{"id":3716,"date":"1973-12-01T01:00:00","date_gmt":"1973-12-01T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/december-1973-vol-54-no-12-to-be-of-service\/"},"modified":"2022-11-28T00:33:02","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T00:33:02","slug":"december-1973-vol-54-no-12-to-be-of-service","status":"publish","type":"rbc_letter","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/december-1973-vol-54-no-12-to-be-of-service\/","title":{"rendered":"December 1973 &#8211; VOL. 54, No. 12 &#8211; To be of Service"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"layout-column-main\">\n<p class=\"boldtext\">The Golden Rule ranks in history                     with the great pronouncements on the rights of man; it is                     also the distinguishing badge of ethical business. It says                     in a sentence the whole substance of the teaching of the law                     and the prophets on conduct between individuals and between                     groups.<\/p>\n<p> The Golden Rule is also an invitation to take the initiative                     in giving service. One reason that the world sometimes looks                     dull and uninteresting is that we are so wrapped up in our                     own affairs that we do not enter others&#8217; lives.<\/p>\n<p>There is no need to wait for big opportunities or for cries                     for help. A well-timed voluntary service graciously given                     may appear to have no more substance than the thread of a                     spider&#8217;s web, but it is a contribution that is of benefit                     to both the receiver and the giver.<\/p>\n<p>There can be no prouder boast, more filled with assurance                     of personal competence, less barnacled with pretense of piety,                     than &#8220;I Serve&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The teachers of all faiths and the moralists of all schools                     of philosophy have continually laid their emphasis on everyone&#8217;s                     duty to others. The codes of ethics of the professions and                     business lay stress upon service to clients and customers.<\/p>\n<p>Carroll Carroll, who originated and wrote Bing Crosby&#8217;s                     &#8220;Music Hall&#8221; for ten years, said: &#8220;I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;m my brother&#8217;s                     keeper. But I do think I&#8217;m obligated to be his helper.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Everyone is under obligation, though everyone&#8217;s quota of                     responsibility may be different. Duty is proportionate to                     one&#8217;s status and ability. One person&#8217;s duty may be higher                     than another&#8217;s, but no one can opt out of doing what his place                     in life requires of him.<\/p>\n<p>New techniques and new social views produce a changed environment                     with responsibilities never before encountered, but the basic                     duties remain. As Richard L. Evans put it in a radio broadcast                     from Salt Lake City: &#8220;After all, we owe a kind of rent, if                     we may call it that ( or at least an obligation &#8211; for                     the space we occupy on earth, for the tenancy and tenure we                     have here, for the beauty and the sustenance, and the privilege                     of living life.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>We owe, too, some expression of gratitude for the insights                     and inspirations that give sparkle and meaning and sense of                     accomplishment to our lives. Michael Faraday, who was one                     of the world&#8217;s greatest scientists, was showing an experiment                     to his wife on Christmas Day, 1821, when he got the idea that                     turned out to be the basic principle of all electric generators                     and motors. Every year at Christmas time he gave a series                     of lectures to young people to pay, as he thought, the debt                     he owed. The great scientists of England, said C. F. Kettering,                     Vice-President of General Motors, in a radio talk, have continued                     these Christmas lectures through the years.<\/p>\n<h3>Altruism and egoism<\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;Altruism&#8221; is a word coined by the French philosopher Auguste                     Comte to mean unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare                     of others. Egoism means valuing everything only in reference                     to one&#8217;s personal interest. Altruism is made clear in a statement                     by Dr. Dale Carnegie: &#8220;1 got the feeling that I had done something                     for him without his being able to do anything whatever in                     return for me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It is generally accepted among enlightened people that a                     person is not fulfilling his role in life unless he contributes                     according to his capacity to the needs of others, but the                     ethical principles do not demand that a person should take                     no care for his own interests and his own welfare. It is a                     self-evident truth that a person must live if he is to act.                     He needs to develop competence in running his own life before                     becoming actively concerned in the lives of others.<\/p>\n<p>Applying to business this principle of the basic need to                     survive, the Deputy Chairman and Executive Vice-President                     of this bank said to the Canada\/United Kingdom Chamber of                     Commerce in London in May: &#8220;Profit is an essential condition                     for the survival and growth of an enterprise. Profit is also,                     of course, the required incentive and reward to the providers                     of capital. Profit is also the most effective measure of an                     enterprise&#8217;s operation.