The Most Important Lesson

The most comprehensive perspective on a person is obtained only by activating the instinct to decipher what is not said.

"To know to observe a child… a flower…
A clear sky or the sea in storm,
A husband… a butterfly… a mother… a color…
And to often ask yourself
Why?

To know to listen to a rustle of dead leaves
The words of a teacher… a friend…
Or long forgotten fairytales.
A breath or a heart beating.
Anger, love or hate,
Zephyr or tornado… the nightingale….
The fear… or a sun
And to often ask yourself
Why?

To know to feel with your fingers,
With your eyes and ears…
With your soul… or mind.
And to often ask yourself
What is, in fact, the problem?"

Can your power to bring people together mirror that echo of memory that gives meaning to life and guarantees certainty to future actions?

Yesterday morning, while I was browsing out of simple curiosity an old medical book written by a famous professor-doctor, I found a piece of paper, carefully folded by my mother in her youth, during college, on which were written these words, verses from the professor's unpublished "lyric" that he wrote on the blackboard in his first cardiology class for the fourth year students. Parenthetically, I must confess that the teacher, during his career, has proved to be far superior to others, and as a person, and as a doctor, and as an intellectual. I would have liked a lot to meet him, because, probably, I could have learned a lot more about Human Resources, about the subtleties of people's lives, than if I would read all the books in this field, or if I interviewed all the managers in the world.

For, without a doubt, no one can know better, closer, more profoundly, clearer a man than the doctor, who comes in contact with the patients every day, he cares for them, he consults them, he tries to find a cure for their illness, and prescribing them recipes. Only him, the doctor, has to fully deal with the depths and concealments of people, with everything that is fathomless and mysterious in him; knows his most intimate secrets, the problems that affect him and preoccupy him the most, being the only one capable of deciding what it is the best for him. How much happiness, confidence and optimism can be read on a patient's face when the doctor consults him, examines him with great care, and then prescribes a treatment meant to make him better.

How do you adjust your perspective when the impact of direct experience invalidates theoretical training and allows for an authentic visualization of reality?

Nevertheless, in order to be a very good doctor, able to treat the ill patients, you must practice medicine for many years in order to develop specific senses, and in no case you should not limit yourself just to read medical books. A doctor's senses: seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, are far more developed than at ordinary people or than in those not practicing medicine. The doctor put his hand on the patient, senses his skin: is it warm? Is it cold? Is it wet? Is it dry? Is it rough? Is it soft? All these can be manifestations of certain illnesses, but, as well, they can be normal situations.

With the help of a stethoscope, he listens to the lung, liver, heart, but he must know what to listen to, because if he does not know how the heart beats normally for a healthy person, then how could he possibly distinguish a normal heart from a heart with mitral insufficiency or mitral stenosis? Nobody can learn medicine by reading books, but only practicing it day by day, by entering in contact as often as possible with the patients.

How does your clinical sense influence your visual perception when you follow the dynamics of a small gesture, knowing that the hardest detail betrays the whole?

Why? Why does the patient suffer? This is the mysterious question that a doctor must respond. Since the first contact, the doctor observes the patient: how he enters, how he pushes down the latch, how he walks, after his posture; how he presents himself: how he speaks, whether he speaks nasally, or croaky, all these can be signs of illness that the doctor must perceive with his sight, with his ear, and that is why it is important to develop his sense of observation.

Even so, how it is developed this sense of observation, because the doctor might not always have the same type of patients? Well, he can closely look to any child, to a flower, to a clear sky or at the sea in storm – which are the changes of these elements, and to find explanations for these changes; a husband, a butterfly, a mother, a color, and to often ask himself, why?

As a doctor, when you see a patient walking in a certain way, you wonder: why? But thanks to the knowledge and experience gathered through time, you know that a certain type of walking is encountered only in the case of certain illnesses, and you try looking for other elements that can support your diagnosis. This sense of observation at doctors which, as I said, must be very developed, must also be trained, not only on the patient, not only by apprehensiveness tests, but also for fun, through practice, by looking around, for anything and anyone.

You must get to feel the illness and to offer a proper cure, this is the most important thing that a doctor must do, and that is why a lot of practice and exercise are needed.

Can your will express that force of feeling refined by experience, placing the rigor of discernment at the center of your absolute success?

Managers, just like doctors, must develop their sense of observation. They must firstly observe the particularities, the nature of every employee, his own structure, his characteristic language, the habits that they have, and to be able to determine everyone's state of spirit. They must know their employees so well, that they must identify the factors that motivate or demotivate them, which are their strong points and their weak points, as well, whether they are talented or not, and, at the same time, to be able to put them on the right positions. If you do not know what exactly "hurts" the employee, how can you determine him to do a good job, to be serious and perseverant, punctual, responsible and full of energy?

A very good manager spends a lot of time together with the people of every segment of activity, in order to be able to observe the problems or complaints they have. The visual element helps the manager to quickly and efficiently see certain qualities or defects of the employees, ever since they arrive at work and until they finish their schedule, during lunch breaks, during talks, but also in their spare time - how they have fun, how they get along with their families and friends and how they act in society, in general. All these are signs that a manager must bear in mind, for his skill in working with people to develop.

If a manager observes that an employee has suddenly started not to do his work properly and no longer has a regular presence in his workplace, he must ask himself: why? Is it because of the job, because of stress and hard work, is he unsatisfied with his payment, is he ill, is he suffering of something? How can I help him, what must I do in order to change this situation?

Is your power of observation an investigation of the spirit that gives meaning to reality, transforming the resonance of experiences into the foundation of a larger work?

Conclusion: As managers, you must direct your efforts towards fulfilling your significant goals, but, at the same time, you must be careful to what happens around you. Open your eyes wide, and when something goes wrong, when the situation becomes pressing, when the employees are no longer productive, ask yourself, why? Then, try to find the safest, the most adequate, and the advantageous solutions.

Reveal your potential of relating to other people, sensing the deepest and the most comprehensive meanings of their attitude and personality.