What would you consider your motto?

Do unto others as you would have done unto you This is not really a motto but a saying that has been around for thousands of years. In the Christian religion it is recorded in the Bible and is known as the "Golden Rule" but the same belief is held in all the major religions of the world including the Islamic, Judaic and Hindu faiths. The belief obviously is from the very earliest times of mankind and I think is a way of ensuring that people get along with each other and don't do things that may cause hurt.

This might be to friends or family or people in general. I have personally tried to take it one step further and that is to try to maintain equality whether it is dealing with the family or with people I have dealt with in my career. When I was working at Vancouver General Hospital the organization got into trouble with the Government and the Board and Chief Executive were dismissed and I was asked if I would take on the role of Acting President.

I did this for best part of a year and had to deal with al sorts of crises, particularly with a badly divided Medical Staff. When I eventually turned over the reins to the newly appointed President I had two letters, one from each side in the dispute, saying thank you for listening to their concerns and being even handed in the resolution of their issues. Those letters meant a great deal to me. This response has got a bit serious so I will repeat the Smartie story.

When we had rationing in England in the 1950s we could only buy a certain amount of candy a month and my father would usually bring home Smarties. It was normally a Friday night when he would divide the haul between my brother and me exactly down the middle, so many reds, greens, browns and so on. Any odd ones he would eat to stop Philip and I arguing at the end of the share out that one had more reds or yellows or whatever. That's probably where I learned it all.