Business Communication, Third Edition

SQ3 What kinds of messages build goodwill in business relationships?

Goodwill is a term used to describe the attitude of friendliness and caring that is central to creating, solidifying, and maintaining relationships. Building and sustaining positive working relationships through goodwill is critical to your productivity and career success.¹⁰ Linda Hudson, president of BAE Systems, the largest military vehicle business in the world, explains that, “It’s incredibly important to realize that relationships define everything that we do, and it’s . . . the quality of those relationships that makes an organization work.”¹¹ Because relationships are ...