What Can IT Workers Learn from Beggars?
18 March 2007I work in downtown area started around 10 years ago. During work I go out to take a walk couple of times a day. My regular route passes a convenient store where a bunch of beggars hang around in front of it.
For long time beggars asked “Do you have changes?” when they saw me. Most of the time I gave them pennies, nickels, and maybe dimes. But I didn’t give quarter. I saved quarters for parking.
From a few years ago, they started to ask, “Do you have a quarter?” or “Do you have quarters?” I continued to give them small changes, but I did give a quarter in addition, if I was in good mood. As I heard more and more requests specific for “quarters” rather than “changes” in general, I got used to hand out quarters, but only one or two a time.
One day a nice lady asked me, “Honey, do you have three quarters?” I answered “Yes” and then gave her 3 quarters although I thought I should only give her one or two.
Right questions make difference. If she had asked “Can I have 3 quarters from you?” or “Could you give me 3 quarters?”, I could answer either “Yes” or “No”, both answers were technically correct. But she, and other beggars, never asked me to give them money, they only asked me a fact, - did I have a small amount of money in pocket. In this case, I was obligated to tell the truth. I did have more than 3 quarters in pocket, so that I answered “Yes” since I didn’t want to lie. Than, a “Yes” answer meant I wanted to meet her request, thus I gave what she demanded. That was just a hypnotic mind-setting process.
Recently, they often asks, “Do you have a dollar?”
They keep asking, and asking more, why? Beggars are self-employed professionals, just like our independent consultants, they are very motivated to take care of business. In fact, they are facing the same changes and challenges of the world as we are facing, - raising cost of living, instability, globalization, etc. To keep the same living standard, they need to adjust the salary. They truly believe they deserve the raise.
Back to the topic, what can we learn from beggars? Many. Look at how they make themselves visible, their persistence persuasiveness. They know how to ask right questions in right place to right people in right time so that they get the most they possibly can.
To make it simple, there are three things you can learn and do as beggars:
- Ask
- Ask more
- Keep asking
Ask your boss for salary raise, bigger bonus, better benefit package, flexible hours, tele-commute, and more. Whatever you want, whatever you need, you have to ask. If you don’t ask, you’ll never get it.
Do you deserve all of the good things? Only God knows. What you’ve had, you deserve, because otherwise God wouldn’t give to you. What you haven’t got, does not mean you don’t deserve, because you didn’t ask.
If you keep asking, you boss will think you deserve it. “This guy has asked for promotion 10 times. He must have done a good job. I think his raise is due. Let’s give him a 15% increase.” That’s how you get it.
I don’t give money everytime when beggars ask. But if I recognize one who had asked me several times before, I usually hand out a dollar. As a reminder, they don’t ask for changes any more, they want dollars, and they can get dollars, only because they asked.
Is this a good lesson? I think it’s great, and easy too. Just ask, ask more, and keep asking. As my beggar friends can do it, you can do it too.
Walk to your boss and ask now…
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