When Did You Know? A 3 month journey to meet 60 influential leaders working on substantial change

Dave Ormesher, CEO, closerlook inc.

As I've begun this journey I've been focused on what problems people are trying to solve, what injustices people are working to overcome. I've been looking for projects so to speak. Dave Ormesher, CEO of closerlook, inc. reminded me that how something is done is just as important as what.

The ultimate mission of the health care marketing firm closerlook, says Mr.Ormesher, is “to change the way health care is bought and sold and delivered.”

“The theory of change I've had at closerlook for a long time is you have to touch the heart to move the mind. When change happens is when you connect your audience with life. When you can touch the heart, when you can tell a story. What we're really about is storytelling.”

The story of closerlook begins in Brehon Pub in the River North neighborhood of Chicago. I'll let Mr. Ormesher tell the story. (Please excuse the ambiance. Serendipitously enough, we were in Brehon Pub.)

Though closerlook may have roots in the weathered asphalt of downtown Chicago streets, Dave Ormesher's roots trace back to New Jersey soil, soil that nourished enough tomatoes to sell by the bushel as well as sprout Mr. Ormesher's entrepreneurial drive as a youth selling those tomatoes on the side of the road.

When Mr. Ormesher was making a sign emblazoned with 'Organic Food' in shop class while other students were making chairs. Organic farming was not as prevalent as today. However, organic farming is based on a seemingly basic approach to the earth, one based on respect. Understanding respect became the seed of closerlook.

Mr. Ormesher imagined a company that treats employees, clients and customers with dignity. The approach is simple, revolutionary and necessary.

“My hypothesis is if you treat employees with respect not only will it be a better work environment, they will actually produce more which led to this whole philosophy of don't be a screamer, if you're a boss don't be a screamer. For years I directed commercials, directed films and inevitably by the end of the day I'd come up and the the crew, the director of photography, the actors, the talent would come up to me and say 'this has been the most fun I've had in months because you're not a screamer'... It's the 'yes-and' not the 'no' or the 'cut-you-off' and you wind up encouraging and pulling from the best performance. And we feel good, we get the best performance, we all win instead of this top-down command and control ego-driven screaming at the employee and that translates into business and when you treat your team with respect they honor you by giving their best.”

His hypothesis holds true even when extended beyond employees. Take a listen to Mr. Ormesher as he explains how closerlook came to focus on health care, especially the part about domain expertise.

Domain expertise I take to mean deep listening- stepping outside of one's own experiences into the story of another. With care, with deep listening, with the dignity of the individual being expressed and/or the authentic mission of the organization being understood there is huge potential for creativity.

Marketing then becomes only as good as the listening. As a marketing firm you have to listen to your client and understand and discover their wants, their needs. Then you have to communicate their message to a broad audience.

Mr. Ormesher again.

What a marketing firm does is communicate and closerlook communicates very well. In the words of Mr. Ormesher closerlook has “become laser focused on those aspects of healthcare and even healthcare reform where we feel like we can make a real difference. A lot of its around communication, its enabling health insurance companies, pharmaceutical firms to be able to tell an authentic message. Its around wellness and how do we help consumers really get control of their health. People with diabetes, for example, how do we help them move from just being a slave to their disease to actually making the behavioral changes in their life they need to. There's huge potential there.”

Whatever a project may be, whatever relationships we find ourselves in how we communicate our experiences and understand the experience of those around us is essential. Essential to business success yes, but more than that respect, listening, communication is fundamental to our further understanding of ourselves and what we do.

When Thich Nhat Hanh was asked by Krista Tippet on a broadcast of Speaking of Faith ''Is your teaching any different if speaking to members of congress or speaking to Hollywood filmmakers or you're speaking to law enforcement officers?' he replied, 'The Practice would be the same, but you need friends to show us how a certain group of people live their life, what kind of suffering and difficulties they incur in their life so that we can understand and after that, only after that, we could offer the appropriate teaching and practice. That is why we continue to learn everyday with our practice and sharing.'

I can't help but see the same respect for the unique challenges experienced by unique groups of people related by Thich Nhat Hanh and how closerlook learns and seeks to understand the unique challenges of different organizations.

My question to you:

When was a moment when deep listening and understanding were vital to making a change in the world or solving a problem you were working to solve?

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