“By far the greatest single obstacle to success that I see in others is a poor understanding of people.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2000-03-08) from his book, Failing Forward: How to Makethe Most of Your Mistakes (p. 155). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Do you like people? Do you get along with people? Do you have problems with people?

Listen, people are very important and it is very important that you realize that. If you don’t then you are going to have problems with living a fulfilling and successful life.

John said, “I was talking to some people a couple of days ago, and they were complaining about not winning a business contract that they had bid on. ‘It wasn't fair,’ one person told me. ‘All the people involved knew each other, and we didn't have a chance. It's all politics.’ But what he went on to describe wasn't politics. It was relationships.”

He then said, “Authors Carole Hyatt and Linda Gottlieb indicate that people who fail on the job commonly cite ‘office politics’ as the reason for their failures, but the reality is that what they call politics is often nothing more than regular interaction with other people. Hyatt and Gottlieb assert, ‘Most careers involve other people. You can have great academic intelligence and still lack social intelligence— the ability to be a good listener, to be sensitive toward others, to give and take criticism well. If people don't like you, they may help you f a i l . . . On the other hand, you can get away with serious mistakes if you are socially intelligent... A mistake may actually further [your] career if the boss thinks [you] handled the situation in a mature and responsible way.’”

This is a great place to start in your maturing as a person. Reuben Welch wrote a great book called, We Really Do Need Each Other, and we really do need to see that.

John says, “If you haven't learned how to get along with people…making people skills a strength will take you farther than any other skill you develop. People like to do business with people they like. Or to put it the way President Theodore Roosevelt did: ‘The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.’”

So how well do you get along with other people?

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Just Continue That Thought...

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