The dentist looks inside the patient’s mouth. She completes her examination, makes an assessment and proposes treatment. The proposed treatment considers only two things. What’s going on inside the patient’s mouth and his ability to pay.

The dentist knows she can fix the problem. She wants to do a good job. This is the work she’s trained for twenty years to do. But her training hasn’t equipped her to see that treatment isn’t only about executing flawless fillings. A good dentist assesses the mouth, then fills the tooth to relieve the pain. A great dentist looks the patient in the eye and understands why he’s worried about having a broken tooth before she thinks about drilling.

Proficiency and competence are a given. What patients, clients and customers want is someone who has the talent to see their problems in context. A professional who knows that they are more than the sum of their challenges and the contents of the wallets.

Image by My Future.