They all wanted to get to the top, and most would do whatever it took to get there. The corporate ladder was slippy and many would be more than happy to push the dagger deep into another's back and then smile like nothing happened. Greed will do that to a person.

The middle managers at Coroltra Enterprises were told that they were all going to be interviewed for the senior job that had come up. Most wanted it. Each had a reason ranging from status to financial gain. Tony was unsure about applying, as he was actually quite happy doing what he did and he got on with everyone and got about his job. He did not like to get into office politics and would never speak ill of people behind their backs like others. He thought it through and figured that his family could do with the extra money, so he prepared for the interview like the others.

As the weeks went by, competition was fierce and many stayed back late after work preparing meticulously. It seemed they even competed to see who would leave the office last. Tony did not do this, he worked hard all day, but each day at 5:30pm he left and picked up his kids and spent the evening with them, after all home life should get just as much attention as work life.

The day soon came for the interview and many left the room scratching their head with a look of puzzlement. Tony walked in and although nervous he felt he had done well up to this point. The interviewer then asked him:

"Do you know the lady how cleans the office each morning and evening?"

"Yes" Tony replied

"What's her name?"

"Helen"

"Correct and what can you tell me about Helen?"

"Well she lives across Town near Baileysbush, she has three children Johnny, Alan and Sharon and she is a big fan of Dancing on Ice and all of those dance shows. She really is a lovely person, I speak with her most mornings"

With this Helen walked into the office, though this time not dressed in her cleaning clothes, but rather a very smart office suit. It turned out that Coroltra Enterprises had been bought out and the buyer was Helen.

She wanted to know what really went on at the company, so she pretended to be the cleaner while watching how everyone behaved. Helen stepped over and shook Tony's hand.

"Welcome to the Senior Management Team Tony. Did you know that not one other candidate knew my name, because they assumed that the cleaner did not deserve their time or respect. You on the other hand made me feel welcome and talked to me every day and demonstrated to me that you know the importance of relationships, even the seemingly tiny ones. Well done and welcome to the team"

Five Minute Free Writes

It's been six days since my last Freewrite so let's have another crack I thought before getting stuck into the above! I set a timer of five minutes to write mine with no edits.

So, do you know about Free writes? When I first arrived on Hive or the previous chain, I would often struggle for ideas on what to write about, and there were two writing initiatives that really helped - one was called #fiftywords where you could use only fifty words to tell a story about a prompt word and the other was #freewrite which basically sets a challenge of writing a mini story within 5 minutes. I regularly took part in both, and people like @mariannewest and @felt.buzz and loads of other brilliant people, so every now and then I see a post from @mariannewest and think to myself, go and do a freewrite. I hope to continue to pop in every now and then to say hello.

Maybe you've never heard of the freewrites yourself, and if that is the case, I'd encourage you to have a go, read about todays prompt and how to enter below and above all else mind yourself and have a great day - smile, rub a dog, help a stranger and just be a nice human.

@mariannewest/day-1943-5-minute-freewrite-thursday-prompt-tiny-relationships

The photo used is not my own and was sourced on https://pixabay.com

Thanks a million for stopping by

Peace out.