This month, my husband and I purchased a new home. During the process of selling our old house and buying our current one, we experienced plenty of ups and downs. However, we received a lesson in patience, faith, and trust.
When the first interested party to buy our old house had their financing fall through in underwriting, we were devastated that we could not move forward with purchasing our dream home. However, a strange and wonderful thing happened. The sellers, who were not pressed to move, offered to take their house off the market for six months to wait for us to sell ours. Luckily, it did not take six months, or even one month. A week later, we had another offer which came to fruition, and we could move forward and get excited about our new home.
During this time, the sellers emailed us pictures of the wildlife on the property and the trees changing color so we wouldn’t have to wait almost a year to see what the property looked like in autumn. On the day we closed, they walked with us through the entire house and property, showing us how to use all of the amenities. They left us with stocked with plenty of extras for the home and fresh flowers on the counter. They were so gracious, and it really made the moving process a more personal experience, not just a business transaction.
What would happen if we treated every “business transaction” with such care? In his book How, Dov Seidman emphasizes that in business today, it’s not what you do that sets you apart, it’s how you do it. The “what” can be a dime a dozen, but the “how” is where you add value and create a meaningful experience for those that you encounter in your professional or personal life.