WOMEN IN TRUCKING
• • • By Ellen Voie • • •
WOMEN IN TRUCKING
A Plea for
Sponsored by
Pleasantness
YOU’ VE PROBABLY HEARD the phrase“ You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” You might have heard this from your grandmother if you were overreacting to a request as a child. She actually meant that you’ ll have a more positive response if you’ re pleasant instead of cranky.
Perhaps we should remind ourselves of Grandma’ s wisdom more often. How many times have you seen a co-worker treat someone with unpleasant behavior? How do you feel if your spouse or partner is unkind toward a server when you’ re at a nice restaurant? How do you respond when a stranger glares at you when you’ re child misbehaves?
In the book,“ The Power of Nice,” the authors advise us to“ exercise our niceness muscles.” Start smiling at strangers, say thank you to others, and start up a conversation by complimenting someone. In other words, be nice!
It doesn’ t take a lot of effort to change our outward attitude, but it certainly makes our environment a better place. Not only will it make your day more pleasant, but also it could help you in your career.
Rohit Bhargava, in his book,“ Likeonomics,” writes“ people trust and choose to believe people they like.” If you’ re talking to your coworker with a scowl on your face, how likable are you? People will support you and want to help you more if you are nice to be around.
Recently a professional driver backed into the dock and exited her truck. The forklift driver had been having a rough day and decided to take his lunch break instead of starting to load the trailer. She had two options: she could wait for an hour and lose valuable time, or she could smile and politely ask the dock worker if he’ d load the pallets so she could be on her way. It sounds simple enough, but how many drivers assume the worst and berate the forklift driver? How many of us blame the person behind the counter for the slow service instead of empathizing with him because he’ s alone and there are six people in line? Do you get frustrated with the waitress if she forgets to bring your glass of water, even though you’ ve asked twice? Sure, but remember what Grandma said about honey.
54 DrivingForceMag. com August 2013 • • •
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