Index of

Th e Platinum Rule
Th e golden rule is one of the most quoted treaties in the land of being
nice to other people. Th ere may be as many versions of the golden
rule as there are languages. It can be paraphrased succinctly:
~ GOLDEN RULE ~
Treat others how you want to be treated.
Why not? Seems logical. Now let’s see what really happens when
the golden rule comes into play when followed to the lett er.
An introvert and an extrovert are colleagues in the same department.
Th ey decide to go to a networking event together. Each believes
fi rmly in the golden rule.
Upon arrival, the extrovert, Glen, gleefully descends on a group
already gathered in the center of the room. He joins in, pulling Portia
the introvert along with him. He knows she can recede in a crowd. He
likes Portia and wants her to have a good time. Th e conversation turns
to presentation mishaps, and he recalls Portia’s fi asco the day before.
“Hey Portia! Tell them about your hilarious faux pas yesterday!” He
means well and knows the event had no lasting or important consequence.
Meanwhile, Portia is inwardly mortifi ed. Th e last thing she
wants to do is recount to a group of complete strangers a personal,
embarrassing story.
Now let’s take the opposite path. Same setup, Portia and Glen at
the event. Portia, as an introvert, wants to be super-sensitive to what is
potentially personal in a networking situation. She is asked by a small
cluster of newly met acquaintances at the event about a recent success
she enjoyed at work. Although she knows Glen had a similar experience,
she hesitates to bring it up in case Glen may consider that a
private piece of information. Instead Glen feels dissed by Portia, not
creating a natural bridge from her story to his own.
76 NETWORKING FOR PEOPLE WHO HATE NETWORKING