| If a husband came home and said, "I've got a problem," an
ideal wife would show sympathy, saying, "That's too bad." The same applies in the workplace. It is important for the staff to share the feelings of a boss in trouble. When the boss says, "I've got a problem", then his staff must immediately say, "That's too bad." "Problems" are a bitter experience for us all. But the more hardships we go through, the stronger and the wiser we become. Accordingly, having problems is, in fact, wonderful. That is why it is advisable for us to share our troubles, and to learn from them together. The boss gets more encouraged if his staff first present their ideas and then ask for his opinions about them, rather than giving advice or making proposals to the boss in such a way as to imply that the staff know better. The boss must ultimately decide the policies or draw the conclusions, or else the distinction between the boss and the staff becomes vague. Confusion inevitably occurs in a situation where it is hard to tell the boss from the staff. This situation will lead to a collapse. A key to success for a boss is to have staff who are superior to the boss. However, tragic problems start when the staff do not treat or respect their boss as a boss. It is wrong for the staff to behave as friends of their boss even if he treats them as friends. The staff can serve their boss best only by not failing to always show due courtesy toward him. On the other hand, the staff will make inaccurate judgments unless there is a relationship where the boss finds it easy to reveal all of his weaknesses to his staff. Being assistants to the boss, the staff must act behind the scenes to cover the boss's weaknesses and give him their support in order to bring out his strengths. It is important for the staff to accept the joys of their boss as their own joys with modesty and obedience and, with this attitude always in mind, to perform their duty independently and positively. |
| If a salesperson treats customers in an overly friendly manner even if the customers behave as friends, clever customers will soon find their relationship to be flawed. |