There’s an old story that applies to today’s business world and to practically any profession. It’s about three workers whose job was to cut stone for the building of a cathedral. Each of them saw that job in a very different way.
The first thought his job was simply to cut stone, so day after day he went to work to cut stone.
The second thought he was just earning a living from that work. In other words, what he was doing was making money to get by. And to do that, he cut stone.
The third thought his job was to help build a cathedral.
All three did exactly the same thing, but clearly they saw that work in very different ways. The third worker wouldn’t necessarily cut stone better than the other two, but he’d certainly do it more efficiently, probably with more passion, and when he got home, with more personal satisfaction, knowing that his work mattered to a final project: building a cathedral.
As a company, which of those three workers would you promote to manage other people?
Sometimes the company itself is to blame for its workers not building cathedrals and just cutting stone. The secret to success as an organisation is, without a doubt, to try to fill the workforce with plenty of people who think like the third worker in the story. That way, a company will probably achieve great things.
If we carry this story over to other professions, we’d see something I observed for a long time, especially in sales, where some salespeople saw their job as just selling. There was no empathy with the customer, nor with their own company; they were sales hitmen who thought only about closing the sale, even if they had to lie to the customer to do it.
They’re the salespeople who make sales instead of customers. That mindset means this kind of salesperson’s career is over before it even starts. What’s more, they’re a danger to the company’s image.
I’ve often seen customers say “company X ripped me off”, and as a rule it wasn’t the company but the salesperson, who left things out, exaggerated or simply lied outright to pocket the commission on that sale.
See also: The 22 commandments for being a good salesperson
The one who earns a temporary living from sales
In Spain, people often say that if you can’t do anything or have nothing better to do, “try working in sales”. It’s such a cheapened profession that it seems anyone can sell, when in fact the sales profession, just like investing in the stock market, is a whole career of learning in itself.
Anyone who goes into sales with a “stopgap job” mindset, without feeling the slightest passion for the trade and without planning to make a career of it, usually ends up frustrated before long, because it’s a job that, done well, is often mentally very tough and demands a lot of preparation, at least if you want to beat your competitors.
The salesperson who helps both the company and the customer
This salesperson “builds cathedrals”. He knows he’s building a profession and a reputation, constantly learning and improving his craft and his sales techniques, and putting together a large network of contacts and customers.
He helps his company succeed and competes constantly with rival companies. He’s a strategist, and he knows that customers bring in more money than sales, so he usually bends over backwards for them. Customers are his greatest asset, and his image and brand are everything to him.
If the other two salespeople go up against him for a customer, they’ll lose.
That’s why, as a company, you need to make sure you give your employees a purpose and make them part of a project, motivate them constantly and keep them from feeling like just another number in the company, whether we’re talking about the receptionist, the administrative staff, the accountant, the department heads and so on.
And as an employee, remember that sometimes, when you don’t like what you do, you may need to swap it for something you really enjoy. And if that isn’t possible (or you think it isn’t), remember the old saying: “If you can’t do what you love, try to love what you do.”
See also: The 3 values every company should have, according to Steve Jobs’s mentor Mike Markkula
Featured image: Johannes Franciscus Michiels, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