&#8221; Then he went on to speak of the second                     obligation: &#8220;If corporations are not seen to act, and do not                     in fact act, in a socially responsible manner, their long-term                     survival could be threatened.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>There are some persons who press the ideal of altruistic                     virtue too far. The ability to serve others is gained only                     by those who are egoistic enough to attend in a capable way                     to their own business. As the bank executive said: &#8220;Our most                     important social responsibility is to do <em>our own special                     job <\/em>in society as well as we know how&nbsp;&#8230;. If we                     undertake other tasks in society, they should not reduce our                     capability to do our fundamental job.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>There is need, therefore, for a compromise between egoism                     and altruism. Disregard of others, carried to a great extent,                     would be fatal to society, but no person should be called                     upon to distort the main lines of his life for the sake of                     another individual.<\/p>\n<h3>The Golden Rule<\/h3>\n<p>There is much of the spirit of the Golden Rule in any sort                     of service, personal or business or social. The essence of                     practical ethics is found in it; almost every world religion                     contains an equivalent of the Golden Rule; it is, by and large,                     the motivating influence in the conduct of all men and women                     who profess to play the game of life on the up-and-up.<\/p>\n<p>The Golden Rule is practised by societies widely separated                     in their evolutionary development. Vilhjalmur Stefansson,                     born in Arnes, Manitoba, made important contributions to the                     causes of Arctic exploration, archaeology, and ethnology on                     behalf of the Canadian Government and Harvard University.                     He wrote an impressive tribute to our Arctic citizens in <em>A                     Treasury of Science <\/em>(Harper and Bros., 1943): &#8220;On the                     basis of my years with the Stone Age Eskimos I feel that the                     chief factor in their happiness was that they were living                     according to the Golden Rule.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>When human society matures to the point where it lives by                     the Golden Rule it will have started to build a civilization                     of a very high order.<\/p>\n<p>This idea is not new. The origin of the Golden Rule has                     been attributed to Confucius, the sage of China. When he was                     asked, 500 years B.C., to give in a word the principle for                     the conduct of life, he replied: &#8220;Perhaps the word &#8216;reciprocity&#8217;                     will do. Do not do unto others what you do not want others                     to do unto you.&#8221; The Christian way of saying it is positive:                     &#8220;All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,                     do ye even so to them.&#8221; Immanuel Kant, German professor of                     logic and metaphysics, said in his formulation of the categorical                     imperative in 1781: &#8220;Act so that the maxim of your act could                     be made the principle of a universal law.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Dr. George A. Dorsey of the University of Chicago left no                     room for doubt about the value of the Rule: &#8220;In the whole                     history of human thought there has been voiced only one rule                     of conduct of the slightest value as a standard for human                     behaviour. It is applicable to individuals, families, communities,                     cities, states and nations: &#8216;As you would that men should                     do to you, do you also to them likewise.&#8217; &#8221;<\/p>\n<p>However, the Golden Rule needs to be applied with intelligence                     and good judgment. Other people may not desire the same treatment                     as you desire. A wise person does not shove what he thinks                     is good down the other fellow&#8217;s throat.<\/p>\n<p>The Golden Rule is not something to be looked upon as a                     profession of faith merely. It is not enough to understand                     the needs of others as you would have them understand your                     needs. The emphasis is on the word &#8220;do&#8221;.<\/p>\n<h3>The Rule in business<\/h3>\n<p>The best public relations for any firm or institution is                     to be of service to people. Being of service far excels the                     distribution of gimmicks in winning people&#8217;s friendship and                     custom and respect.<\/p>\n<p>There was a saying current in business circles at one time                     that the conditions necessary to success are a hard heart                     and a sound digestion, but woe betide the person who tries                     to carry on his business on that maxim today.<\/p>\n<p>Our Deputy Chairman and Executive Vice-President summed                     up the new needs when he said: &#8220;We are fast reaching the point                     where the social and political climate almost everywhere in                     the world will make it increasingly necessary for businesses                     to justify their existence on grounds other than purely economic                     success as expressed in terms of profit to shareholders.