Kindness is one of the simplest acts we can offer others, and yet it often leaves the deepest mark. A kind word, a generous gesture, even a smile at the right time can shift someone’s day—or their life. 

What makes kindness so powerful is not only its immediate effect, but also its infectious nature. One act inspires another, and before long, it ripples outward in ways we can’t always see.

No one understood this better than Norm Polsky, the founder of Fixtures Furniture, who I met when I worked for Contract magazine in the 1980s (shown above with his wife Elaine). 

Norm was quite a character. Even in his 80s after he’d sold his company, he was still attending trade shows, often dressed in a maroon jumpsuit and black Velcro shoes. 

No matter what clothes he wore, pinned to his chest was a message he carried everywhere: a button that read, “Kindness is Contagious—Catch It.” Right next to it, he wore an AIDS awareness pin.

Norm didn’t just wear the message—he lived it. He carried stacks of those kindness buttons and handed them out to everyone he met: colleagues, customers, strangers in elevators, taxi drivers. 

At one time, I probably had 3-4 of Norm’s kindness buttons, but I can’t find any of them.

Handing out buttons wasn’t just a quirk; it was Norm’s way of reminding people that kindness isn’t abstract. It’s a daily choice; one that can spread like wildfire when we let it.

Norm’s kindness campaign also wasn’t about grand gestures. It was about planting little seeds: a button, a smile, a laugh. Seeds that would sprout in unexpected places.

Kindness isn’t just about being “nice.” It’s about showing up for others with humanity and compassion, no matter how small the act may seem. 

In business, friendships, and everyday interaction with strangers, kindness builds trust and connection. It softens the edges of a hard day. It creates the kind of culture where people feel they matter.

In a world that can often feel divided, Norm’s maroon jumpsuit, warm smile, and pocket full of buttons stand out as a gentle challenge: to choose kindness, again and again. Because kindness is, in fact, contagious—and the more of us who “catch it,” the better this world will be.