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| This article was published on: 03/01/2008 Last Word With Dov Seidman It's All About 'How' Dov Seidman, founder and CEO of the business ethics company LRN, talks about the importance of how we do things in today’s hyperconnected, hypertransparent world. Q: You emphasize that business practices have changed from “what” to “how.” Explain the shift. SEIDMAN: In many ways, what was old is new again. We used to do business in very small towns, where we were acutely aware of the value of our reputation and where anything we did quickly spread around town. In a transparent, connected world, we’re back in a small town again. The emphasis is not just on managing our reputation but actually earning it—by keeping one promise at a time and delivering on our commitments. That, I believe, is the essence of being able to succeed today. We find ourselves with a unique opportunity: Instead of just outperforming the competition, we can outbehave them. Q: How do you outbehave others? SEIDMAN: The mark of anyone in a professional services business is ultimately consistency. Our ability to be consistent in business and in life is the hallmark of our ability, I believe, to succeed. We do that by getting our “house” right — meaning how we treat others and our abilities to be honest and keep our promises. Q: How do we build and sustain long-term success? SEIDMAN: First and foremost is to not pursue it directly but to pursue significance. In the end, the real estate business is not about transactions and houses — it’s about people’s lives. When we understand that we’re playing an important role in the aspect of people’s lives that is probably more important to them than anything else — their home, their ability to make memories, have experiences, and pursue their dreams — and we connect with these larger terms of what the business is about, I think this will guide how we treat people. Q: Why don’t the old rules work anymore? SEIDMAN: What we do is no longer differentiating. We are not going to get ahead by simply bringing a property to someone’s attention — that will come just as readily online or though another real estate associate. We still need to do all the things we once did, but they don’t assure victory — they just keep us in the game. The ability to stand out and uniquely add value depends on finding a new place and dimension to do that, and there’s an opportunity to differentiate by doing things differently. I think it’s axiomatic that in a connected, collaborative world, those who connect and collaborate most powerfully get to win. Q: How can we innovate in our interactions with others? SEIDMAN: I’ll give you an example. There’s a guy who sells doughnuts in New York. He sells three times the doughnuts of his competitors, even though they each have an equally fresh and tasty doughnut. But he put a tray out and let customers make their own change for their purchases. He’s able to serve more customers because he isn’t counting change, and they have a better experience because they feel he is extending trust. They repay that trust with loyalty by coming back day after day. He found a new way to connect with customers by saying, “I trust you.” The question is, how can we all be like that doughnut guy? Q. You say the ability to engender trust in our relationships through how we do what we do is the cornerstone of our ability to get ahead and get what we want. Why? In a transparent world, the only thing we can control is how we do what we do, how we behave, how we live our lives, and how we conduct ourselves professionally. Those who get that will turn the conditions of transparency to their advantage. It will quickly dawn on them that “I have a chance to earn a reputation for keeping more promises, for being more consistent, for being reliable, for truly putting my client’s interest above the deal, and truly internalizing what the client is trying to achieve and doing everything I can to deliver that,” and earn a reputation for so doing. Dov Seidman is the author of How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything . . . in Business (and in Life), John Wiley & Sons, 2007.  LINKS HOW Online
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