Crisis

“In times of crisis, give help first, then advice.”

 Seems like a simple, easy to follow quote.  Ever catch yourself giving advice first?

Here is an example:

Your friend routinely skips breakfast.  By 1pm each day, he is ravenously hungry.  You stop by his office to ask a question and there he is, eating pretzels by the handful.  He starts to choke, and is visibly scared.

You could:

A – start lecturing him…”See what happens when you skip breakfast?…you always eat so fast at lunch it is no small wonder this hasn’t happened before!”

B – help him stop choking right away.

Think about this when a colleague has trouble at work finishing an assignment.  Assisting in finishing a PowerPoint presentation may not be a life-threatening situation – but it can feel like it.

Help first, then advice.