multimillion dollar estate. Yet – who knows – he might have died poor and unknown had he not written an essay expressing his admiration for a famous man.
Such is the power, the stupendous power, of sincere heart-felt appreciation.
Rossetti considered himself important. That is not strange. Almost everyone considers himself important, very important.
The life of many a person could probably be changed if only someone would make him feel important. Ronald J. Rowland, who is one of the instructors of our course in California, is also a teacher of arts and crafts. He wrote to us about a student named Chris in his beginning-crafts class:
Chris was a very quiet, shy boy lacking in self-confidence, the kind of student that often does not receive the attention he deserves. I also teach an advanced class that had grown to be somewhat of a status symbol and a privilege for a student to have earned the right to be in it.
On Wednesday, Chris was diligently working at his desk. I really felt there was a hidden fire deep inside him. I asked Chris if he would like to be in the advanced class. How I wish I could express the look in Chris’s face, the emotions in that shy fourteen-year-old boy, trying to hold back his tears.
‘Who me, Mr. Rowland? Am I good enough?’ ‘Yes, Chris, you are good enough.’
I had to leave at that point because tears were coming to my eyes. As Chris walked out of class that day, seemingly two inches taller, he looked at me with bright blue eyes and said in a positive voice, ‘Thank you, Mr. Rowland.’
Chris taught me a lesson I will never forget – our deep desire to feel important. To help me never forget this rule, I made a sign which reads ‘YOU ARE IMPORTANT.’ This sign hangs in the front of the classroom for all to see and to remind me that each student I face is equally important.
The unvarnished truth is that almost all the people you meet feel themselves superior to you in some way, and a sure way to their hearts is to let them realise in some subtle way that you realise their importance, and recognise it sincerely.
Remember what Emerson said: ‘Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I learn of him.’
And the pathetic part of it is that frequently those who have the least justification for a feeling of achievement bolster up their egos by a show of tumult and conceit which is truly nauseating. As Shakespeare put it: ‘. . . man, proud man,/Drest in a little brief authority,/ . . . Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven/As make the angels weep.’
I am going to tell you how business people in my own courses have applied these principles with remarkable results. Let’s take the case of a Connecticut attorney (because of his relatives he prefers not to have his name mentioned).
Shortly after joining the course, Mr. R – drove to Long Island with his wife to visit some of her relatives. She left him to chat with an old aunt of hers and then rushed off by herself to visit some of the younger relatives. Since he soon had to give a speech professionally on how he applied the principles of appreciation, he thought he would gain some worthwhile experience talking with the elderly lady. So he looked around the house to see what he could honestly admire.
‘This house was built about 1890, wasn’t it?’ he inquired. ‘Yes,’ she replied, ‘that is precisely the year it was built.’
‘It reminds me of the house I was born in,’ he said. ‘It’s beautiful. Well built. Roomy. You know, they don’t build houses like this anymore.’
‘You’re right,’ the old lady agreed. ‘The young folks nowadays don’t care for beautiful homes. All they want is a small apartment, and then they go gadding about in their automobiles.
‘This is a dream house,’ she said in a voice vibrating with tender memories. ‘This house was built with love. My husband and I dreamed about it for years before we built it. We didn’t have an architect. We planned it all ouselves.’
She showed Mr. R – about the house, and he expressed his hearty admiration for the beautiful treasures she had picked up in her travels and cherished over a lifetime – paisley shawls, an old English tea set, Wedgwood china, French beds and chairs, Italian paintings, and silk draperies that had once hung in a French chateau.
After showing Mr. R – through the house, she took him out to the garage. There, jacked up on blocks, was a Packard car – in mint condition.
‘My husband bought that car for me shortly before he passed on,’ she said softly. ‘I have never ridden in it since his death . . . You appreciate nice things, and I’m going to give this car to you.’
‘Why, aunty,’ he said, ‘you overwhelm me. I appreciate your generosity, of course; but I couldn’t possibly accept it. I’m not even a relative of yours. I have a new car, and you have many relatives that would like to have that Packard.’
