Let’s talk about the truth.

If you want your organization to succeed, you must encourage everyone – and I do mean everyone – to not be afraid of speaking up, speaking out, and speaking the truth.

I get that this can be hard, especially when you work in a corporate setting. Not everyone wants to hear the truth, let alone act on it.

Some people just don’t want to face the truth—after all, if you ignore reality, you won’t have to deal with it, right?

Wrong.

Even in the best organizations, politics that inhibit being authentic can permeate the air, stifle productivity, and prevent real and lasting solutions from being found and implemented.

Let me give you an example.

During a client meeting I sat in on, the COO encouraged everyone to speak the truth—to share openly and tell it like it is.

The problem was, no one did. You could hear a pin drop. It was clear they were terrified.

When a few people finally spoke up, they were quickly silenced by others in the room.

The COO continued to encourage people to speak up. He told them it was essential that they support each other, even if a problem affected someone else’s group or department.

It was clear to me as an observer that there was a big game of political maneuvering going on.

People were scared to speak up, speak out, or to tell the truth.

They feared for their jobs.

This company had a culture where people swept problems under the rug, even in front of their bosses, including the COO.

Fear and lying is an all-too common issue in organizations: people are afraid of repercussions, losing their jobs, being embarrassed—you name it. As long as your organization is operating in fear, you will never succeed. In fact, you will fail. Fear is a formula for disaster.

Encourage everyone – and I mean everyone – to be straightforward, to tell the truth, and to not be afraid. Without being straightforward, you can never make a difference.

Imagine the following scenario: Two companies are the same size in terms of organizational structure.

They have similar revenues, production facilities, and numbers of employees.

They are both in the same industry.

They have both implemented the same processes.

Yet, they each had vastly different results.

One company – let’s refer to them as Company A – had a return that equaled 5 times the cost of their investment in the program.

Not bad, right?

But the other company – we’ll refer to them as Company B – had a return that equaled 100 times the cost of their investment!

You heard me right—100 times!

It’s a true story. I know, because both companies were clients of my firm. Both companies got a return on their investment, but I still felt both frustrated and perplexed that Company B had done so much better.

The reason for the difference kept puzzling me—why would one company do so much better using the same processes?

I’ve helped some of the world’s best-known brands improve the way they do business, save billions of dollars, and increase their profits and revenues. I needed to know what was behind such a huge variation.

After studying the two organizations more, the answer finally became apparent to me: people.

The people at Company B had a workforce exhibited what I describe as STAR attributes: they empowered all their employees from the factory floor to the office of the CEO, to be straightforward about solving problems, thoughtful about how they treat each other, accountable to themselves and others, and resilient in solving problems and facing challenges.

Think about the power of what can happen when everyone in your organization is a STAR.

A few years ago, I met with a client at his offices in Michigan. It was a large organization, going through some turbulent times.

The organization wasn’t meeting its goals; things weren’t looking good.

Out of nowhere, my client asked me the following question:

“Subir, what do you do with a toothpick when you are done with it?”

I was stunned into silence. Where did this come from?

After a few seconds, I responded that, of course, I would throw it away.

“Exactly,” he responded.

This client then went on to tell me he had spotted a used toothpick on the floor that housed the C-suite offices of his organization.

To me, he seemed overwhelmed by a meaningless piece of garbage.

I asked him, “What’s the big deal? It’s a toothpick. Someone was just careless; it happens.”

That was exactly the point, he explained to me.

To him, that “meaningless piece of garbage” was indicative of a bigger problem: not caring.

To me, it was an “ah ha” moment.

His point was simple, yet profound: unless everyone cares, none of us care.

A caring mindset is paramount to success in work, at home, and in our communities and places of worship. If just one of us stops caring, it creates a domino effect: we all stop caring.

Think about the last time you picked up a piece of trash on the sidewalk, helped your neighbor without being asked, or thanked a co-worker for critical but necessary feedback. These are all small actions, but again, the sum is more powerful than the individual actions.

Caring has a snowball effect because little things add up.

Caring isn’t someone else’s issue—it’s your issue. It’s my issue. It’s your neighbor’s issue. It’s the CEO’s issue.

Caring starts with you: how many “toothpicks” have you picked up today?

