What if I were someone who did not know them and I wasn’t a really nice person? Just based on your title and tenure, I could have immediately created my own biases against them, possibly even snubbing them or making it hard for them to work. You mentioned Nancy and the Cloud Backup fiasco, that she’s permanently deleting files but she did not. You guys were using a really sketchy cloud backup service and eMazzanti swooped in to set you up on eCare Cloud backup. Nobody uses Weebly anymore to back up. Your company purchased a backup service that did not really back up, and they sold your information. So take heart, Earnie, your sentiments are of the makings of a pretty bitter employee, but from what I can see, they’re baseless.
What’s really going on? Mark asked.
“I guess I’ve always been a little bit negative. My wife said if I don’t change, she’s going to leave me. That has made me so angry because until today I did not think that I was the problem. It doesn’t help that my wife hasn’t really been well, and that my father has been recently diagnosed with dementia,” Earnie said.
Mark started, “I’d like to take this offline and be your friend. I was once you,” Mark said. “But let me rewind the clock and properly do your training and let’s talk later.”
After dinner, 8 p.m.
Mark rings Earnie. Earnie picks up.
“Hey Earnie, I want to tell you that I heard you and I am sorry for some of life’s dreaded downpour. I want to tell you that you are not alone, and the fact that you are humble enough to hear how to change is pretty awesome.
Earnie, you must avoid being someone eager to cause harm to the innocent or do not be quick to harm those who are blameless. The truth is that you are fearful. Fear paralyzes and causes perceptions about things that are not always rational.
eMazzanti has these core values. I would like to share them with you.
- Do good things
- Help our customers achieve their goals
- Be confident
- You’re never alone
- Stay focused
- Continuous improvement
“It seems so obvious that I could be happier,” Earnie said.
“You will be,” Mark rang out. “I can see that you work from home and actually you are only two miles from me. Are you an early riser?”
“Yeah sure, if you mean awake pondering.”
“Okay,” Mark says. “I will change my walking route to come by you. I do 5 miles,” Mark said.
“Okay, I’m onboard with that,” Earnie said.
“All you need is a brisk walk, some talk, maybe a little reflection and company.”
“You’re such a great account manager,” Earnie said.
“Yeah well, we are taught at eMazzanti to add value to people’s lives. It’s not just about you.”
“Add value,” Earnie whispered to himself.
3 months later
Earnie found himself having changed without knowing it. People at work were perplexed. As Earnie sat quietly in the lunch room with his headphones on, he slowly cut down the music to hear the whispers. Either I have dog ears or they can’t whisper, Earnie thought.
“Is he dying?” someone whispered.
“He’s losing weight and he has been such a joy to work with,” another said.
Mendy actually interjected, “He apologized to me about not being his best self and for hurting me when he told you guys I was getting a divorce.”
“Me too,” Kim said, coming into the break room at the tail end of the conversation. “I mean, I’m not getting a divorce,” Kim said, “but he told Management that I wasn’t serious about work and I got passed on a promotion. You know, that really hurt me.”
“What did he say?” Mendy asked.
“Well, he asked me how he could fix it, but I was so darn mad I couldn’t believe he was even talking to me, so I said, ‘The $30,000 I missed on the promotion.’”
“What did he do?” Mendy said.
“He backed out of my office, but over the weekend a courier delivered a bank check to my house for $30,000 to me.”
“From HIM?” Mendy gasped.
“Yep.”
“Jeepers. Did you take it?”
“Heck yeah. I found his number on Teams and I called him immediately. He said that he brought the issue to his wife and it was her suggestion to make restitution after all he was wrong about me.”
“Okay,” Mendy said.
“Yeah,” Kim said. “It seems he gave me part of his bonus. Me and my husband cried. Actually, we’re going out to dinner with him and his wife this weekend.”
“Wow, he has changed,” Mendy said.
It’s important to note: In this life, not everyone is going to like you but don’t give them a reason to dislike you. Love people enough that they consider changing their behavior if it’s necessary. Always reflect on yourself. Our love should be like a blanket that hides people’s flaws. And forgiveness means dropping the issue forever.
