They say that in business you meet the same people on the way up as you do on the way down. In reality professional relationships are far more complicated than this but it is still true that one of the best pieces of professional or personal advice I have ever had is quite simply, "be nice".
I remember the first time I ever heard “Be nice to each other, don't be a d***". The simplicity of this request was brilliant. It basically said "Follow these simple instructions and we'll all have a good time",
At the end of a meeting my old manager ended with “most importantly, be a nice person, nobody wants to work with idiots if they can avoid them".
This isn't just about doing the right thing to satisfy some moral code; being a nice person throughout your personal and professional life can actually be an act of self-preservation in the long run.
In the business world, the sharks might be considered to be at the top of the food chain, but a wounded predator can easily become a victim of indifference if not revenge. How many times have you seen the mighty fall, only to realise how few friends they made on their way to the top?
The thing to remember when building relationships (professional or otherwise) is that you never know where your paths are going to cross again or how your futures may become entwined, so in the meantime it makes sense to Be Nice.
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