When you throw dirt, you lose ground.
Some people or companies are just plain mean. They do, say, email or text mean things. Are you one of these people or businesses?
You might be one if:
- Without making amends, you hurt others.
- You expect others to live up to your expectations in their personal lives. (But, in the business world, it is fine to have high expectations.)
- In addition to causing others to suffer, you sometimes go out of your way to watch others suffer.
- You fail to treat others with respect. Instead, you force your own expectations and rules on them with no flexibility. Sometimes, you yell at them instead of whispering or talking with them.
Well, if you or your business does these things and does throw dirt, you are losing ground. Every handful of dirt you throw loosens the soil under you and makes the land you stand on less firm.
For example, the business in this post shamed the injured woman by violating HIPPA. The risk management director of the Advent Health facility in question sent an email intended for the woman about the incident to two email addresses she had never heard of. Yes, Vicky had most likely unintentionally violated HIPPA, but Advent Health administrators threw more dirt by refusing to work with the patient herself and continuing to require that she work with Vicky, who’d violated her HIPPA rights. Terry and Jean just didn’t appear to care about the injured woman.
Some politicians have recently made it clear that they also don’t understand the words, “If you throw dirt, you lose ground.” Both Democrats and Republicans in DC have been throwing dirt at each other and acting like children on a playground.
Have you been throwing dirt? I hope not. What you do comes back to you…
But, if you have, you can change. You just need to offer an olive branch to those whom you’ve hurt.
It is wiser to make amends and treat others in positive ways than to continue your behaviors and suffer the consequences for your words and actions.