Inc.com
"My grandfather was driving. And my grandmother had the passenger seat. She smoked throughout these trips, and I hated the smell.
"At that age, I'd take any excuse to make estimates and do minor arithmetic. I decided to do the math for my grandmother. I estimated the number of cigarettes per days, estimated the number of puffs per cigarette and so on. When I was satisfied that I'd come up with a reasonable number, I poked my head into the front of the car, tapped my grandmother on the shoulder, and proudly proclaimed, "At two minutes per puff, you've taken nine years off your life!"
"I have a vivid memory of what happened, and it was not what I expected. I expected to be applauded for my cleverness and arithmetic skills. Instead, my grandmother burst into tears. I sat in the backseat and did not know what to do. While my grandmother sat crying, my grandfather, who had been driving in silence, pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway. He got out of the car and came around and opened my door and waited for me to follow.
"My grandfather looked at me, and after a bit of silence, he gently and calmly said, 'Jeff, one day you'll understand that it's harder to be kind than clever.'
Think about bosses you respected. Think about leaders you admire. Think about people you like to be around.
They're probably smart. They're probably accomplished.
But that's not why you like to be around them -- and would like to be more like them.
What truly sets them apart?
They're kind. Even when being kind is hard.
