Bottom lines and the number of hours we put in each week, these are the conventional
measures of success in business. We analyze and plan for strategic growth in order to
hit our goals.
But what is lost when we only chase the traditional measures of success? Can we ever
change the way we perceive what a successful life looks like if we stick to these
ordinary approaches?
What if we added another dimension into our evaluations of success? If we began to
ask, “Who does this work help, and how?”
Here are three changes that take place when a human-centered impact is at the forefront
of measuring success:
New Perspective on Purpose
When we begin to ask the question, “Who does this help?”, the perspective for the
business shifts from a one-dimensional business that was created for revenue as an
avenue to shape and change the world around us.
When a business incorporates a human-centered impact into their success, more
businesses will be solving new problems. They will not only be looking for the white
space to fill in the marketplace but in the problems that face the world.
Collaboration
As businesses shift towards defining their success by who they’re helping, the need for
collaboration between different organizations will grow. The more organizations work
together to bring awareness for who they are helping, the more impact can be made.
Success that includes humanity brings us together. Undoubtedly these companies will
grow in traditional measures as well by working together as they make helping others a
priority in the success of their business.
Empathy
And what happens when the question, “Who does this work help? is asked and answered daily by people around the world? Empathy becomes a new standard in the workplace and around the world.
In light of recent events, what could the world use more of? Empathy for one another.
I believe this empathy begins with small changes in the questions we ask ourselves. If
we begin to revolutionize the workplace with questioning the values in which we
measure success we can begin to impact the world.
Why would we, as humans, calculate the success of our lives by any other measure
than in the way we improved the humanity around us?