Today is Friday, so this post is on interpersonal competence.
Recently, I read a great book, Mentor: The Kid and The CEO, by Tom Pace. Mr. Pace is a member of the National speakers Association. He sent me and other members a complimentary copy of Mentor with a unique guarantee. “I want to extend you a personal guarantee; which is if you read my book and believe it to be a waste of your time, then I will personally give you $100. I read the book and have no plans for asking Mr. Pace to send me $100.
Mentor is the story of a young man, Tony “The Kid,” who is in trouble. It begins with him in jail on a petty theft charge. He gets sentenced to 90 days. During that time, he meets Malcolm, a local CEO who volunteers his time at the prison in the hopes of helping inmates get their lives on track.
Tony heeds Malcolm’s advice. When he is released from jail, Malcolm becomes his mentor. Malcolm helps Tony find a job and a place to live, and to eventually start his own business. In the process, Tony helps Malcolm through some tough times of his own. It isn’t high literature; but it is an uplifting story, the kind that warms your heart.
However, Mr. Pace does one thing in the book that I really liked. He has created what he calls “The List.” The List is 135 short pieces of advice, usually two or three words. One item from the list appears at the bottom of every page of the book. Some appear twice.
I like The List because it says a lot about how to be successful in bite sized chunks. I also like it because it contains a lot of ideas on how to become interpersonally competent. See for yourself. Here are ten items on The List.
• Have integrity.
• Have values.
• Listen well.
• Don’t take things personally.
• Help others.
• Encourage others.
• Repay favors.
• Accept responsibility.
• Value people.
• Share in others’ joy.
If you practice these ten items in your daily life, you will become an interpersonally competent person. Interpersonally competent people do the small things that make them people of value. Other people recognize this instinctively, and want to be around them.
You can get a complete copy of The List by logging on to www.mentorhope.com. I suggest you do. As I’ve mentioned above, The List provides some great career and life success advice in easily digestible, bit sized chunks.
The common sense point here is simple. Interpersonally competent people build strong relationships with the important people in their lives. They do this by practicing the advice dispensed in Mentor, by Tom Pace. Among other things, they: have integrity and values; listen well; don’t take things personally; help others; encourage others; repay favors; accept responsibility; value people; share in others’ joy. These items are on Tom Pace’s “The List.” They are a great place to start your journey towards interpersonal competence.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.
I’ll see you around the web and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Bud
PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand, my fundraising page is still open. Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.
Comment Preview