The other day I was in the hospital with my mother who had a pacemaker implanted. A very nice elderly woman came into the room and explained that she was a volunteer with the hospital. She wanted to offer my mom a small gift of a butterfly attached to a card with a simple saying.
The gift was presented to my mom with some light banter. I could not help but feel that even though the worth of the gift could not cost more than a few cents to produce, it was nice that the hospital made the gesture.
The gift created a sort of network deposit in my mom’s account since there appeared to be no motive except kindness in the presentation of the gift. As the volunteer was about ready to leave the room, she pulled out a clipboard and asked if it was alright to ask a few questions. Had she just walked in and said, “I’m taking a survey and I’d like to ask you a few questions,” we likely would not have been willing to participate, especially since my mom had just undergone the procedure a few hours before, was hooked up to all kinds of monitoring equipment, and was still a bit groggy.
The simple act of kindness opened the door to our cooperation. When you need the cooperation of another person, it is always a good idea to make a network deposit into their account before you ask them for something. If you give them something of value first, even if it is a simple as a heartfelt compliment, you are much more likely to get the other party’s cooperation than if you simply make it about your needs.
Do you employ the use of network deposits when you need cooperation from others?
