Add value to people

18. Add value to people.

Nothing is more important people, so adding value is the most important thing you can do. We manipulate people when we move them for our own personal advantage; we motivate people when we move them for mutual advantage.

Do you view people as potential recipients of value that you can give or do you see them as nuisances on your path to success?

People want to be appreciated, not impressed. They want to be regarded as human beings, not sounding boards for other people’s egos. They want to be treated as ends in themselves and not as means for the gratification of another person’s vanity.

If you want to add value to people, you must value them first. You must also make yourself more valuable. When you improve yourself you increase your ability to add value and help others. You must also know what other people value if you are to add value to their lives.

To apply this principle: Forget about becoming a person of success and become a person of value. Ask who adds value to your life and to whom you can add value. Make a list of the people you value in your life and make a list of what the important people in your life value.


From: 25 Ways to Win with People, by John Maxwell and Les Parrott.