A Culture of Kindness

A woman came up to me in a restroom at a Chamber of Commerce building recently and, with tears in her eyes, asked if I could spare 92 cents.  She seemed very sincere when she explained that her daughter had called and told her she needed her since she was very sick.  The woman hopped on her bicycle and was trying to travel the 30 miles to her daughter’s house when she realized she could not make it the entire way.  She was 92 cents short of having enough bus fare to get to her daughter.  My heart went out to her, and I handed her a dollar.  She practically fell to the floor in relief and thanked me profusely through her tears.  I felt terrific the rest of the day.

Please be aware that I do not typically give handouts to strangers.  I see people on the streets asking for help almost every day, and rarely do anything about it.  Maybe it’s because those situations seem less random, or because I generally prefer to give to organizations rather than individuals.  Whatever the reason, this particular situation was unique.

Have you ever given or received a random act of kindness?  How did it make you feel?  My experience with the woman made me wonder what could happen if a company implemented an act of kindness week.  What if each and every employee was asked to perform a kind act for a vendor, a customer or a co-worker every day for a full week?  What if you praised or rewarded some of the kindest acts in front of the team?  Do you think that might encourage more of that behavior?  Just imagine the potential positive impact!  If those acts of kindness became a habit and part of your company culture, do you think your company might prosper?  Why not give it a try and let me know how it goes?

photo by: Jeff Kubina

5 thoughts on “A Culture of Kindness

  1. I have been on both sides of the coin. I learned many years ago that if I approached everyday with giving as a goal the rewards would be endless. I practice this daily in the workplace, with both internal and external customers.

  2. Great post. It is the reminder that no matter who we are, we always have the ability of affecting someone else’s life in a positive way – we just have to be present enough to see the need, and courageous enough to act.

  3. Hi I am so happy I found your blog, I really found you by accident, while I was looking on Askjeeve for something else, Anyhow I am here now and would just like to say many thanks for a fantastic post and a all round thrilling blog (I also love the theme/design), I don

  4. I simply want to tell you that I’m very new to blogging and truly savored this blog. Probably I’m want to bookmark your site . You surely have good stories. Bless you for sharing your web page.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.