Is there a difference between “to serve” and “in service to”? As an active duty military member, I serve our nation. Am I “in service to” our nation? I get paid, I receive benefits, I have a retirement plan. As a psychotherapist, my wife serves Postpartum Support International as a volunteer regional coordinator. Is she “in service to” mothers? She doesn’t get paid, she freely gives her personal time, she has no expectation of a long-term commitment. Are we both “in service to”? Absolutely, and not because of what we receive but because why we do it.
I just read Klaus’s recent President newsletter and blog post on Global Goals , and I followed the comments our Society posted in response to his call for greater awareness and commitment to the Global Goals, and how performance improvement fits with this call to action. What his words immediately stirred in me was what it means to serve, the difference between “to serve” and “in service to”, and how we interconnect service with performance improvement to make the world better. ISPI is at a point of evolution, and it is clear our Society’s longevity is contingent upon our commitment to making the world better by creating opportunities for our membership to give back through community service, and we are starting this year!
We all have books we read that changed our lives forever. One of my favorites is Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman by Yvon Chouinard. Yvon is the founder and owner of Patagonia, an outdoor clothing company with a VERY loyal customer base, including me. In his memoir, he recounts his personal journey and commitment to leading an organization to “build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, [and] use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.” How he modeled and infused his principles and values for quality and sustainability, above quick profit and market share, profoundly struck me. At my core, I was fundamentally moved by Patagonia’s conviction to be better simply for the sake of being better…better products, better stewards, better humans. Patagonia’s commitment to be “in service to” the environment and people of the world is why I will be a loyal lifelong customer.
Craig Wilson, in his recently released book The Compass and the Nail, lays out a loyalty architecture based on an organization’s advocacy and embodiment of the organization’s “kernel” (i.e., reason for existence).
“…an organization’s structure, product, and service are really manifested uniquely only when they are principle driven and the principles that drive the end-user experience are defined by the character of the company’s reason for being – their core value, their purpose. The caveat at this juncture is to caution against thinking that this purpose is alluding to one’s mission statement and strategic vision. This is absolutely not the case. The central core value held by the organization is the essential cause that motivated the founding. It is strictly the passion that was once the kernel of inspiration that formed the entity, that drove the organization of the thing into being in the first place.”
The idea of “be better” is at the root of performance improvement and was a core tenant in the founding of ISPI. ISPI has always been about being better…better instruction, better performance, better organizations, better communities, better world. When I came to ISPI as a graduate student, it was about how I could be a better performance improvement professional. With time and experience, it became about how I could help others be better professionals. And now, as I sit on the Board working on ISPI’s evolution, I am inspired by Klaus’s and other’s call for a better world. As Klaus pointed out, this is not a new concept or action for our community. Many individuals have been working here for decades; however, has ISPI?
Recently, Rhonda Buckley (ISPI Executive Director) and I were discussing the value of ISPI. Our discussion lead us to believe that ISPI – IS Performance Improvement. That is, we as a Society must embody “Be Better”. Craig Wilson calls this Principle in Action and is viewed through the Story Universe that captures the user’s (professional’s) experience from prospect to casual to loyalist and finally to cheerleader. This happens through ISPI creating resonance of its core principle throughout the performance improvement community. Creating resonance, as Wilson explains, allows the prospects to “blink” (an acknowledgement that ISPI may be good for me), the casuals to “test” (ISPI will be right for me), the loyalists to “bond” (I’m a big fan with a long-term relationship), and the cheerleaders to “love” (I’m an advocate inside and outside the society).
For me, what are ISPI’s Principles in Action for taking a professional from prospect to cheerleader? Be a better professional…Be a better world. These fundamental beliefs are shaping ISPI’s evolution to be a better professional Society.
(See also the videos with Yvon Chouinard in the Resources section)
Part 2 of Scott’s post will follow next week
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