What's better than the Golden Rule? The Platinum Rule! - Engineer Inclusion (2024)

FAQs

Why is The Platinum Rule better than the Golden Rule? ›

While the Golden Rule encourages individuals to treat others as they would like to be treated themselves, the Platinum Rule recognizes the importance of individual differences and enables people to adapt their behavior to meet the unique needs and preferences of others.

Instead of imposing a single framework, the Platinum Rule adapts to the needs of each individual, creating a more nuanced, respectful, and effective interaction. Enter the "Platinum Rule"—treat others how they wish to be treated. Here are three compelling reasons why this principle trumps its golden predecessor.

This rule states, "treat others as they would want to be treated" and focuses on tailoring our behavior based on the individuals we interact with.

However, the Golden Rule focuses on treating others as you would like to be treated, while the Platinum Rule emphasizes understanding and considering others' individual preferences and needs in how they want to be treated.

The Diamond Rule: Do Unto Others As Someone Special Did Unto You.

Where the Golden Rule fails is that it does not take into account the differences between people. It assumes that all people want to be treated the same way. In some cases this true (i.e. people want to be treated with kindness and respect), but here are a few examples when this is not true.

The Titanium Rule: Treat others the way THEY will most easily and naturally respond. This recognizes the true nature and innate behavior of others. Covey coined this term.

The sense of agreement or universalizability demanded by the Golden Rule may take one of two forms, a negative or a positive, depending upon the statement of the maxim. For example, the negative version, taught by Confucius, states, 'Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you.

The “golden rule” is usually expressed as “treat others as you yourself would wish to be treated”. Its flaw is that it rests upon an assumption that everybody has the same desires as to how they would like to be treated … and they don't.

This has been a guiding principle across disciplines, and something we are all taught at an early age: Treat others as you would like to be treated. This guiding principle is an underlying philosophy of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Why is the platinum rule important? ›

The Platinum Rule promotes empathy and understanding as essential elements of effective communication and relationships. It encourages us to actively listen, observe, and engage with others to gain insights into their perspectives and preferences.

So the Double Platinum rule is (you guessed it), “treat others the way they don't even know they want to be treated”. To boil it down… anticipate, anticipate, anticipate. Don't just meet your customer's expectations, EXCEED them.

But if the Silver Rule says, “Don't do things to other people that you wouldn't want them to do to you,” and the Golden Rule says, “Do for other people the things that you would like them to do for you,” the Platinum Rule would say: Do unto others what they would have you do unto them.

As opposed to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you," as the golden rule states, the platinum rule asks you to "do unto others, wherever possible, as they would want to be done to them."

It is precisely because (1) It is not an 'infallible guide' to what is right or wrong; (2) It doesn't say what specific acts to do; (3) It “does not replace regular moral norms”; and (4) It asks that the moral agent do something impossible, that any version of the Golden Rule that would still be recognizable as the ...

The platinum rule pushes us to consider other people's perspectives and discover how they would want to be treated. It goes beyond the golden rule's recommendation that we base our decisions on our experiences.