• Live by the Platinum Rule. Beyond treating people how you’d like to be treated (the Golden Rule), treat them how they’d like to be treated (the Platinum Rule).
• When someone is absent, speak about them as if they were actually standing there right beside you. Visualising the person being present will dramatically change how you talk about them.
• Assume your email will be forwarded to the person you’re writing about. When composing an email about another person, write as if you know the person will eventually read it. Also, the use of “bcc:” is cowardly and disloyal, and something to avoid nearly all of the time.
• Assume good intent. Human beings are often conditioned to assume others have bad intentions. Stop and reflect on someone’s actions with the assumption they had good intentions.
• Presume every private conversation is confidential unless/ until you can verify that it’s not.
• Once the value of loyalty permeates your company culture, you’ll wonder how you ever functioned without it.

FROM MESS TO SUCCESS: SHOW LOYALTY

• Think back to a time when someone was disloyal to you. What was the impact?
• Then did you last fail to show loyalty? Why? What would you do differently?
• If a conversation misrepresents someone who is absent, say, “I’ll reserve judgment until I speak to them directly.”
• If you find you’re representing another’s point of view, consider waiting until that person can speak for himself or herself.
• The next time you receive a compliment for your team’s work, share the credit instead of taking it for yourself.