In the past two decades, I have helped countless organizations improve their processes to find greater success. But over the years, something began to haunt me. I noticed that some organizations using the exact same process or methodology realized enormous savings, while others stumbled. I kept wondering, what is the difference?

I have found my own answers to that: it is not process alone, it is also the ‘mindset’ of each of the employees at all levels and functions of an organization that makes a big difference. In my forthcoming book, The Difference: When Good Enough Isn’t Enough I share the secrets of the ‘caring mindset’. But I wanted to know what others had to say.  I have reached out to people who inspire me, and asked them this simple question:

“What’s the one thing that made the biggest difference in your life and work?”

The answers I have received are astounding.

• David Meerman Scott reflected on a key mistake that he and many others make.
• James Altucher spoke of the types of people you need to avoid.
• Chris Guillebeau boiled it down to one shift in his mindset that changed everything.

And there are so many others. People are reaching out to me to share their experiences as they move to make a difference: in their homes with their families, at their workplace, in their communities… and beyond.

In the coming weeks, I will be sharing what people share with me under the #MyDifference hashtag on social media.

I invite you to share what has made the difference in your life. Get everyone’s attention and use the hashtag #MyDifference.

You can also join me on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to read more personal accounts of how others found a positive difference that changed their life for the better.

What is your difference?

One of the most memorable days of my life was meeting my favorite musician, Pandit Ravi Shankar, the legendary Sitar Maestro.

Nearly half a century earlier, George Harrison of The Beatles traveled to India to learn sitar from him. A friendship formed, and it reshaped aspects of The Beatles music. Likewise, Ravi’s music had a huge impact on my own life.

Ravi invited me to his home after reading one of my books; he wanted to discuss the concept of quality. We talked about his music, and our own passions. We were supposed to meet for half an hour, but ended up talking for 3 hours. He was kind to give me lots of music CDs, DVDs, and books as a parting gift.

In our conversation, he wanted to know what ‘quality’ means to me. I was surprised by his question and his eagerness to learn. I responded, “Quality to me is Ravi Shankar.”

He was pleasantly surprised by my response and asked me why. I told him, his music gives me joy when I am down; similarly when I am alone on my own, his music gives me spiritual feelings. His music made a difference for me. He is an inspiration to me.

He was so humbled by my answer, but then told me that he still did not compose ‘quality’ music. He said he was still working on it.

Within six months of our meeting, I watched with my family his last live performance in Long Beach, CA, where  he played the sitar with an oxygen tube attached to his nose. I vividly remember his promise to me about composing music of ‘quality.’

The difference he made to millions of people of my birthplace during the 1971 liberation war of Bangladesh, I will never forget.

Ravi Shankar is one of the reasons I encourage you to make a difference, and to be a difference in someone’s life.

Subir

P.S. My new book, The Difference: When Good Enough Isn’t Enough, comes out in February 2017. You can preorder it here.

I recently attended an event that included bestselling authors, and wildly successful business entrepreneurs. But this one young man stole the show for me, and helped me understand what redefining success means. Here I am with Emmanuel Kelly:

Some of you may remember him from the TV show X Factor. Rather writing his story here, please watch this 8 minute video.

I had honor of meeting Emmanuel after his performance. When I asked him about his dream, he smiled and said that he wants to be one of the top singers in the world, and will make sure that anyone can make a difference if they want to.

In his life, his mother made a profound difference in helping him pursue his goals. When I speak to so many successful people, they can often look back on a key person whose support shaped their potential.

Bill Gates recently shared a story he had never before told anyone publicly. He cited his elementary school librarian as someone who made a profound difference in h is life. She encouraged him to read and made books feel exciting and accessible to him.

Emmanuel is an inspiration to all of us, shows us that anyone — despite where they come, their circumstances, or financial means— can achieve success. When he sang, half of the audience were in their tears listening to his life story and mesmerized by his commitment to make a difference.

I would like to end with a simple question inspired by a speech Fred Rogers, of the TV Show Mister Rogers, once gave:

“Would you just take 10 seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are.”

When the 10 seconds were up, he said this:

“Whomever you have been thinking about, how please they must be, to know the difference you feel they have made.”

That “difference” is something I am obsessed with. Thank you for being on this journey with me.

-Subir