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>People expect more than that of business today, and among                     their expectations are many social factors.<\/p>\n<p>It remains true in the business field as well as in the                     personal field that egoism &#8211; the mastery of keeping alive                     &#8211; must be accompanied by altruism, &#8211; the rendering                     of service. Business needs service standards to which it lives                     up.<\/p>\n<p>Here is an example. In May 1680 the Governor and Committee                     of the Hudson&#8217;s Bay Company wrote to the head of their Canadian                     operation: &#8220;You are to send us home by every return of our                     Ships all such goods as are either defective or not acceptable                     to the Natives, and to inform us wherein they are deficient.                     And also to direct us exactly as you can what form, quality                     conditions, every sort of goods which is demanded there ought                     to be for the best satisfaction of the Indians. And wee will                     do our utmost that you shall be supplied with every species                     of Commodity in perfection.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The merchant who cannot picture himself as the person on                     the other side of the counter, and give the customer the service                     he would like to receive, is unlikely to be a successful business                     man.<\/p>\n<p>Courteous efficiency<\/p>\n<p>In its elementary forms business service means courteous                     efficiency. Retail store sales persons are expected to give                     prompt attention to customers; they need to be attentive,                     to make sure that the customers&#8217; desires are met; they need                     to be informative, thus adding value to the goods by telling                     their utility and their proper use. The person who speaks                     clearly on the telephone and takes pains to answer an inquiry                     or request is performing a useful service.<\/p>\n<p>The buyer of merchandise can see what he is getting, test                     it, and see it demonstrated: in the case of a service the                     customer must rely more on the knowledge and character of                     the sales person.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most important services in the consumer merchandise                     field is educational. When a firm gives information that helps                     customers to get the best use out of a purchase, that is commendable                     service. Every piece of apparatus should be backed by advice                     about how to use it and how to look after it. A firm, fair,                     and mutually understood service policy is a firm&#8217;s important                     asset.<\/p>\n<p>The best interests of shareholders, management and workers                     will be served only if the firm performs its primary task                     of meeting the needs of customers in the most serviceable                     way possible and in a pleasant manner.<\/p>\n<p>In the long run, self-interest is inseparably linked with                     the interests of the community. The well-being of the merchant                     depends upon the welfare of all. The business firm is called                     upon for constructive social action. The excuses sometimes                     made &#8211; special reasons, special status pleas, special                     justifications for not taking part in social action &#8211;                     are looked upon as signs of weakness.<\/p>\n<p>The person who prides himself upon his wisdom in minding                     his own business and expends his energies wholly on private                     affairs is blind to the fact that his business is made possible                     only by maintenance of a healthy social state. Every business                     today has a public obligation growing from its vital relation                     to the public interest.<\/p>\n<h3>Personal service<\/h3>\n<p>Service is a creative expression of self. If a person does                     not give something of himself to others he dries up, shrinks,                     peters out. On the other hand, giving of himself adds to his                     enjoyment of life. It expands his area of interests. It gives                     him a feeling of participating.<\/p>\n<p>An important question to ask frequently is: what value are                     we to our friends in their bad times as well as in their good                     times? Orestes said in one of Euripides&#8217; plays: &#8220;They have                     the name of friends, but not the worth, who are not friends                     in our calamities.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>There are some services that money cannot buy: kindness,                     thoughtfulness, courtesy, consideration, tolerance, showing                     appreciation, and good nature. These are individual services,                     given according to one&#8217;s opportunities and the opportunities                     one can make.<\/p>\n<p>Most people have found that their personal satisfactions                     are increased when they pay attention to meeting the needs                     and desires of other people. In his radio broadcast following                     his coronation the late King George VI said: <em>The highest                     of distinctions is the service of others<\/em>. This has been                     called &#8220;The principle of otherness,&#8221; and it has been referred                     to as man&#8217;s noblest task. It is evidenced first in the family,                     where parents subordinate their self-regarding feelings to                     other-regarding feelings in the rearing of their children.