Life is too short to work without purpose
How often do you own up to some professional or personal weakness? Have you mustered a level of humility to ask questions, seek help or be mentored on some things that you are not knowledgeable about? What difference do you want to make in the world? What do you really stand for? Do you bring our purpose to life with reticence?
It can be said that you are a purposeful, competent, strong-willed person if you recognize that you don’t have all the knowledge and skills you need, and then do something to take care of the gaps. You can be labeled as an “open-minded strategist.” You accumulate gains and accomplishments by unashamedly recognizing your shortcomings and adopting an inquisitive mind. In the process, you are able to generate the helpful answers to your questions, and generate the wealth of information that makes you wiser and more effective in what you do.
You have a high level of self-esteem if you unashamedly seek guidance from superiors, or support from subordinates in doing things that you are not so comfortable about. The case in point to illustrate how to muster self-confidence is the meteoric success story of Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield of the now internationally recognized brand, Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. It is a classic example of business built around the concept of “linked prosperity,” which ensured that all employees shared in the profits of the corporation from its very inception. Despite the warnings and criticisms that this business philosophy would not work, the maverick ice-cream makers remained true to their “put your money where your heart is” ideals.
While they knew that their maverick ways might limit their profits, they believed that customers would gladly and willingly pay a little more for high-quality products if they remained humble and respected the company’s strong business ethics and commitment to social and environmental responsibility. The unconventional approach worked, and the rest is marketing history.
After nearly 20 years of success, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield found themselves in a difficult situation. The consumer demand for their product was escalating so rapidly they could not keep up with it. With the company’s skyrocketing sales, the partners did not feel that they could competently steer the operation through this period of runaway growth. Ben and Jerry were in touch with their feeling of incapability. They admitted their insufficiency to grow the business all by themselves. They knew what they didn’t know, “the lack of adroitness to manage the next phase of their company’s growth,” and as such sought help to move it. After an extensive professional search, they hired Robert Holland Jr. as the new chief executive officer.
Holland believed in Ben & Jerry’s values-based business philosophy, and steered the company through its big growth stage with leadership and poise. He expanded the operation to many new international and domestic locations, introduced new products, and saw to it that the new production plant was running smoothly. Ben and Jerry’s decision to hire outside help proved the power of practicing strategic humility, one of the most difficult aspects of making things go right. As difficult as it may be, there are sound motivations for admitting to yourself that you don’t know everything you need to know to succeed in your business and in life.
Ben & Jerry’s has a “brand purpose,” and they see it as the best way to start down the path of creating meaningful marketing. They consciously made the decision of “Why We Exist,” which helps them create relationships that people choose to engage with, and strategic humility communications that improve people’s lives. Ben & Jerry’s story provides an inside view on how business can succeed in terms of profit and purpose. There are other classic examples: Southwest “democratizes air travel,” BMW exists to “enable people to experience the joy of driving,” and Walmart “makes people save money so they can live better.”
On a personal basis, humility and purpose, far from signifying weakness or low self-esteem, signal extraordinary maturity and self-assurance. Recognizing and acknowledging your limitations and knowing where you want to go and what you want to do allows you to replace pessimism with optimism. Things can only go right if you close the gap between what you know and what you don’t know, and bring meaning to what you do. This means enlisting the help of others who know what you don’t know or who can do what you can’t do, and point directions to life driven by a purpose. Here are other lessons in humility and purpose that can be easily applied to your own life:
• Say, “I don’t know” when you truly don’t know. Cut the pretension that you know how to do something, then embarrass yourself when you can’t perform. Whenever you discover a gap, seek the help of others. There is no point feeling uncomfortable about it. Ben & Jerry’s case demonstrates this point clearly.
• Try to consider both sides of the coin as you move towards your goal. Disney animator Chuck Jones undoubtedly admitted he couldn’t draw like Leonardo da Vinci, his idol, but he could fashion cartoon characters that leapt from the screen into viewers’ hearts. This self-awareness led Jones to fame and glory, bringing to worldwide fame many fanciful and fun characters like Wile E. Coyote, the Roadrunner, Pepe Le Pew, and Marvin the Martian, among others. These magnificent creations won him three Oscar awards, establishing him as a superior practitioner of the craft. Paradoxically, you may know less than you think and more than you realize. You should try to consider both sides of the coin as you move towards your goals.
• Reverence provides deep meaning. It is a simple call to respect others so they will respect you. You will not lose respect when you ask help from others. Have you ever accepted as gospel truth the opinions of a your boss just because of his rank? Conversely, do you ever dismiss the opinions of people under you because they are underlings? Does reliance on the opinions of those above or below you lower or raise your self-esteem? Respect engenders respect. It gives value to your existence. People you ask for assistance will usually admire you for owning up to your shortcomings and trying to overcome them.
• Each day provides an opportunity to learn something new. Look at life as a never-ending learning experience. At any point in your continuing education, you should never, ever say, “That’s all I really need to know.” You should not be surprised to find out that someone knows more about a subject than you do, even if you are acknowledged as a leading expert on that subject. Constantly see yourself as a student who every day goes to school eager to gain new knowledge and skills.
• Act every day as a student-teacher. Remain open to teach, coach and mentor others who may need your help. View yourself through the eyes of others and see yourself as they see you. Aim to be a positive role model. A good teacher never abandons the role of a student, and every good student accepts the role of teacher to those who need help.
• Life is too short to work without purpose. Bookstore shelves are filled with books about finding your personal purpose. But truth be told, the vast majority of your time is consumed by your work life. Whether you’re a company president or an executive assistant, your time, energy and talent for the most part will be spent in the service of your work. So why not make it worthwhile?
Will you have a ready answer the next time somebody asks, “What do you do?” You know you’re onto something when you can humbly proclaim the higher meaning of your work. Can you, in all meekness, say, “I do work in the service of people”?
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