I read this book at exactly the right time. You see after the massive layoffs on Monday with some friends and my hubby's coworkers getting the axe, I was grabbling with the whole 'should I be taking a job from someone else? Do I need this more than someone else?' dilemma.
There was also a charity auction with advertising up for grabs. There were two package worth $400 each. My max bids were $100 (because I already allocated my advertising dollars). My winning bids were $61 and $66 each. Yes, bargain basement prices but this was benefiting a charitable cause. I felt guilty.
Then I read the chapter on sharing the road.
"Why can't we acknowledge the fairness of toll booths, when we must stop for a minute and pay a small price for maintaining the cost of a road? Where are the toll booths in your life? Did you slow down and make your contribution? Or did you try to speed through it without paying to avoid a two-dollar toll only to wind up with a two-hundred-dollar ticket? And did you have a kind word for the toll booth operators, who suffers through one of the most boring jobs on the planet on a daily basis?"
I could have simply paid the winning bid. That was the expectation. But part of the responsibility of having a great job in a terrible economy is helping to support services that others no longer can. Everyone knew the advertising was a deal. They simply didn't have the money to pay for it.
So I paid more. More than the winning bids. More than my max bids.
I'm hoping the extra will help the person the auction is fundraising for. I'm also hoping that the increased bids will give the donators a warm fuzzy (the feeling you get when you snuggle into your favorite fuzzy sweater) about giving and they'll do it again.
In addition to this, I had a talk with my contract headhunter. He was bubbling over with gratitude about me getting this contract gig. He's on commission. If he doesn't place people, he doesn't get paid. And the pickings are very, very slim. The only reason I landed this job is because I'd done some work for the company before. The competition was that fierce.
Road Rules is not a business specific book. It is a life book. The lessons in it won't be new but maybe, like me, you need reminding.