Wisdom or Kindness?

sunflowers

What wisdom can you find that is greater
than kindness? –Jean Jacques Rousseau

Of all the special moments, of all the skills taught and insights shared, what people will remember about you is how you make them feel. Often I ask people to tell me about their favorite relative, someone they feel especially close to — everyone seems to have a relative like that. Then I ask them to explain what it is about that particular relative that pleases them. What I almost always hear is some variation of “He is so nice.” Not once have I heard, “She is so wise.”

My experience in life and in business leads me to one conclusion. The old axiom is true: People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.