I was in the middle of writing this post, when my friend @MikeCane Tweeted a blog post that hit me between the eyes. The Hole in the Soul of our Culture: part 1 from Tara Hunt is filled with great observations and challenging insights.

Here’s the fundamental point I was writing, and which she expresses so well:

Why is it that we clearly see those companies that are living their values and focusing upon the importance of the human experience performing so well – think Apple, Southwest, Google, and other obvious ones — yet, at the same time, we are so reticent to become passionate advocates of that very approach within our own organizations?

In “Collapse of Distinction,” I railed against those organizations that focus more on their competitor than their customers. I will speak about the point from the platform, see people nudge their colleagues and nod their heads…then listen as salespeople talk in the lobby about how their company has to change some things so they will be doing exactly the same thing as their competition so their rival doesn’t maintain a so-called “advantage.”

Here’s an idea: You create an advantage in the marketplace not by being like your competition, but by liking your customer.

Do something that has MEANING for them — you like them, remember?

Take a stand that matches their values — like a commitment to make some part of their lives better, more productive, more exciting, more compelling — SOMETHING! You like them, remember?

I had an audience member tell me recently he hoped I wasn’t going to speak on “all that ‘change the world’ crap.”

And, here’s the answer: I don’t think your business has to “change the world.”

Like your customer. Change THEIR world in a compelling way. It will all work out.

What did you — and your organization — do to live your values TODAY?