Page 36 - How to Drive the Bottom Line with People

Built to Serve

I picked up another rock and did a little hook shot,
and that rock went into the bucket, too.

Then he said, “Well, how many of those can you
do in a row?”
As daytime became nighttime, the rocks disap-

peared one by one, and my imaginary basketball game
kept me thoroughly entertained.
It was a lesson worthy of an Ivy League diploma—
a glimpse into the way people are wired. I have often
reflected on this lesson while educating corporate lead-

ers on the difference between advertising and market-
ing. When my grandfather told me rocks needed to be
12
= picked up in the garden, he was simply advertising the

fact we had rocks in the garden.
However, when he convinced me the bucket was a
basketball hoop and the rocks were basketballs, he
was marketing something different. Once I made his
perspective on the job my own, I enjoyed getting the

job done because the garden of rocks was now the
basketball court at Madison Square Garden, and I was
the star forward of the New York Knicks. What

seemed torturous, frustrating, and discouraging actu-
ally turned out to be a highlight of my summer’s stay.
People-centered cultures are focused on marketing the
work, not on advertising work that needs to be done.