I just read Seth Godin’s blog entitled, “Companies don’t care about you.”  He talked about companies not being run by people who care, because “caring is unpredictable, hard to command and regulate, and sometimes expensive in the short term.”  He ends with the very poignant statement, “what a shame.”

It is sad to me to think that the ‘norm’ has become an unfeeling world, filled with companies and people who don’t care about others. And you know what–it may be shame, but I don’t really think we can generalize people like that; and what’s more, I don’t accept it.  I find that there are so many examples in our world of people who care, and I’m honored to meet more people like that all the time.  It’s their stories I want to tell, and their behavior I want to emulate, because I do care.

I was sitting next to a lady this week who overheard me talking about leadership to one of my colleagues. After I hung up, she asked me what I do, so I explained about what we do at TrainerTainment.  She talked to me about leadership and how important working together and teamwork is at work. Of course I agreed. She followed by telling me about her role as a cardiac nurse. She had been in a floor meeting recently and the ‘big bosses’ from the upper floors came down and asked her team, “How is it that you all work so well together?  What is it that has you so in tune with each other?” They replied, “That’s easy; it’s because we care.  If one of us receives a call on one of our patients, it’s like we all hear the call.  If one of use loses a patient, we all do.  We care-about our patients and about each other.”  I’m so humbled when I meet people in the medical profession who literally save lives every day, and to hear their ‘why’ is so motivating.

That nurse really made a difference in my day.  When I thought about the team they must have, and how they work together, I really got inspired about their purpose.  And then, the following day, in our quarterly TrainerTainment planning meeting, we spent some time refining some language around our core purpose-who we are.  Our team brainstormed ideas.  “We’re fun training, serious results, we’re solutions driven, we’re intentional learners,” you know all of those things we value.  But really, at the core, we are in service.  We get up every morning and think, “How can I be in service to my family, my team, my clients, and my community?” For me personally, it’s about trying to make a difference for someone today, because I refuse to accept that the world has to be a place where making a difference is too expensive to put enough effort into. I won’t shake my head and say “what a shame.”

So for our team and those we serve, when a client calls one of us, they call us all.  When one faces a challenge, we all do.  When we or one of our clients feels success, we all celebrate together.  Why? Because we care – about each other and about you.  What about your team? Do you care, and how do you show the people you serve?