‘Relatives!’ she exclaimed. ‘Yes, I have relatives who are just waiting till I die so they can get that car. But they are not going to get it.’
‘If you don’t want to give it to them, you can very easily sell it to a secondhand dealer,’ he told her.
‘Sell it!’ she cried. ‘Do you think I would sell this car? Do you think I could stand to see strangers riding up and down the street in that car – that car that my husband bought for me? I wouldn’t dream of selling it. I’m going to give it to you. You appreciate beautiful things.’
He tried to get out of accepting the car, but he couldn’t without hurting her feelings.
This lady, left all alone in a big house with her paisley shawls, her French antiques, and her memories, was starving for a little recognition. She had once been young and beautiful and sought after. She had once built a house warm with love and had collected things from all over Europe to make it beautiful. Now, in the isolated loneliness of old age, she craved a little human warmth, a little genuine appreciation – and no one gave it to her. And when she found it, like a spring in the desert, her gratitude
couldn’t adequately express itself with anything less than the gift of her cherished Packard.
Let’s take another case: Donald M. McMahon, who was superintendent of Lewis and Valentine, nurserymen and landscape architects in Rye, New York, related this incident:
‘Shortly after I attended the talk on “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” I was landscaping the estate of a famous attorney. The owner came out to give me a few instructions about where he wished to plant a mass of rhododendrons and azaleas.
‘I said, “Judge, you have a lovely hobby. I’ve been admiring your beautiful dogs. I understand you win a lot of blue ribbons every year at the show in Madison Square Garden.”
‘The effect of this little expression of appreciation was striking.
‘“Yes,” the judge replied, “I do have a lot of fun with my dogs. Would you like to see my kennel?”
‘He spent almost an hour showing me his dogs and the prizes they had won. He even brought out their pedigrees and explained about the bloodlines responsible for such beauty and intelligence.
‘Finally, turning to me, he asked: “Do you have any small children?” ‘ “Yes, I do,” I replied, “I have a son.”
‘ “Well, wouldn’t he like a puppy?’ the judge inquired. ‘ “Oh, yes, he’d be tickled pink.’
‘ “All right, I’m going to give him one,” the judge announced.
‘He started to tell me how to feed the puppy. Then he paused. “You’ll forget it if I tell you. I’ll write it out.” So the judge went in the house, typed out the pedigree and feeding instructions, and gave me a puppy worth several hundred dollars and one hour and fifteen minutes of his valuable time largely because I had expressed my honest admiration for his hobby and achievements.’
George Eastman, of Kodak fame, invented the transparent film that made motion pictures possible, amassed a fortune of a hundred million dollars, and made himself one of the most famous business men on earth. Yet in spite of all these tremendous accomplishments, he craved little recognitions even as you and I.
To illustrate: When Eastman was building the Eastman School of Music and also Kilbourn Hall in Rochester, James Adamson, then president of the
Superior Seating Company of New York, wanted to get the order to supply the theatre chairs for these buildings. Phoning the architect, Mr. Adamson made an appointment to see Mr. Eastman in Rochester.
When Adamson arrived, the architect said: ‘I know you want to get this order, but I can tell you right now that you won’t stand a ghost of a show if you take more than five minutes of George Eastman’s time. He is a strict disciplinarian. He is very busy. So tell your story quickly and get out.’
Adamson was prepared to do just that.
When he was ushered into the room he saw Mr. Eastman bending over a pile of papers at his desk. Presently, Mr. Eastman looked up, removed his glasses, and walked toward the architect and Mr. Adamson, saying: ‘Good morning, gentlemen, what can I do for you?’
The architect introduced them, and then Mr. Adamson said: ‘While we’ve been waiting for you, Mr. Eastman, I’ve been admiring your office. I wouldn’t mind working in a room like this myself. I’m in the interior- woodworking business, and I never saw a more beautiful office in all my life.’
George Eastman replied: ‘You remind me of something I had almost forgotten. It is beautiful, isn’t it? I enjoyed it a great deal when it was first built. But I come down here now with a lot of other things on my mind and sometimes don’t even see the room for weeks at a time.’
