Making it Better

by Don Harkey

I had an interesting morning. I attended a local event sponsored by the Springfield Business Journal (SBJ) called "12 People You Need to Know". The monthly event introduces one local person of interest and allows the attendees to ask question. This month, it was Ron Spigelman, director of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra.

Ron is a very passionate fellow. He approaches every aspect of his job with a contagious enthusiasm. He talked not only about directing a symphony, but also listening to the community. He even talked about how he personally calls patrons who don't renew their membership to find out what he can do better.

The moderator, Eric Olson, editor of the SBJ, asked Ron a simple question. What do you think about just before you walk on stage? The answer was surprising.

Ron replied that he thinks about the upcoming performance as an opportunity to make the world a better place. The Springfield Symphony including all of its associated groups performed 85 times last year. Can you imagine considering every one of those 85 performances as an opportunity to make the world a better place?

Ron explained. The people in the audience came with varying expectations. Some are frequent attendees while others may be hearing a symphony for the first time. All of these people have their own lives outside of the symphony. Ron sees each performance as an opportunity to give those people something. Maybe they were down and needed an escape to relax. Maybe they will leave feeling inspired. Maybe a young person in the audience will launch lifetime love of playing an instrument.

What a powerful philosophy! Imagine going to work each day thinking, "How can I make the world a little better today?" Would it change the way you interact with people? Would it change the way you do your job? Is it even possible?

Now expand that philosophy to everything you do. Imagine the power!

OK. It may seem like a stretch that you are truly "changing the world", but I believe that we all change the world every day in ways we don't imagine. When I was in college, I wrote an encouraging letter to a friend of mine who was still in high school. I didn't think much about the letter and I don't remember what the letter said. Years later, another friend was visiting the first friend and found my letter hanging on her wall. He asked her about it and she said that it really inspired her to really do well in high school, go onto college and really work hard. She felt that it gave her confidence.

The letter was a very small gesture, not unlike the hundreds of gestures we make in a week. If you keep the perspective that each of these interactions is a chance to make the world a little better, you will likely succeed!