As is customary, we routinely hear students bark out the tenets – courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit. They are very good core fundamental values, and are primarily interpreted from the personal prospective, i.e. I should be courteous in my dealings, but in the new Master Instructor Course I am working on, the strategy is from another angle.
The twist is simply this: you should be treated with and expect courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit, and look for it in people you surround yourself with. The first two, no doubt, are easier to come by in friends and associates than indomitable spirit, which is an elusive term – in life there are times when you SHOULD back down or give in.
A solid example is courtesy. People around you (staff, friends, associates, vendors) should treat you with courtesy, and if they do not, replace them or get rid of them.
Integrity? Need I say more? Students should be treated with the utmost integrity by their instructors – it is a relationship that rivals a parent relationship (all business aspects aside) – and playing on the Korean custom, here are a few of my favorites:
An instructor has the obligation to:
Assistant and help a student with a new business venture.
Not date students or pursue any personal relationship that may dishonor either party.
Be fair in all business dealings with the student.
Old school here: If the instructor is responsible for making the student lose his/her job then the instructor is obligated to pay the student their customary salary and find them another job.
So, the next time you recite the tenets, remember that they work both directions..
R
