Wooden's Wisdom | Leadership Resource Center

Issue 553 - My Favorite Dynamic Duo: Booker T. Washington and John Wooden: "Treat Everybody Great." (Booker T. Washington Part Thirty Three)


Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 11	Issue 553
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MY FAVORITE DYNAMIC DUO: BOOKER T. WASHINGTON AND JOHN WOODEN: "TREAT EVERYBODY GREAT." (BOOKER T. WASHINGTON PART THIRTY THREE) John Wooden Video Clip (1 min. 10 sec.): Coach Wooden recites his poem: "Don’t Look Back". Through their example and words, Booker T. Washington and Coach Wooden had the same message for their students: Treat All People with Dignity and Respect. In all my years around Coach Wooden, his example was simple: "He Treated Everybody Great" whether it was a server’s helper at a restaurant, a bagger at a supermarket, an elderly neighbor, a homeless person, or Bill Gates. Coach was more interested in other people than himself. He made them feel important. That’s treating people with dignity. His foundation came from his Father who taught him: "You’re as good as anybody. But never forget you’re no better than anybody, either. Don’t look down on anybody. Don’t look down on them." In his 1902 book, Character Building, Booker T. Washington made the importance of "Treating Everybody Great" clear to his students: "You should develop the habit of being kind and polite to every individual. As a general thing, it is not difficult for a person to be polite in words and courteous in actions to individuals who are classed in the same social scale, or who are above him in wealth and influence. The test of a true lady or gentleman comes when that individual is brought in contact with someone who is considered beneath her or him, someone who is ignorant or poor. Show me a person who is wealthy, and who is gentle and polite to the ignorant and poor people about them, and I will show you every time a true lady or gentleman. Be able to meet royalty without being embarrassed and meet a poor person without embarrassing them. Learn to speak kindly to every individual, no matter their race or gender. No person loses anything by learning to be polite, by treating the most unfortunate individual with the highest deference." It has a negative impact in the workplace when somebody treats their superior with courtesy and then treats their subordinate in a demeaning manner. It has a negative impact at home when we communicate with a family member in a condescending manner or use a poor tone of voice. Whether it is at home, in public or at work: Actions that are not manipulative or condescending will build the strength of the team. Actions that are manipulative or condescending will weaken the team. Are you a strengthener or a weakener? Click here for personal development exercise: Issue 553. Click here for Printable Poetry: Issue 553. Yours in Coaching, Craig Impelman www.woodenswisdom.com Follow @woodenswisdom	COACH'S FAVORITE POETRY AND PROSE The New Days The old days, the old days, how oft the poets sing, The days of hope at dewy morn, the days of early spring, The days when every mead was fair, and every heart was true, And every maiden wore a smile, and every sky was blue The days when dreams were golden and every night brought rest, The old, old days of youth and love, the days they say were best But I—I sing the new days, the days that lie before, The days of hope and fancy, the days that I adore. The new days, the new days, the selfsame days they are; The selfsame sunshine heralds them, the selfsame evening star Shines out to light them on their way unto the Bygone Land, And with the selfsame arch of blue the world to-day is spanned. The new days, the new days, when friends are just as true, And maidens smile upon us all, the way they used to do, Dreams we know are golden dreams, hope springs in every breast; It cheers us in the dewy morn and soothes us when we rest. The new days, the new days, of them I want to sing, The new days with the fancies and the golden dreams they bring; The old days had their pleasures, but likewise have the new The gardens with their roses and the meadows bright with dew; We love to-day the selfsame way they loved in days of old; The world is bathed in beauty and it isn't growing cold; There's joy for us a-plenty, there are tasks for us to do, And life is worth the living, for the friends we know are true. Edgar Albert Guest (1881-1959)
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