Random Act of Kindness

In a world where turmoil is prevalent it is refreshing to stumble upon random acts of kindness. It is also reassuring that no matter what goes on here in the UK or in the world, us humans still dish out those random acts that make us smile and feel good.

I have come across three acts in less than a week. The first one happened when I was commuting home on the tube and an elderly couple were lost and desperately trying to get to Goodge Street but they just couldn't work out how to get there. They looked distressed especially as the lady had an injured arm and fellow passengers took them under their wing and helped them to get where they needed to go. In a city where people say we don't talk to each other it was lovely to see them being helped from the other end of the carriage. Everyone in the carriage was involved one way or another, even if just to give the couple a reassuring and welcoming smile.

The second instance happened to me. I went into my local Pret a Manger to get a muffin for my breakfast and the staff insisted on giving me a free cup of tea. I thanked them very much for being so kind (I actually said just that). I later found out that this happened to another lady and my work colleague. It is reassuring to know that Pret a Manger like to make people's day by giving them a freebie, and in return they gain custom. It's a win win situation.

The last act of kindness was an article I read in The Big Issue. I still had last weeks in my bag and decided to have a read and imagine my delight when I came across an article where a Big Issue vendor found a stray cat with an injured leg and decided to take him to an animal shelter for help. They bandaged him up and James, the Big Issue seller nursed him back to health. When the cat was better the vendor opened the door to his shelter to let the cat go on it's merry way but the cat refused. The cat (now known as Bob) decided that he liked this particular person and wasn't going anywhere. And so now you will find Bob, The Big Issue Cat with James, selling the Big Issue in Covent Garden and Angel. What a wonderful story of kindness. If you click on the J-Peg you can read all about it. I believe it is now being made into a book and Bob has his own Facebook fan page too! I also hear from a certain Big Issue seller in the know, that Bob the cat has changed the vendor's life, from being somewhat wayward to a man with responsibilities.

It really is great to hear and see random acts of kindness and when it happens to you it really makes you feel good.

At Dale Carnegie our founder recognised that Human Relation skills are paramount in building relationships with everyone, from friends and family, co-workers and clients. For instance such simple, basic but powerful things such as remembering someones name or smiling. It all adds up. If you would like to find out more, why not check out our website for our courses or maybe join our Facebook fan page.

And I will leave you with this thought.......can you imagine what the world would be like if we all did one random act of kindness each day.............?

Helen Mills
Financial Controller

Great Teams - Strength in Depth

It is only when the occasion arises that we really get to appreciate what strength we have in the depth of our teams.

Three examples in the space of 24 hours demonstrate the importance of being part of a team with diverse strengths and abilities.

At a Board meeting yesterday the Directors were faced with some challenges that they were concerned about how solutions would be provided. Over the years the Directors have invested significantly in the capability and personal attributes of the team. This investment paid off when one of the non-Directors in attendance stepped up and volunteered to achieve the result. We all thought this was beyond their capability and after some reassuring answers to our questions it was clear they would be successful.

Closer to home, my train was late this morning meaning that a client meeting needed to be facilitated by a colleague. Again capability was unknown, but the outcome was a huge success for everyone. Indeed, functionally I did not need to be at the meeting.

Finally that day, another colleague came to the fore when a possible client sprung a conference call on us at the last minute which the nominated team members could not attend.

Some lessons worth remembering:
1. Recruit, hire and train your team to be talented, capable and confident
2. Create opportunities for others to flourish. We do not have to do it all: all of the time.
3. Freely grant your trust to others and it will be willingly accepted.

Well done Corina and Mark, you make me proud to be part of your team.

David Pickering
Business Consultant and Trainer

Behind the Riots

“They don’t care about us”, “Showing the rich we do what we want”

At this day and age, we Londoners have lived a tough and not expected experience at all. We have seen buildings in fire, burglaries and riots. Now, we are watching TV programmes where experts are talking about the reasons behind these behaviours.



A person who says “Showing the rich we do what we want” is one who hates our society. A person who says “They don’t care about us” is one who feels rejected and discriminated.

Having in mind the Dale Carnegie’s principle, they feel that they are not important for our society. So what can we expect from anyone who feels that they don’t belong to this society?

On the other hand, the US government has released over $1 Trillion in bailouts from 2008. We could easily eradicate the poverty and invest in the education of next generation with all of this money.

Is our system taking care of ourselves? What can we expect from the next generations if our society doesn’t show to them that we care of them?

Dale Carnegie’s principle no 4: “Become genuinely interested in other people”

Jose Bort
Performance Consultant

What I sell vs. What people buy

Just got an email from someone inviting me to a workshop about Health & Wellbeing.

Since I'm trying to eat more healthy I was interested and opened the invitation to check the details. It had all this wonderful things about the speaker and her credentials on the topic, and it was asking lots of good questions around some of the health problems people face.

Got to the end of the flyer and I was wondering what will I get by attending? Why should I invest my time & money to go to this event when the internet is full of free information?

And then I remembered (when you are trying to sell an idea) how important it is to talk about the Application/ Outcome not just the Features & Benefits (FAB's). Most companies sell products/ services that have many good FAB's but how many of them talk about the outcomes their customers will expect to get?

Here are a couple of examples:

The Dale Carnegie Course
Feature: Participants learn & practice 30 Human Relations principles
Benefit: They'll be better equipped when dealing with disengaged team members
Outcome: Able to hold difficult conversations without creating conflict

The Leadership Training for Managers programme
Feature: Participants practice techniques on managing performance
Benefit: Clear and consistent standards across the team
Outcome: Appraisals become more than 'tick the box' exercises and outline things to focus on to deliver results

Would you like to know an effective way to articulate the outcomes for your clients?
Please contact us on 0207 379 4323 for a complimentary 45 minutes consultation.