There is a movement, it has started and the revolution will not be televised.

Kindness is often viewed as a weakness, with sentiments such as nice guys finish last or you need to be a shark to do good business. In order to come out victorious we need to do whatever it takes to get the job done, winner takes all. These are common ideals in the media and for many years have formed a foundation of modern approaches to business.

However, these ideas assume that interactions between two parties can only ever be a zero sum game, that in order for one party to increase their share of the value another party has to lose. There are some aspects of business where this is the case, in the sale of physical products such as building materials, tools and consumables like food, market share is indivisible and cannot be held by multiple parties. But as our society has evolved to produce large amounts of digital products and knowledge based work the lines have blurred. These days value is generated through so much more than just the physical products in the world. Ways of work, digital tools that can be quickly replicated, scaled and shared and know how all form aspects of work that can generate significant value for organisations that are interacting without detracting value from one organisation to add value to another.

In 20 years of adventuring through science and business I have met people from all walks of life. One thing that I have noted is that those that have the longest and most successful careers appear to have traits in common, kindness and integrity.

See science and business are both tough enterprises. Both are careers that are full of challenges, opportunities and failures, both Science and business are founded on the idea of disrupting the status quo, science looks at the world and asks, why, how, what if? Business looks at the world and ask why not, how to and what if?

In order to succeed in either science or business an individual needs to have a strong faith in themselves and their ability to deliver results in the face of challenges and despite the fact that many others will look at them and say “you’re crazy”, “you can’t do that” or “it’ll never work”. People that foster strong connections and relationships with others in their field build a network of people to test ideas with, find solutions to new and emerging challenges and establish a trusted voice to strengthen their resolve in the face of adversity. Ultimately the measure of success in Science and Business is almost the same as in boxing, not how many times you got knocked down, but how many times you got up again. Having a strong network of friends, collaborators and even competitors can inspire us to rise up again when things look bleak.

Treating people with kindness and integrity builds trust, strengthens relationships and generates true partnerships that can generate value on an on going basis for years to come.

On the other hand, being a shark, or doing whatever it takes to finish first, burns through the people around us. People are not machines and we all remember how events have made us feel, when there is a lack of kindness or integrity we are likely to withdraw from that interaction in the future.

In the short term some people choose to take a cutthroat approach to move ahead, using people around them and burning connections to fuel their own success. This can lead to a rapid advancement of an individual, but it also leads to a lonely existence as the connections available to that individual are reduced over time. The world is an enormous place but at the same time society is small, with the rapid increase in connections through the internet and digital networks it is common for us to cross paths many times with individuals working in the same field. Over decades, individuals that chose to burn connections and relationships for their own benefit, effectively burn the bridges around themselves creating an island within their own community. This becomes a lonely existence.

In contrast, individuals that approach interactions with kindness and integrity, build, reinforce and generate new connections. This expands the reach of their network and strengthens their connections to society. So that when new challenges arise these individuals have a wide range of collaborators and connections to reach out to.

Some say that kindness is weakness, but I posit that it takes great strength of character to maintain kindness and integrity.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was quite simple, “When you find good people, keep working with them” this advice was also extended by one of my early mentors criteria for working with someone, they must be “a good scientist and more importantly a great human being”.

Of course there are exceptions to the rule, and in both business and science sometimes the shark can create a break that let’s them get so far ahead that they have the resources to maintain their own momentum. But in my experience the best way to build a life that you can be proud of and that will sustain you into the future is to treat everyone around you with dignity, kindness and integrity. In doing this you increase your own chances for success and those of the people around you.

The movement that has been growing over the past 10 years is the rise of Kindness.
People are no longer willing to stay in toxic work places, kindness and integrity have become key parameters for individuals assessing a new workplace and for businesses looking for partners or suppliers.

It costs us very little to be kind but over the long term that investment will continue to pay significant dividends!

So step up and test it out, be kind to those around you and see how your adventure can grow as your network gets stronger and how nice it can be to have people to catch you when you stumble on the journey.

Cheers,
Daniel