Giving People the Chance to Be Good
We threw a holiday party this weekend (which included a couple pity invitations which I’m still confused about) and it was good. Good food, good drinks, interesting conversations. Everyone seemed to have a really good time. Even the woman who rolled down the stairs (true story!).
The best part of the night? Raising $400 for the Kentucky Humane Society. It’s our custom to choose one local charity each year to have our holiday party be an informal fundraiser for. Instead of bring hostess gifts we ask folks to consider donating to the selected charity. This year we selected the Kentucky Humane Society and our generous guests accepted our challenge and surpassed our high expectations.
This reminds me of something B and I have discussed at length recently: expectations. We’re of the firm belief that if you expect good from people and let them know that you expect good they will, most of the time, deliver. People raise themselves up to what is expected of them. While it’s true that you won’t be disappointed if you have very low expectations you’re almost denying people the pleasure and challenge of meeting higher expectations.
I’m so pleased our friends and colleagues met and surpassed our high expectations. They are good people.
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