Here is a lovely story sent to me by longtime Business Class reader, Aida Cancel who is Director of Regulatory and Quality Assurance at Family Health International. Author of the story is unknown:
When I was a kid, my Mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. She placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my Dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed.
All my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my Mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don’t remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that ugly burned biscuit. He ate every bite of that thing. Never made a face nor uttered a word about it.
When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my Mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I’ll never forget what he said: “Honey, I love burned biscuits every now and then.”
Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, “Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she’s real tired. And besides – a little burned biscuit never hurt anyone!”
As I’ve grown older, I’ve thought about that many times. Life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people. I’m not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. But what I’ve learned over the years is that learning to accept each other’s faults – and choosing to celebrate each others’ differences – is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.
We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!
“Don’t put the key to your happiness in someone else’s pocket – keep it in your own.” unknown
“Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.” unknown
If you are a regular Business Class reader, you know that last line is a favorite Business Class quote. And it’s especially helpful when dealing with angry customers. But what do you think?
- Can you accept burned biscuits from your colleagues?
- From your vendors?
- Does it depend on the biscuit, how big it is and what it costs?
- Does it depend on how often they burn them vs. how often they don’t?
- Does it depend on how hard they try?
- Does it depend on how they handle the situation?
- Does it depend on the relationship you have with the person?
- One last question – how do your colleagues and customers handle it when you burn the biscuits?
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