“Whatever you do, don’t screw up the free stuff.”

The insightful speaker at our last Vistage group meeting (Isabelle Mercier-Turcotte) said her dad had offered her this great advice. He told her to be polite, always use her best manners, show kindness to everyone, be on time, and so on. The members of my group have been quoting it ever since.

So when this chart showed up in my In Box this week, I knew I had to share it.

My wife and I have tried to instill the free stuff in our kids. The Golden Rule of treating others as you would like to be treated because none of us are getting out of this alive.

But I love some of the extras: be coachable, listen, make sure your body language matches your message.

How many times is your day upset by someone who screws up the free stuff? Rude people. Lazy workers. Someone not interested in learning.

I am going to do my best to do a great job on the free stuff and ignore those who don’t.