Respect Everyone

Courtesy Flickr Creative Commons

I was on a flight from New York to Palm Beach last week and had the benefit of sitting next to a successful business owner named Steve. From the moment I got to the seat I could tell he was great guy. It actually had little to do with me initially and everything to do with how he treated our flight attendant. We got into a discussion about the treatment of others, specifically those individuals that some people would consider beneath them. He went on to tell me about his business and the fact that he has tremendous loyalty from his employees. Through the conversation I realized that he truly respects his people, treats them well, and always makes time for them. He applies the same philosophy (respect everyone) to those he encounters in daily life.

Steve got me thinking about this concept of social hierarchy. Why does it exist? What basis do we as humans have to be at different levels? If you are worth millions of dollars are you more important than the homeless person on the street?

If you have the ability to generate great wealth, how did you get that skill? Were you born into family where money already existed? Are you the byproduct of educated parents that raised you with certain values? Did you get a break/opportunity somewhere along the way? Were you in the right place at the right time? I find that most successful people can usually point to a few pivotal situations in their past that served as the catalyst for creating their success. Maybe some wouldn’t consider it luck, but in every instance of success, the achiever had the benefit of fortunate events.

What about those that haven’t experienced those fortunate events? Are they less important or somehow beneath those that have? Is the maid cleaning my hotel room at the Ritz Carlton a lesser human than I am?

I contend that being successful doesn’t make you better than anyone else, just more fortunate. There is no justification for not treating people with respect, regardless of where they fall socio-economically.

We see instances in business where someone in a position of power is disrespectful or dismissive to another employee who may be “below” them on the org chart. That lowly employee experiences success and eventually rises above the disrespectful person. Those situations typically do not end well for the “disrespector.”

The solution here is simple–acknowledge, appreciate, and respect those with whom you interact. Think about your daily encounters: are you treating the gas station attendant, cab driver, landscaper the way you would want others to treat your loved ones? Become conscious of your interactions, move beyond the cultural hierarchy, and treat others as you would like to be treated. Respect everyone.