Why Are You Doing That?

In Malcom Gladwells Tipping Point, he tells the story of Joan Ganz
Cooney a television producer during the late 1960s. Using television,
she wanted to improve literacy among children from disadvantaged homes
giving them a leg up prior to the beginning of elementary school.
Starting early with three-, four-, and five-year-olds she was
determined to counter the prevailing epidemics of poverty and
illiteracy. She called her idea Sesame Street.A fascinating book Start
With Why by Simon Sinek, taught me that understanding Why we do things
is much more important than What we do or How we do it. Would it have
made a difference in the success of Sesame Street if Ms. Cooney had
simply wanted to create another show for television? Simon says that
"People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it."A few years
ago, I had the opportunity to talk with a young orthopedic surgeon who
owned seven very successful sports medicine offices. He staffed his
offices by always being observant of the service he received wherever
he went. When he was taken care of by someone with a genuinely sincere
attitude of caring and helpfulness, he made a note. He would revisit
the establishment at least 2-3 times to ensure the attitude was a
lifestyle. Once he was confident that person would compliment his
office staff, he approached with an offer of employment.The offer was
simple: come to work at one of his locations and work around
like-minded people. He would pay a higher wage than any similar type
establishment, with a promise of a workplace where they could enjoy
coming to work everyday. Why he did this became obvious to me. He
created the best possible environment for and with his hand-picked
employees, which resulted in the best possible healing environment for
his patients. He smiled as he added that his employee turnover rate
was almost zero.When I understand why I do things in my life, I begin
to get a different perspective. It's easy to answer what I do and how
I do it, but answering why is sometimes a little more difficult but
much more eye-opening.Why did I write this blog? Because I wanted to
share an amazing insight with you, in hopes that you'll find it as
interesting and helpful as I did. Let's all help each other
succeed.Larry Braccio