Katie McManus describes three small kindnesses she witnessed on an evening walk in Philadelphia: a stranger waiting while she checked her dog's paw, a man intentionally making her feel safe, and neighbor Michaela lending kitchen utensils. She connects these moments to the values she wants in her business: having people's backs, conscientiousness, compassion, and generosity.
Chapters
Hello, good evening. I'm Katie McManus, business strategist and leadership coach. Happy Wednesday. My dog is playing with the ball underneath this little standing desk that I have and under my chair. So we're just gonna be rocking and rolling a little bit, and I just want. I want to go live shortly this evening. Shortly. Briefly this evening, because I wanted to share with you the small acts of kindness that I've experienced just the Last hour and 15 minutes alone in my new city in Philadelphia. So I did a speaking event today. Ended at 8. Luna was a little antsy, and so I need to take her for a walk. We went by the dog park. There was no one there. And so that just means I'm gonna get exercise, too, right? So we start walking, and we get up towards, like, the main commercial drag, south street. And Luna, like, starts, like, doing weird things with her paws, like, jumping and, like, trying to, like. Like, you know, bite at them. And she eventually, like, stops and, like, starts chewing on one of her paws. And so I, like. I bend down, and I'm, like, trying to see if she, like, got something in it or she cut it. And I look up, and this woman is. Is, you know, getting into her car, and she's like, is she okay? And I. You know, I said, oh, yeah, I think she's fine. And so I, like, just sit down on the ground just to get a better look. And this woman gets in her car, and she just sits there, and she's waiting. And I was there with Luna for a couple of minutes until I realized nothing was wrong. She was just being a drama queen. And maybe her. Her paw itched a little bit. And I looked up, and this woman is just very patiently waiting. And she didn't say anything, but it was very clear. Clear that she was just hanging out on deck in case there was something wrong. In case there was something wrong. Like, her friend was in the driver's seat, and they were just chilling, waiting to make sure that my dog and I didn't need any help. And, you know, I was like, okay, I think she's good. Luna got up. She was walking fine. And they're like, okay, have a good night. And they drove off. But it was just this beautiful experience, and I don't know these people from anyone. Okay? I. And honestly, I wouldn't even recognize them if I ran into them again, because I was focused more on my dog's paw to make sure that she wasn't cut or hurt or something. Um, but. Oh, my God. Just that one act of kindness. That one act of, hey, I have your back. We're all in this together. I see you may need some help here. I have your back. And it doesn't. It's just such a beautiful reminder that it doesn't take much to have people's back, to just notice what other people around you are going through and just hang for a minute and see if you can be of service. You don't have to be overly pushy about it. Luna, the ball is over here. It went over there. It went over there, baby. You see? Okay. Things rolling under the couch, it's. It's a mess. Anyway, so that was act of kindness number one. So Luna and I just continue our walk. We're walking and we're walking past this, this restaurant that I really like. And as we walk past it, this very large man comes out, very tall, like, broad shouldered, big, intimidating guy, right? He walks out and we cross the street and he's walking the same direction. And Luna, you know, being a puppy, likes to stop and sniff everything. And so I'm apologizing to him because I'm worried that she's blocking, you know, the sidewalk. And he goes to cross the street. I'm like, oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry. He's like, oh, no. I just don't want you to feel like I'm following you. And this was act of kindness number two. And it was just such a, an elegant example of how we can be so conscientious about what our impact is, how we can do the thinking of what's going to make the people around me feel safe and what can make them feel unsafe in this moment. Sorry. My dog has a ball under the couch and she's not going to give it up about until she gets it. It's not even under the couch. It is right next to her and she thinks that is under the couch. Anyway, so I just, I thought that was just amazing. And then we get to the dog park and there are dogs there and there are dog owners there. And I start talking to this woman and I'm explaining to her about, you know, having gotten an apartment and how I'm in an Airbnb and like, it's not great. And so I'm like hoping to make the jump into my apartment even though all my stuff from California isn't going to arrive until December. And she's like, oh, well, what do you need? And I was like, like, I'm ordering like a couch and, and a bed and I'll have the basics. I just need to, like, pick up, like, some forks and knives and stuff. And she's like, oh, well, we have plenty of that. You can just come and take some of ours. And it's like, she just met me. I think we met on Halloween briefly. Her family did a haunted house, which was amazing. Through their backyard. Oh, my God, this. This neighborhood's amazing. But just such a lovely gesture. And she's like, oh, well, if you want to come back with me, like, I'll give you the stuff right now. And I was like, oh, well, I don't really have a bag for anything right now. Do you mind if we just exchange numbers and I can come by later? And she sends me a text telling me, like, when's the best time to come by to pick up some kitchen stuff to use in this little weird interim until my stuff arrives and. Luna, what are you doing? Luna, baby, stop. Luna. She's digging in this little carpet I have anyway. Luna, stop. Stop. Do you guys have dogs? Do you understand, like, the, like, drama of, like, trying to be on alive and having your dog do something that's naughty and a little destructive? Anyway, but just this. This walk, this one walk, this one evening walk, after I did a speaking event, after I had, like, a full day that was just magical. I had random people that I wouldn't know just very, very passively have my back if I needed them. I had another. Another stranger, another neighbor. Neighbor, Very conscientious, conscientiously make sure that I felt safe walking down the street without having to be asked, just doing it automatically, which I so appreciate. And if you're a man, whoever walks down the street and you walk around women, I mean, you have no idea how much of a difference that makes, because we don't want to be afraid, but it's built in. And especially if you are of a large stature, anyway, and then this. This woman, Michaela, is just super nice, just, you know, generous, you know, lending me a few forks, a few knives so that I can, you know, have some stuff in my kitchen before my stuff arrives from California? Anyway, the. The core tenants here are the. The having your back, the conscientiousness that. That compassion, and ensuring that people around you feel safe, and then generosity. And I. You know, these are things that are important to me. Really important to me. But it wasn't until this evening when they were so perfectly lined up and so perfectly. Like, the examples were so perfectly laid out for me, that I realized, oh, my gosh, like, these have to be the core tenants of my business. And the reason I wanted to bring this up is because this is my business, right? This is like these are the core tenants of my business. Your business gets to have its own, own core tenets. What are the things that, when they happen in this way that you have great, huge, like, immense appreciation for because you get to design your business around anything that you like. And if that kind of stuff lights you up and makes you feel so appreciated and so held by the universe, I guarantee the same things will do it for your clients. And so you consciously creating that in your business will attract more clients that are the perfect fit for you. Just like I know that the clients that I have, the clients that I attract will also be lit up by being made to feel safe, by having someone have their back, and by having someone be generous in a really creative and kind way. Anyway, short and sweet. I'm exhausted. I'm going to bed. I lied. I have a couple emails I have to write still that I was slacking on. But anyway, thank you for joining for this little rambly story of mine this evening. I'll be back to making more sense tomorrow. But anyway, for now, I hope you have a great final stretch of the week and I will talk to you soon. Katie McManus, business strategist and leadership coach. I'll talk to you soon. Bye.
