Passion, People and Principles

Relationship Strength

post # 102 — June 9, 2006 — a Careers, Client Relations, General, Managing post

I began the week inviting you to rate yourself on a variety of dimensions. This post does the same thing, but invites you to rate your demonstrated track record on building mutually beneficial, mutually supportive relationships in the following areas of your life:

A) With clients

B) With subordinates

C) With colleagues

D) With those you report to

E) With your close family

F) With your extended family

G) With friends

Use the following scale:

I’m as good at this as anyone I know
I’m better than the average person at this
I’m OK at this, no better, no worse than anyone else
I’m a little weak at this
I’m really not very good in this area at all

What do your answers say about you? Are you happy with the situation? What could you do about it?

Also, it’s time to offer my very sincere thanks to those who participated in People, Passion and Principles during the month of May. They are:

Commentors

Scott Allen , Stephanie West Allen , Annette , David B , Mark Baker , Martin Bamford , Uri Baruchin , Ben , Bill, Barend Blondé , Eric Boehme , Jerry Bogart, Ed Boulton, Gary Bourgeault , Kevin Brennan , Duncan Bucknell , James Bullock, Shawn Callahan , Geoff Considine , David , Norman Dragt , Francis Egenias , Eric , Anna Farmery , Brad Farris , Kathy Fish, Gareth Garvey, Phil Gott , Clive Griffiths , Dennis Howlett , Hunter, Jol Hunter, Lee Iwan , Patrick Jacques, Joan , Stuart Jones , Jose , Kok Van Der Weijden, David Koopmans , Bruce Lewin , Karen Love , Tim MMF , Bruce MacEwen , Greg Magnus , Lisa Mather, Hugo Matislaw , Ed Mays, Mike , Matt Moore, Steven Pearce , Bill Peper, John Eric Pollabauer, Manoj Ranaweera , Suzanne Rose , Bill Sherman, Carl Singer, David A. Smith , Brian Sommer , Ava C. Thorin, Stefan Topfer , Coert Visser , Ian Welsh, Jay Wynn, John Zapolski

Trackbacks

Adam Smith, Esq.

Anecdote (also: here)

Bruce’s Blog (also: here)

BusinessMatters

Career Intensity Blog – David V. Lorenzo

Common Ground

Creating a Better Life

Debt Hater

Escape from Cubicle Nation

Expertise Marketplace – Professional Service Firm Marketing Blog

Golden Practices (also: here)

In Search of Perfect Client Service

legal sanity

Marketing – Communications – Greg Magnus at eoecho

Math class for poets

Oplossingsgerichtmanagement (also: here)

PR Studies

Slacker Manager

The Bell Curve Scar

The Small Business Blog

Working Solo

Come on in, everyone else – the water’s fine and we don’t bite in this pool!

6 Comments

Tim MMF said:

Thanks for the mention!

posted on June 9, 2006

annette said:

Cheers – and thanks for the link!

posted on June 9, 2006

Lyman Reed said:

Thanks for the mention! And another thank you for participating in the carnival!

posted on June 10, 2006

Bill Peper said:

I think the key to developing good relationships is being open to the possibility that new friendships are possible, even for those of us over 40. I watched my six-year-old create instant relationships on the beach and in the pool during a recent weekend getaway.

I also subscribe to the premise of an excellent book. Leadership and Self-Deception: How people react to you is largely determined by your attitude toward that person. Here is a link to that book, one that would benefit everyone on this list:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1576751740/sr=8-1/qid=1149947444/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-2440058-7143103?%5Fencoding=UTF8

posted on June 10, 2006

David (Maister) said:

Thanks for being my – and our – friend here, Bill. Your contributions are always worthing reflecting on.

posted on June 10, 2006

Bill Peper said:

Thank you, David, for your kind words about my contributions to the discussions within this blog.

While completing my Saturday “honey do” list, I thought of two additional points regarding this topic.

First, as the resident photographer of the family, I realized at some point that it is the people in the picture that make it special. Pictures of even breathtaking scenery do not draw that much interest after the vacation, but people can look at pictures of people for hours. It should be much the same in our business relationships—it is the people we encounter who make work special, at least in my experience.

Second, I had the privilege of working with Mother Teresa on an important project in 1996. For the 30 seconds we spoke, I felt like I was the only person in the universe for her. She used this ability to focus on others to become the most respected person in the word despite her vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and a special vow to live and work among the poorest of the poor. Her ability never to treat another as a means to an end can teach all of us a lot.

posted on June 10, 2006