“How do we make people better off by working with us?” struck me in an article on Patagonia and others' ideas. This basic issue has various applications:

• Our customers?
• Our employees?
• Our suppliers?
• Our shareholders?
• Our communities?

The most of the time, our thoughts are centered on ourselves and how we might improve things for ourselves. We as salespeople concentrate on our objectives, targets, and commissions. Only a means of accomplishing goals, not the consumer. Too frequently, as leaders, we are preoccupied with our own objectives and self. Again, our employees serve as tools for attaining these; if they falter, we look for others who will.

We often ignore our suppliers in favor of "getting the best deal," yet as we are learning in the current supply chain crises, we cannot thrive without them. For public relations or regulatory reasons, we concentrate on our communities. But when our towns fail to meet our needs, we move to another town, state, or nation.

The other aspects are what enable us to deliver outcomes for our owners, yet we spend a lot of time focused on our shareholders.

Although the question is straightforward, the solutions may not be. They compel us to pay attention to our goals, objectives, and values. They keep our value proposition in mind. They help us concentrate on our target markets, clients, and other stakeholders in our firm. They concentrate on our ability to create a work environment that people want to be a part of.

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We are forced to make decisions when we respond to this question for each of the constituencies. We are unable to satisfy the needs of all the constituencies. We must comprehend our target markets and consumers, including who they are and who is outside of them. The vendors who most closely match our goals and beliefs must be identified. suppliers who ask themselves the same question. We must live in neighborhoods that we appreciate and that value us. We must have stockholders who share our goals, beliefs, and objectives. Finally, we need individuals who personally support and strive for the same goals as ourselves.

Perhaps as we approach every day, it will be a fantastic opportunity to begin working with our shareholders, employees, customers, and suppliers to generate preliminary responses to these common queries.

Thanks to Dave Brock at Business 2 Community whose reporting provided the original basis for this story.