Minnesota Nice: A style of pleasantness, courtesy, cooperation, and helpfulness associated with culture; a form of Midwestern charm.

Last week I was in New York City and the “Minnesota Nice” thing happened again. I was having breakfast at a restaurant in Manhattan getting acquainted with Beth Goodman and Meryl Moss — the two PR dynamos that Hay House has engaged to promote my book to the business media.  We were chitchatting and one of them remarked how “nice” Minnesotans were. I hear that remark all the time.
Strangers tell me their stories of personal encounters of the nicest kind.  Recently I sat next to a man at dinner in Atlanta who after learning I was from Minnesota, had to tell me about his visit to Minnesota a few years ago. He and his wife were returning to their downtown Minneapolis hotel after dinner. As they were navigating their way through the complicated Minneapolis skyway system (a network of enclosed, climate-controlled pedestrian walkways that link the buildings downtown) they became hopelessly lost. There they were — late at night in a strange city trapped like a hamster in a maze of walkways. A young couple going the opposite direction stopped to offer their assistance. You can bet that having that positive experience pre-disposed them to expecting the best from Minnesotans they met during their visit.
Stereotypes don’t tell the whole story. I know plenty of nasty Minnesotans who are rarely nice. New Yorkers are supposed to be pushy and rude. That hasn’t been my experience. I found most of the people I talked with during my recent visits to be just as nice as Minnesotans. The dangerous thing about stereotyping and categorizing others is that we often get what we expect.
This week examine some of your closely held stereotypes to see how accurate they really are.