Jerks

Here is another lecture from the lifetime series that I’ve inflicted on my kids. They thought the lectures would end when they left home for college. The lectures actually never end. My grandmother still lectured my father when he was in his 50’s. There is always one more thing you wish you’d told your kids.

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A man got fired at work this week. He was competent at his job, but he ticked people off. He was brusque. He annoyed people by not taking their concerns seriously. He talked, but he didn't listen.

I've been to a lot of conferences over the years and repeatedly I've heard the sentiment that "You get hired for what you know. You get fired for who you are." This man got fired for who he was. I’ve seen the truth of this statement repeatedly throughout my 40 years in the work force.

It is critical that you be a pleasant and sociable human being. It doesn't matter how good you are at your job if people don't like you. You cannot ignore human relations. Human relations are the most important part of any job. Employers rank the ability to get along with others in the workplace much higher than a brilliant mind and expertise. Expertise is useless if the person can't work well with others. Jerks ruin an otherwise productive workplace. Jerks are the first persons an employer looks to fire.

Don't be a jerk.


“The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people” – Theodore Roosevelt