As human beings we often do not understand the problems of others until we have experienced them ourselves. Back in the 1930’s, American Airways (now American Airlines) had a tremendous problem with lost luggage.
Lamotte Cohn, then General Manager, urged his station managers to improve their bag handling efficiency, but without success. In order to show his troops that he was serious about correcting the baggage loss, Cohn invited his station managers from all over the country to fly to company headquarters for a general meeting on the subject of lost baggage.
Cohn wisely made certain that the baggage of all his station managers was lost in transit. Later in an interview with the New York Times about his meeting, Cohn said, “We had a lot more efficiency after that.”
Experiencing a loss or tragedy not only causes us to be more sympathetic with others in the same situation, it enables us to become their encouragers. Find someone who is hurting today the way you have hurt and lend them a supporting hand.
In His Love,
Charles
