Heart, Soul and Mind

February 22, 2017

One of my favorite verses of the Bible is that of the greatest commandment. When asked, Jesus said that we should love God with our all of our heart, soul and mind. The delineation of the three parts that make up the human being and how all three must be aligned is critical in the lesson. Running a successful business requires alignment of a company’s heart, soul and mind – it’s sales organization, leadership, and operational excellence.

Heart = Sales Organization

The “heart” of any organization is the sales organization. The sales pipeline is the heartbeat that needs to be kept beating. The sales organization is the engine that keeps your company relevant. The sales organization helps you understand competitive issues, and is the face to your customers. Just as in good heart health, the sales organization’s needs to be taken care of to ensure that it can continue to pump revenue into your company. Without a strong heartbeat, the company is in peril.

Soul = Leadership

The “soul” of an organization, often referred to as vision or mission; if there is not true alignment and commitment at the top of the leadership organization, corruption of the soul can occur. We have seen this lack of soul in many organizations, be it Enron in the 1990’s or the corruption of the great recession in the 2000’s. The soul needs to be guarded and fed with what is good and right. If there is not a consistent foundation in leadership alignment and integrity of purpose, the company is sure to rot.

Mind = Operational Excellence

The “mind” of the organization refers to the operational excellence and the ability to execute. An organization’s talent, subject matter experts, technical resources and mastery of the organization constitute its mind. Just as with the heart, if the mind is not taken care of and nurtured, the organization can be at risk. Like dementia, many organizations have failed to notice the subtle signs of oncoming trouble. The ability of an organization to have a single mind, focused on delivering exceptional results, is critical.

You Need All Three

Understanding that the three of these cannot be mutually exclusive and they make up your organizations “being” is critical. The lessons learned in this passage remind us that true success comes in applying your heart, your soul and your mind to everything that you do.

---

About the Author

Brian Hudson is an experienced healthcare staffing executive with more than 20 years of experience in strategic leadership and healthcare staffing, including international nurse staffing. Brian brings a unique understanding of domestic and international healthcare human capital, along with staffing and solutions expertise. Brian can be reached at bhudson@avanthealthcare.com.