Hitchhiking to School and Other Lessons in Connecting
In the summer of 1973, my family moved from the quintessentially English town of Godalming, which is 35 miles southwest of London, to the village of East Horsley some
12 miles away. I was not happy at all about the move. One reason I hated it was that I had one year remaining at Godalming Grammar before heading to university. Instead of a five minute walk, I had a one-hour-plus, two-bus trip. And if I missed the 408 to Guildford, where I caught my connecting bus, I had an hour's wait for the next one. So I started hitchhiking to school. At first I tried the English method where you walk along with your back to the traffic and your thumb stuck out. It rarely worked. So I decided to turn things around and positioned myself at the end of an S-bend in the road and at the beginning of a lay-by which allowed buses to pull over. I stood still and faced the traffic and gently pulled my outstretched thumb back and forth in a motion similar to casting for a fish. As the dress code at my school required a jacket and tie, I looked the part of an upstanding young man heading off into the world with purpose and direction. But the key thing I learned was to make eye contact with each and every driver (and passenger, if possible) as they came into view. In those fleeting moments, I tried to make a connection while stopping short of pleading or appearing desperate. It worked. I often got a ride within a few minutes of turning up. The first question was always, Where are you going? I learned to say, Guildford as most traffic was headed that way. If I asked for my final destination, many drivers would simply take off, saying they weren t going that far. At least if I could get in, I could explain my full plans while riding along. More than once, a driver would go out of their way to take me to school. I often heard from those that picked me up, that they, too, had once hitched, when they were younger. They felt an almost karmic need to pick up hitchhikers now that they had grown, got a job and could afford a car. The 70 s, of course, were simpler times when car ownership was much lower in the UK than it is today. And these were more innocent days, as well. There were few horror stories of hitchhikers being attacked by those that picked them up or vice versa. It was simply an acceptable way for young people to get around. I often got picked up by women. After they asked me where I was going, the next thing they almost always said was, I don t usually pick up hitchhikers. And my usual response was, I don t normally get picked up by women! Naturally, I would take it as a huge compliment as I worked hard at being as unthreatening as possible while waiting for a ride and as reassuring as possible when I got it. I also learned to quickly read a person, to see if there were any warning signs before I jumped in and to try and find common ground, if only about the weather, to help make a connection. On one of my last days of school, I got a lift in the Mayor of Guildford s limousine. The chauffeur had just dropped his Worshipfullness off at a function and was heading back to the town hall and decided he d pick me up for the ride back. I had never had so much leg room in my life. So what did I learn from that year of hitching and the subsequent three years of thumbing a lift back home from Cardiff, where I went to university? That in life and in business and the non-profit sector, it is all about positioning. You ve got to get yourself in a place where you will be noticed. Or as Woody Allen said, 80% of success is just showing up. Once you ve got in position, you ve then got to connect with people. Use whatever is in your personal arsenal, whether it be charm, humor or good stories. Use your eyes, your voice, your body language to convey warmth, trust, sincerity and a willingness to listen. Trust in the kindness of strangers. In spite of the drumbeat of news stories to the contrary, most people are good and want to help. If you re in the early stages of your career, you will need help from a variety of sources including complete strangers. Ask them for their contact details so you can keep in touch. And make sure to thank them for whatever help or assistance they may offer. And as you progress on your career path, keep an eye out for others who may need a lift or a kind word or some form of encouragement. It s amazing how even the smallest of gestures can have a profound impact on a young person s life. So stop, make eye contact and figure out a way you can help this person who has, serendipitously, showed up in your life and who may be in need of a ride home. 管理新知 您可能感兴趣的文章 哈佛经典管理故事，不看损失一百万 2015-07-23 HR微语—领导者的无为而治 2013-01-30 2013 Ends With Big Jump in Private Sector Jobs 2014-01-09 最近文章 TEST 2018年01月15日 嫖娼被抓不属无故旷工，公司解雇赔4万！（法院判决） 2018年01月15日 如何判断你是否具有HRBP胜任力？
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