Company Blog

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Find Out What It Means To Me

by Adam Zack — July 6, 2016

The Golden Rule or Law of Reciprocity

I got some great feedback on last weeks blog, most notably from the great Bob LaBonne, Jr., President of LaBonne’s Markets in Connecticut.

“To me it’s more than karma, it’s about respecting others. They are only trying to do their job. When I return phone calls to sales people that I don’t know or never heard of, very often I hear them say, “I can’t believe you called me back. Normally I have to keep calling people to reach them.” Respect is one of my core values and our company’s. It’s following the golden rule “Treat others they way you want to be treated” which I was taught as a young child by my parents and grandparents. I guess it just stuck for me and sadly I think the world seems to have forgotten this rule, especially now that everyone is so busy.”— Bob Labonne, Jr.

Respect is such a wide-ranging thing on many levels. From the military mantra of “Respect the rank, not the person, soldier.” to being a kid and being forced to “respect your elders.” when we really didn’t know what respect was. I think in both those contexts what is really meant is to just be polite. Manners (please, thank you, excuse me) are hugely important to me, but good manners and respect really are two different animals. To me, true respect is a combination of appreciation and awe. It’s a version of love (now I’m sounding like DW!) that shows admiration and thankfulness and realization of what the other person’s intents and purpose are. Treating others the way you want to be treated show’s respect for them and for yourself. Treating them the way they want to be treated is the ultimate form of respect.

Sock-it-to-me, sock-it-to-me, sock-it-to-me……