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Business leaders who can spot their customers' moments of dissatisfaction and vulnerability - and take decisive action to support those customers - will have no trouble differentiating themselves from competitors. Offering to help someone in a difficult time is its own goal and reward. It also has the side effect of being good for business.
The end of projects: In most organizations, the end of a project is commemorated by the immediate start of a new one. But it's useful to provide closure. For inspiration, consider that Steve Jobs once held a mock funeral onstage for the death of Mac Operating System 9: "Mac OS 9 was a friend to us all. He worked tirelessly on our behalf, always hosting our applications, never refusing a command, always at our beck and call, expect occasionally when he forgot who he was and restarted."
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Here's our three-part recipe to create more moments of elevation: (1) Boost the sensory appeal; (2) Raise the stakes; (3) Break the script. Usually elevated moments have 2 or 3 of those traits.
The Trial of Human Nature has all 3 parts: (1) Sensory appeal: the costumes. the real courtroom. (2) Raised stakes: One side will win and capture the glory. (3) Break the script: Everything about the Trial defies the normal rhythms of school.
Imagine that you have a good idea that you want other people to support. What would you do? You'd try to sell them on it: I've explored a lot of different ideas, and this is the best one, because it's supported by a mountain of evidence, and other people who have embraced similar ideas have profiled immensely, and did I mention that it's incredibly easy to implement?
Your focus, in other words, would be on the virtues of the solution. But in the stories we've seen so far in this chapter, you'll notice that no one is talking about solutions. Kamal Kar did not tout the virtues of latrines. Microsoft's Scott Guthrie did not pitch a new feature set for Azure.
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You can't appreciate the solution until you appreciate the problem. So when we talk about "tripping over the truth," we mean the truth about a problem or harm. That's what sparks sudden insight.
The most common trait you will consistently observe in accomplished people is an obsession with completion. Once a project falls into their horizon, they crave almost compulsively, to finish it.
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"If we can take four steps in a process and reduce it to one, let's do it! If employees have great ideas for making something better, let's hear them! If a patient complains about something, let's make it a priority and fix it!"
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