When I was in college I worked for a large real estate company. The president of the company would have an all hands staff meeting every month where he would address the usual items like marketing and sales, but he would also address subjects that affected sales, but weren't necessarily sales related. One of my favorites was the topic he would bring up each year beginning in May..."Hot weather makes people crazy."
I personally heard that talk six times, and while we are experiencing one of the hottest summers we've had in this country I hope that Mr. Real Estate President is still giving that talk.
He would stand in front of a room full of serious real estate professionals (all wearing suits of course) and talk about cutting everyone a little bit of slack. "It is hot outside," he would say, "people are cranky and want cold beers and air conditioning. They don't want to think about serious business, they want to be swimming."
I was thinking about that yesterday when I was uncomfortably warm and very short of temper. I was agitated and uninterested in anything except being somewhere with a/c. It was an excellent opportunity to consider my reactions to the people around me, both people I know and the strangers I encounter throughout my day.
So today, when I go out into the world I'm going to take the words of Mr. Real Estate President with me and remember that I should cut people some slack, because it's hot outside and hot weather makes people crazy.