<\/p>\n<p>The enjoyment derived from almost any possession and from                     the majority of our activities is magnified by the act of                     sharing it with someone else. One&#8217;s pleasure is doubled when                     communicated to a friend, and one&#8217;s griefs are halved. Pleasure                     is gained by giving pleasure.<\/p>\n<p>The application of the Golden Rule makes demands not only                     upon the will, but upon the reason, the imagination and the                     feelings as well. Imagination is needed: the mental suppleness                     and flexibility which enable a person to move his perspective                     about and to see the situation as it looks through the eyes                     of others.<\/p>\n<p>The resulting sympathy is the purest expression of social                     feeling. It reproduces in our minds the feelings of others.                     It leads to empathy, which is intellectual identification                     with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts and                     attitudes of another person. It is feeling intensely about                     a problem outside yourself.<\/p>\n<p>One cannot give service if he shuts himself away from the                     world. The most rewarding services are the outcome of shared                     feeling. Then we extend to an afflicted person not only material                     aid when appropriate but compassionate, personal, supportive                     warmth.<\/p>\n<h3>What kind of service?<\/h3>\n<p>Many people are not self-sustaining. They are not capable                     of coping with the obligations which society imposes upon                     them. Just as among creatures living in the state of nature,                     there are human beings in the most civilized of societies                     who are weak or slow of foot or short of &#8220;know how&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Service to such persons can take many forms, reflecting                     one&#8217;s talents. Everybody has something to contribute: some                     art or skill, ideas, the ability to bring order out of perplexity.                     It is a service when you aid a person to get something he                     needs or wants very much. Longfellow said: &#8220;Give what you                     have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Actions are to be judged by their consequences, not by their                     intentions. They are to be looked upon as right if they contribute                     to welfare. It is well, then, to plan one&#8217;s objective in terms                     of the need it will serve rather than in terms of the form                     one would like it to take.<\/p>\n<p>There have been many examples of heroic service. The life                     of Albert Schweitzer is a living testimony to the high value                     placed by society on selfless service. The schoolboy who became                     Lord Byron had a malformation of one foot, and this lameness                     was the cause of much physical suffering in childhood and                     of mental anguish throughout his life. When at school, he                     was unable to fight a bully who was beating another boy, Robert                     Peel. <em>Byron offered to take half the blows<\/em>. Recall,                     too, the courage of Horatio in Shakespeare&#8217;s <em>Hamlet<\/em>.                     Confronted by the ghost, he said, though startled by its appearance,                     &#8220;If there be any good thing to be done that may to thee do                     ease, and grace to me, speak to me!&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Changing life conditions<\/h3>\n<p>Every organism, from the lowest to the highest, is normally                     engaged in some sort of social life. Our status in a group,                     our reputation, our role, and our conception of our place                     among our associates and our contemporaries: all of these                     grow upon us and expand in importance as we progress toward                     intellectual maturity.<\/p>\n<p>That advancement is being made in a time of technical, economic                     and social change. This offers everyone the opportunity to                     help people to avoid being submerged by the rising tide of                     a new way of life.<\/p>\n<p>It is just as futile to argue for continuance of things                     precisely as they have been as to rush into making changes                     just because we have been doing things for long enough in                     the old way. Our society is flexible, seeking to adjust its                     conditions to its changing needs.<\/p>\n<p>People of good will are seeking to keep our society reasonably                     in adjustment to changing life conditions, and herein lies                     the great power and obligation to contribute voluntarily to                     the easement of those who find themselves unable to cope.<\/p>\n<p>Not only men and women in business and industry, but housewives                     also, have been freed from the arduous and time-consuming                     jobs of last century. While benefiting from this higher level                     of living and increase of leisure time, everyone owes an obligation                     to society.<\/p>\n<p>Some problems stem from conditions in society itself, some                     from the natural waywardness of human beings, some from physical                     environment, some from the changes involved in the industrialization                     of an agricultural society and the mechanization of a manual                     society.