Sunday 15 February 2009

Small Things With Great Love

As luck would have it, this week's newsletter falls on St Valentine's Day, February 14th. So naturally, this week, our thoughts are turning to thoughts of love.

Love doesn't figure too obviously in management training but, in reality, it is there just beneath the surface. On our Maximising Your Potential courses, for example, we suggest that, without love for your work, you cannot possibly reach your full potential or do it with joy.

The Lebanese poet, Kahlil Gibran, even suggested that work was love made visible, adding that if you cannot do your work with love then you shouldn't do it all.

Which is another way of saying: do the work you love and love the work you do.

When you work with love, your whole world changes. You are different and others are different. You become more accepting and understanding. You take off the limitations. And your Emotional Quotient level goes sky-high.

What's more, love is the quality that everyone can bring to their jobs. You don't need qualifications or an entry exam or references. It's there inside everyone of us just waiting for expression.

Nor do you need to be doing work in a loving or caring sector. Or work of great importance. As Mother Teresa said, "We cannot do great things on this earth. We can only do small things with great love."

For Valentine's Day, and the coming year, I'll let you mull over the words of Andre Soltner who runs a New York restaurant called Lutece. His description of his love for his work is a reminder that true love is also uncomplicated and childishly simple.

"I am more than thirty years a chef. I know what I am doing and each day I do my absolute best. I cook from my heart with love. It must be the same with service. The waiter must serve with love. Otherwise, the food is nothing. Many times I will go to the tables to take the orders myself. It starts right then and there. That feeling the customer must have is relaxation. If not, then his evening is ruined. Mine too by the way. How can he love if he's not relaxed? People ask me all the time what secrets I have. I tell them there is nothing mysterious about Lutece. I put love in my cooking and love in the serving. That's all."

Happy Valentine's Day... and year!

PS Here at ManageTrainLearn, we like to think we also put love into our work and love into our training. Why not share in it by taking a tour of the website and downloading some of the stuff we've produced?

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