“Nobody likes you around here” is one of the nastiest weapons of negative workplace communication.
It hits right in the heart, gets you worked up and ready to lash out yourself, but worst of all, you start to wonder if they’re right.
So how do you respond to that phrase when it’s thrown right in your face?
Here’s the response I’ve come up with:
“Yeah, but nobody is just 30% of the people.”
This’ll startle them and they’ll scratch their head. In the meantime, you can go on to explain what I’m about to tell you.
There is a great story in James Altucher’s book Choose Yourself, which I will never forget.
He alludes to it on his blog as the 30/30/30 rule. James kept using images from the same woman doing yoga poses for his blog posts without giving her credit. Eventually, she messaged him and they started talking.
She told him that she found over the years, whatever she did, 30% of people loved her for it, 30% hated her for it and 30% just didn’t give a damn.
In my experience, that’s pretty accurate. So why not spend your time on those that love you?
“No matter who you are, no matter what you do, no matter who your audience is: 30 percent will love it, 30 percent will hate it, and 30 percent won’t care. Stick with the people who love you and don’t spend a single second on the rest. Life will be better that way.”
— James Altucher
And if they don’t buy this wonderful story, or point to the logical flaw of the remaining 10% missing, because we’ve used 30%, not 33%, nothing takes the wind out of their sails faster than a good old…
“Now what?”