When we act out of self-interest or only look at the economic aspect of our decisions, we often overlook the fact that people may be getting impacted. And when we do look at the human angle, we may find it conflicts with our decision which economically serves us better. And we are left in a dilemma not knowing what is the right thing to do.
We carry a duty to protect and take care of others. But we can only take care of them if we ourselves are strong and capable. Therefore our primary duty is to ourselves and our family. This could easily be misunderstood as being selfish. Far from it. This subtle principle can best be understood when we observe a tree.
A tree is appreciated for its shade and fruits, selflessly giving of itself. And rightly so. And yet, for several years, from the time it was a sapling till it started bearing fruit, the tree nourished itself and grew strong roots to serve the world.
Including others in our prosperity should be our way of life. But sometimes we need to make difficult decisions. Reducing salaries, letting go of people, cutting back on benefits, or adopting technology at the cost of human effort may all be necessary to survive. And even in our challenges, we must find the compassion of taking care of the human angle.
I remember when we closed a branch office, not needing a physical presence anymore in that city, we had to let go of our office assistant. I knew she had a small child and the income was very important for her. And yet we could not retain her. I was in a dilemma. It was easy to convince myself that these things happen and we were giving her the rightful settlement which is all that matters. But deep down I knew the human angle was more important.
In my time of silence, I had a thought I had not considered. We reached out to all our customers and dealers to help find her a job. And when a dealer agreed to employ her but could not pay the same salary, we paid the difference for a year to help her manage her family. Because we are a small company we could do it.
But this did teach me something. Life is all about people. Keeping sight of our goal is important. But it’s equally important not to lose sight of the Human Angle.
( Picture – Tree in Grasmere village – Lake District, where William Wordsworth is buried )
I could not agree more. If only more people could think the same and act in such way.