Reply with Generosity.
One of my friends from Business School, Alex Taussig, recently posed a question on Twitter:
This observation resonates strongly with my experience.
One of the shared attributes of the most successful people I know (CEOs of Fortune 500 Companies, Senators, Billionaires, Famous Professors, etc) is they always respond. And usually fast.
As someone who aspires to remain at inbox zero and to emulate this habit, I can see how hard it must be for them. It means being decisive and taking a moment to consider each message received.
This takes energy and time. It takes focus and it takes actually listening.
I’m by no means perfect at this but I’ve found that as I practice this habit, the nature of my relationships has improved.
Somehow by simply responding fast and with thoughtfulness (or at least trying!), I’ve found my network to grow. More people emerge in my life.
Now of course this principle is only one of the core values I seek to uphold (Respect).
Another closely related value, taught to me by good friends including @Khe, is Generosity.
This idea: sharing one’s time and network freely with others is closely related to the idea of responding.
Meaning: reply with care, and also give generously when you do.
Combining these two concepts:
Reply generously.
Generosity with respect.
This seems to be like a secret weapon in that as I’ve used it over the last months, my life has become to flourish with wonderful relationships and people.
I’m not positive where things go from here but I highly recommend these ideas to people.
Glad to discuss more anytime :-)
