Monday 9 March 2009

The Nice Blog

Being nice is in! That’s what I’m hearing in the business world. From prominent financial institutions to small to medium enterprises, the word is that being nice is the best way to achieve better client rapport, more buy-in from your team and generally speaking, it’ll help you to feel good, too. Interestingly enough, one of my clients is talking about introducing the Nice Awards into his company.

You may be asking: What’s this all about? In pure business terms, we tend to do more business with people we like, and likeability, for the most part, manifests itself as someone who’s nice. Nice is about being thoughtful, going the extra mile, being well-mannered, acting helpfully and smiling. Think of it, when you are around people who demonstrate those characteristics, don’t you feel more upbeat? For those of you who are distrustful of people who just seem too nice, I’m sure you know the difference between real and fake. And if you’re in any doubt, pay attention to the way you feel, not the way you think. Your intuition about someone is often all you need to make a decision about whether they are genuine or not.

I asked my client who is considering introducing the Nice Awards, if five stars for being Nice are best, how many he would give his employees? He said 4. I suggested that four stars are really good. He responded by saying that five is really good, and that anything less is not really acceptable. He added that ‘being nice is just common sense, isn’t it?’ Well, for some it is. However, in my experience a lot of people need to be taught that kind of common sense.

Have a Nice Day!