The Power of Simple

There’s a deli around the corner from my office.  Open for breakfast and lunch. One of our employees ran over to pick up a late lunch one day only to find the place closed and the counter person locking the door.  She asked what time they closed and the middle aged woman replied,”We close at two, but if you ever need a sandwich, just knock on the door. We’re here to give people food.”  Wow.  Imagine if every business (and employee)  in America had such clarity of purpose, and with that clarity the willingness (and ability) to bend the “rules” or simply do whatever it takes to deliver on the purpose.   Now theoretically mission statements and job descriptions are the standard clarifiers of purpose, for a company and its employees.  The problem is that both tend to contain so much that they contain nothing at all.  And part of the reason they contain so much is because companies aren’t really clear why they exist (other than to make money) and aren’t really clear what they want from their employees (other than work).  So they just load up the list of expectations creating a muddy mess of impossible accomplishment and in doing so create a lovely accountability exit strategy for everyone.  Because if we’re not clear why we (or you) exist and/or the list of reasons is impossibly long, no one can hold us to it.  Perfect!

Perhaps in our quest to create more value for our employers and more value for the customers of our companies we need to begin with the simple question of “Why do we exist?”.  And we need to answer it in as few words as possible.  For my company and my business partner and I, I think the answer is the same:  ”To help people”.  For our clients we provide the help of honest partnership, of effective communications, of objective counsel, of resources that are available to solve any problem.  For our employees we provide the help of an environment that allows them to be true to themselves, to learn, to grow, to share, to laugh and cry.  For our suppliers we provide them with the help of appreciation, of context, and of the clarity of expectations and communication that lets them know how well they are doing meeting them.  For our community, we provide the help of support, leadership, and creativity.

So as we move forward as a nation, as companies, as families and as individuals looking to repair ourselves, to regain our strength and momentum, perhaps we should first ask the question “why do we exist?”. And once answered we should do whatever we can to deliver on that purpose.

We’re here to give people food.