When I was six years old, my parents were trying to find a good house to rent, at a reasonable price, in a good school district. In rural New Hampshire, I have to imagine that there were not a lot of homes that fit these criteria. As my mom tells it, they finally found a house they very much wanted to live in. She and my dad were talking to the homeowner, and his wife asked if she could take me to see the cows (the homeowners rented out their fields to a local farmer). At some point during the walk, I asked her where the trash can was so I could throw my lollipop stick away. She thought that most kids would have thrown that stick on the ground; after all, it was just paper. My parents later learned that me asking was what set us apart from a list of other applicants. We got the house.
You never know what kind of decisions people will make based on your actions. Not every action will inspire an olympian-sized reaction. But your actions may encourage someone to be just a little more friendly, and a little more open, or a little more generous, or a little bit happier. Then they have contact with another member who is similarly affected. And then there’s a small ripple effect. Happiness, generosity, and helpfulness traveling from one member to the next, to the next.
Perhaps one of those newly happy and open members talks about a problem she is having. Perhaps someone listening is having the same problem. Suddenly a problem not often talked about is being talked about.
Or maybe the wave of happiness and generosity flows over a new member, and that member goes on to be a super-engaged member, which changes the trajectory of his career.
Or maybe the recipient of the ripple effect is a long-time member who decides to take the morning to break away from her friends and meet others in the industry.
You never know!
Related: