In ancient China, there was a miracle doctor who was believed to have magic hands. Patients he touched would recover quickly from severe illnesses. His reputation went as far as the imperial palace. After bringing the emperor back to life from his deathbed, the doctor was bestowed with lavish gifts and wealth enough for the rest of his life.
Later, the doctor praised his two older brothers who were far superior doctors than him. Nobody could believe this. He explained: my middle brother cures patients before they had obvious symptoms. My oldest brother is the real genius. He nurtures the condition for health, so people under his care don’t get sick. But I am much more famous than they are because people are easily impressed by the difference I make and they are happy to pay me much more when they are in pain.
Today, we are still wired to focus on problems. Yes, we gradually move from the symptom to the root cause end of a problem, nonetheless, we focus on problems. We start a business by asking: What is customer’s “pain point”? What if there is no “recognized” pain? Then there is no gain ($$$). For the sake of profit, some industries continuously manufacture problems, needs or lack in our psychic, so we become dependent on external solutions. Without these perceived problems, many current products and services have no reason to exist.
What if we put our energy, time and resources in creating the condition for wellbeing instead of seeking problems for our solutions? What if team conflicts, employee dissatisfaction, market volatility are not problems to be solved, but symptoms of problematic organizational and social structures? What if we can eliminate all of these symptoms by creating the right conditions? The answers are already within us.