Adamson walked over and rubbed his hand across a panel. ‘This is English oak, isn’t it? A little different texture from the Italian oak.’
‘Yes,’ Eastman replied. ‘Imported English oak. It was selected for me by a friend who specialises in fine woods.’
Then Eastman showed him about the room, commenting on the proportions, the colouring, the hand carving and other effects he had helped to plan and execute.
While drifting about the room, admiring the woodwork, they paused before a window, and George Eastman, in his modest, soft-spoken way, pointed out some of the institutions through which he was trying to help humanity: the University of Rochester, the General Hospital, the Homeopathic Hospital, the Friendly Home, the Children’s Hospital. Mr. Adamson congratulated him warmly on the idealistic way he was using his wealth to alleviate the sufferings of humanity. Presently, George Eastman
unlocked a glass case and pulled out the first camera he had ever owned – an invention he had bought from an Englishman.
Adamson questioned him at length about his early struggles to get started in business, and Mr. Eastman spoke with real feeling about the poverty of his childhood, telling how his widowed mother had kept a boardinghouse while he clerked in an insurance office. The terror of poverty haunted him day and night, and he resolved to make enough money so that his mother wouldn’t have to work. Mr. Adamson drew him out with further questions and listened, absorbed, while he related the story of his experiments with dry photographic plates. He told how he had worked in an office all day, and sometimes experimented all night, taking only brief naps while the chemicals were working, sometimes working and sleeping in his clothes for seventy-two hours at a stretch.
James Adamson had been ushered into Eastman’s office at ten-fifteen and had been warned that he must not take more than five minutes; but an hour had passed, then two hours passed. And they were still talking.
Finally, George Eastman turned to Adamson and said, ‘The last time I was in Japan I bought some chairs, brought them home, and put them in my sun porch. But the sun peeled the paint, so I went downtown the other day and bought some paint and painted the chairs myself. Would you like to see what sort of job I can do painting chairs? All right. Come up to my home and have lunch with me and I’ll show you.’
After lunch, Mr. Eastman showed Adamson the chairs he had brought from Japan. They weren’t worth more than a few dollars, but George Eastman, now a multimillionaire, was proud of them because he himself had painted them.
The order for the seats amounted to $90,000. Who do you suppose got the order – James Adamson or one of his competitors?
From the time of this story until Mr. Eastman’s death, he and James Adamson were close friends.
Claude Marais, a restaurant owner in Rouen, France, used this principle and saved his restaurant the loss of a key employee. This woman had been in his employ for five years and was a vital link between M. Marais and his staff of twenty-one people. He was shocked to receive a registered letter from her advising him of her resignation.
M. Marais reported: ‘I was very surprised and, even more, disappointed, because I was under the impression that I had been fair to her and receptive to her needs. Inasmuch as she was a friend as well as an employee, I probably had taken her too much for granted and maybe was even more demanding of her than of other employees.
‘I could not, of course, accept this resignation without some explanation. I took her aside and said, “Paulette, you must understand that I cannot accept your resignation. You mean a great deal to me and to this company, and you are as important to the success of this restaurant as I am.” I repeated this in front of the entire staff, and I invited her to my home and reiterated my confidence in her with my family present.
‘Paulette withdrew her resignation, and today I can rely on her as never before. I frequently reinforce this by expressing my appreciation for what she does and showing her how important she is to me and to the restaurant.’ ‘Talk to people about themselves,’ said Disraeli, one of the shrewdest men who ever ruled the British Empire. ‘Talk to people about themselves
and they will listen for hours.’
PRINCIPLE 6
Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.
IN A NUTSHELL
SIX MAYS TO MAKE PEOPLE LIKE YOU
PRINCIPLE 1
Become genuinely interested in other people.
PRINCIPLE 2
Smile.
PRINCIPLE 3
Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
PRINCIPLE 4
Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
PRINCIPLE 5
Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.
PRINCIPLE 6
Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.
