I was fired today. Well, laid off. "Budget cuts," my boss said. I packed my box. I was terrified. I have a mortgage. As I walked to the elevator, the CEOโthe big boss who never talks to anyoneโstepped in with me. "You're Sarah, right?" he asked. "Yes sir." "You stayed late last month to help the interns fix that presentation. You didn't ask for overtime." I nodded, surprised he knew. "I can't stop the layoffs," he said. "Board's decision. But I made a phone call." The elevator dinged. He handed me a card. "My friend runs a firm across town. He's expecting your call at 9 AM tomorrow. He needs a manager who cares about people. The pay is 20% higher." I stared at him. "Why?" "Because you held the door for the cleaning lady every single morning," he said. "I notice things." Character is what you do when you think no one is watching.
Credit: Nancy brooks
โJust for a few hours on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day the stupid, harsh mechanism of the world runs down, and we permit ourselves to live according to untrammeled common sense, the unconquerable efficiency of good will.โ โ Christopher Morley