Why 'How' Matters More Than Ever

New columnist Dov Seidman says human connections are key in a hyperconnected world—no matter whether you're a doughnut maker or a doctor

By Dov Seidman

In the 21st century, how we do what we do matters more than what we do. Products and services remain vital, but they now take a backseat to human connection. This principle is central to thriving in our hyper-connected world, and I believe it applies to all levels of human endeavor and business interactions.

Consider Ralph, a New York City doughnut maker, who captured the attention of blogger Jason Kottke. When Kottke handed a dollar bill to Ralph in exchange for a 75¢ glazed donut, Ralph pointed to a pile of change scattered on the counter and yelled "Next!" Kottke downed his doughnut while marveling that all of the customers who followed him either gave Ralph exact change or made their own change, as he had done. It seemed to Kottke that Ralph was serving an extraordinary number of customers. Kottke confirmed his hunch by visiting other doughnut vendors nearby. On average, the competitors spent twice as much time with each customer—and served half as many.

Ralph's innovative business approach—in economic terms, he reduced his transaction costs by substituting trust for the labor of making change—serves as an important illustration. Ralph could not differentiate his business based on his baking skills; his doughnuts are good, but so are those baked by his competitors. Nor could he win on price or doughnut-baking efficiency because the doughnut makers across the street could match him on both of these counts as well. Efficiently baking delicious, competitively priced doughnuts is necessary, but no longer sufficient to thrive. So, Ralph found a way to "outbehave" his competitors by using trust to forge a deeper connection with his customers.

Evolving Our Networks of Association

Like Ralph, each one of us has daily opportunities to innovate in how we connect and collaborate with customers, colleagues, and other stakeholders. Moving from a "what" mindset to "how" one requires a major shift in perspective, because individuals and businesses have been pursuing "what" for hundreds of years. But if we intend to thrive, rather than merely survive, in the 21st century, we need to reframe our orientation.

First, we now live in a hyper-connected world. Communications technology has joined us together across time, distance, culture, and country faster than we have developed frameworks to understand one another. How do you write an e-mail to someone if you do not know whether he treats a cow as a sacred object or lunch? In a connected world, it's essential to create strong connections with others—to reach out, build trust, enlist others in a vision, and share passions. To thrive in a hyper-connected world, we need to evolve our networks of association.

Second, hyper-connectivity has created hyper-transparency. The quantum leap in our access to information about almost everything has dramatically changed the playing field in almost every way, in life and business. No longer can we shade the truth, fib a little on our résumé, or tell one customer one thing and another something else. It has become too easy to compare notes, check backgrounds, and subpoena e-mails. As individuals and organizations, we no longer control the story that is written about us.

Looking at More, Looking Deeper

Instead, we can only control how we behave, which is the primary influence on how our story is told by others. Think how easy it is to peer into the inner workings of a company today. Chat rooms, online forums, instant access to financial reports and transactions, 24-hour news coverage from around the globe; almost nothing goes unreported.

Because there is more to look at, we want to look deeper. For companies, simply having a vision and mission no longer suffices because people can see whether our behavior is consistent with our vision and mission. As a result, we have begun to judge people and companies in different ways. We now expect a higher level of transparency from everyone and every company.