<\/p>\n<p>One aspect of our changing times is the alteration in the                     family. The family of an agricultural society, like the clan                     family of primitive society, clung together, giving mutual                     support. Its members lived in the same house, or built houses                     near the family home. Today, the close parent-child relationship                     is preserved only to the point of the child&#8217;s maturity. This                     throws more responsibility on society, because old people                     and children in broken homes are cast adrift. The social security                     of generations past, provided by large family units closely                     integrated, cannot be counted upon.<\/p>\n<p>Voluntary service and individual work directed toward family                     guidance is a challenging and rewarding job. It involves dealing                     with people individually and reconciling them as groups. There                     is great satisfaction in helping troubled people to find their                     bearings.<\/p>\n<p>The interested man or woman who becomes acquainted in a                     personal way with the problems of a family, may aid it to                     become serene and free from tension and to replace bewilderment                     with confidence.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, the person who cheers the lives of elderly people                     is going farther than providing subsistence and shelter: he                     is giving companionship, without which the most sheltered                     existence is barren. The friends of the aged have dropped                     away one by one. Their telephones seldom ring. A visit and                     a five minute chat is a service beyond price. It is living                     the Golden Rule.<\/p>\n<p>If you have a knack for doing something, then that something,                     done for others, is something that no one else in the world                     could do so satisfactorily. There are opportunities open to                     everyone. The blind and the handicapped need friendship; the                     aged are hungry for companionship; the young need understanding                     guidance; the gifted are starved for encouragement, and these                     benefits cannot be conferred by reaching for your cheque book.                     Personal service is direct and human. It smacks more of neighbourliness                     than of institutionalism and charity.<\/p>\n<p>These are some of the reasons why so many people in Canada                     give time and effort to carry out duties they have assumed                     voluntarily.<\/p>\n<h3>Giving and receiving<\/h3>\n<p>Personal service is a good deed done for its own sake. It                     should be given in a kindly way, and not coldly as a matter                     of duty. Kindliness means kindness and something more: it                     means a pleasant way of doing a kind thing.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the most acceptable services are given spontaneously,                     not after an inner debate about the virtue of being helpful.                     It is a sign that a person has reached a high peak of cultural                     and intellectual refinement when doing a service comes naturally                     to him.<\/p>\n<p>There is an art, too, in receiving services given us. They                     should be accepted graciously and with evident gratitude and                     an expressed &#8220;thank you&#8221;. Leigh Hunt, author, poet and playwright,                     wrote: &#8220;To receive a service handsomely and in the right spirit,                     even when you have none to return, is to give one in return.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Being kind or friendly in order to make others obligated                     to the friendly person is on a very low rung of the service                     ladder. To reach the level of the Golden Rule means to cut                     through the fog of self-interest and self-absorption. If a                     person truly wishes to serve others he will not do it as a                     roundabout way of getting advantage for himself or of winning                     a star for his crown.<\/p>\n<p>If a person is to walk with head held high he must make                     his contribution to life. If he is to fulfil his destiny,                     he, must leave the world a little richer and better than it                     would have been had he not lived and performed his services.<\/p>\n<p>Socrates gave the answer to those who hesitate to proffer                     their services: The person who shows a kindness, though fearing                     repulse, runs no other risk than that of showing that he is                     kind and full of brotherly affection, and that the other man                     is mean-spirited and unworthy of any kindness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[1],"rbc_letter_theme":[],"rbc_letter_year":[53],"class_list":["post-3716","rbc_letter","type-rbc_letter","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized","rbc_letter_year-53"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>December 1973 - VOL. 54, No. 12 - To be of Service - RBC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/december-1973-vol-54-no-12-to-be-of-service\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"December 1973 - VOL. 54, No. 12 - To be of Service - RBC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Golden Rule ranks in history with the great pronouncements on the rights of man; it is also the distinguishing badge of ethical business. 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It says in a sentence the whole substance of the teaching of the law and the prophets on conduct between individuals and between groups. 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