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Question for you: Why don’t we see being ‘noticeably nice’ written into any job descriptions? There’s a ton of stuff in those descriptions about what needs to get done each day, but nice is just an accessory, it seems. An afterthought. I don’t get it.

I believe that being nice is, in many ways, the very lifeblood of a world-class business. Being nice to teammates (so they love coming to work each day) attracts and retains superb talent. And being nice to your customers (so they keep coming back) is the best way to grow your community of loyal and passionate followers. Nice is what builds enduring businesses.

Here’s an example.
I went to my local deli yesterday for some protein and veggies lunch. I decided on a portion of turkey. I asked for what I wanted.

The young woman behind the counter replied with a smile, “The rule is to sell the turkeys whole but I will see if I can break it for you”. A minute later, I had my piece of turkey. And on it went.

Helping me. Wowing me. A delicious experience of exceptional customer service. Because she was uncommonly nice. Guess where I had lunch today? I returned there because, like most human beings, I do business with people who treat me well. Nice got my loyalty. It got my repeat business. To world-class businesses, nice matters.

It’s so easy to beat yourself up over mistakes you’ve made. Too many among us live in the past rather than loving the present and building a dazzlingly bright future.

Some people stay stuck for years over some failure they experienced. Sad. A life is a terrible thing to waste. But let me ask you a question: Is there really such a thing as a mistake? First of all, no one tries to fail or mess things up.

Every one of us walks out into the world and does the best we can do based on what we know and where we are on life’s journey. But even more importantly, every so-called mistake is actually a rich source of learning.

Experience that will help us do, feel and be even better. Everything that has happened to you in your life — the good and the difficult— was necessary to help you become the person you are now. Why make it wrong? So, just maybe, there are no mistakes.

Just maybe what we could call failures are actually growth lessons in wolf’s clothing. And just maybe the person who experiences the most wins.