The cynical version of
this saying goes:
‘Do unto others,
Before they
do unto you.’
We should, however, make
it perfectly clear that we prefer the original version, sometimes known as the
Golden Rule (Pace Gordon Brown, in another context!):
‘Do unto others,
As you
would that they
would do unto
you.’
This isn’t quite ‘turn
the other cheek’ but it is a sensible and civilised philosophy for this day and
age. On the other hand, it does not, we
would suggest, represent a business model that many captains of industry would
recognise.
Their reading matter
might lean more towards Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince’ or Sun Tzu’s ‘Art of War’
both of which we would recommend to you for intellectual stimulation if not for
guidance on the conduct of your everyday life.
You can find these and
many other classics in the WebWatch2000
online books section (http://www.webwatch2000.com/portal/books/)
There you will also
find the somewhat formulaic and now rather neglected Dale Carnegie classic ‘How
to Win Friends and Influence People’.
This was the definitive self-help book of its age, and is still notable
for its wisdom and understanding of human nature. We commend it to you.
We reflected on the current
relevance of this book during some recent dealings with British Telecom - from whom
we have now parted company. We were reminded
of a maxim that may not have come from Dale Carnegie himself, but of which he
could have felt proud.
‘No-one ever won an
argument with a customer’. (Think about
it!)
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