For the past two weeks I have been teaching in our Virtual Practice Management membership group lessons we can learn from the story “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, that can make us better managers or business owners.
This week we took a look at the chapter which Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the “Ghost of Christmas Past”, and a spectacular lesson to be learned was in one of the encounters during this ghosts visit. If you remember this ghost took him to his school when he was a child and was left there alone, apart from his little sister Fan, it was a painful experience for Scrooge to relive.
Then the ghost took him to another time when he was a young man to the place where he did his apprentice work. His employer was Mr. Fezziwig. The scene was the Christmas Eve work party and Mr. Fezziwig was calling Ebenezer and his coworker Dick to stop working and come join the festivities, of song, dance, drinks and a banquet of food for everyone to celebrate. Mr. Fezziwig was a merry man and enjoyed giving this grand party to his employees and friends.
All of the attendees were toasting and cheering to Mr. Fezziwig the host of this grand celebration. Ebenezer was taken with this wonderful site and memory, of fun, giving and festivity.
The ghost of Christmas past saw this in his face and said to him, “A small matter to make these silly folks so full of gratitude.” “Small!” cried Scrooge.” “Why! is it not?” the Ghost questioned him. “Fezziwig has spent but a few pounds of your mortal money for his party. Is that so much that he deserves great praise?”
“It isn’t that,” said Scrooge, heated by the remark and speaking like his former, not his later self. “He has the power to render us happy or unhappy, to make our service a pleasure or a toil. Say his power lies in words and look; in things so slight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and count them up. The happiness he gives is quite as great as if it cost a fortune.”
Wow! What an amazing lesson!. As employers and managers we have the power each day to make those that work for us and with us, “happy or unhappy, to make their service a pleasure or a toil.” Take some time to think about that and consider what you can do to make everyone’s day the best possible.
And if you have some time you might want to read the book, “A Christmas Carol” it has so many lessons for us to learn and relearn to make our lives and those we live and work with better.
Happy Monday,
Tina
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