#1046 Assuming the Worst

I dedicate this post to Jim Coler, who always looks for and brings out the best in everyone he encounters.

My friend Tony got a call while we were at work. “It’s my wife. She said Matt’s principal called and wanted us to come in. I am going to have to leave early. I wonder what that little PITA did this time. I swear I’m gonna pull him out of that fancy school and send him to the public school. What the hell am I sweating tuition for?”

Joe’s son was 16 at the time and doing what many 16-year-old boys do, getting into trouble.

When Joe and his wife entered the school, they saw a big, beautiful painting of the school building displayed front and center. It was gorgeous; fall-colored trees surrounded the building, and smiling kids strolled in their uniforms, toting tennis racquets, backpacks, schoolbooks, cupcakes, gym bags, etc. It left you with the impression that this was an idyllic place where young people thrived. It was brilliant. Then Tony saw it and gasped. Scrawled across the bottom of the painting was Matt’s “tagging” name, Mad Matty. Tony turned to his wife and said, “Matt, the graffiti artist strikes again! I can’t believe he would deface a painting on school grounds AND be stupid enough to use his signature! What a moron. Let’s go face the music. I swear I’m pulling him out of here. Let him go to public school with the riffraff he obviously wants to be like.”  His wife grabbed his hand and told him to breathe and calm down.

As they entered the principal’s office, he said, “I’m sorry, Sister, I saw the painting. I don’t know what’s gotten into him. I will have him apologize to the artist.”  Sister James, the principal, looked perplexed. “But Mr. Labrasca, Matthew IS the artist. he painted that beautiful picture. That’s why he signed it. I called you in because we want to use his painting as the centerpiece of our entrance, and we’d like to have a little ceremony to announce it. We were hoping your family would attend and allow us to keep the painting here, on display, for years to come. It shows the school in such a positive light.”

How many bad endings have you created before you knew the actual end? How many times have you assumed the worst of someone?  

Salespeople: When you can’t reach a client, it’s because you can’t reach them. Not because they hate you, you blew it, they bought elsewhere, or they were just tire-kickers.

You don’t know what you don’t know.  

In life, I’ve found that a good policy is always to assume the best of people. “But Frank, that’s naïve! You will get burned like that.” Sure, I’ve been disappointed, but I’d rather assume the best 100 times and get disappointed 99 than become cynical and jaded and miss some hidden gems.

Own Your Sales Gene…