“ Humility, that low, sweet root, from which all heavenly virtues shoot.”

Thomas Moore, Irish poet, satirist, statesman

Humility is the most powerful paradox in business. Humility means that you are willing to see the world in terms larger than yourself: “No man is an island … a part of the main,” in John Donne's words.

Defining the world in terms broader than oneself is the foundation of the customer value focus—seeing value through the customer's eyes. It means understanding that what you sell is value received, not just value added. Defining value in someone else's terms means that you recognize the importance of accepting another's point of view.

Humility means that you are willing to subordinate your ego to a cause greater than yourself. As a leader, it means subordinating yourself to a cause bigger than you. As a salesperson, it is subordinating your personal interests to the greater cause of serving customers. It's that attitude: It's all about the customer.

Humility is a prerequisite for being a great team member. It's impossible to play a viable role on a team without admitting there is something more important than self. Effective team members subordinate themselves to the team, setting aside personal agendas for the greater good of the team. As clichéd as it sounds, there is no “I” in team.

Humility is the requisite quality of growth and development. It's impossible to grow without first admitting that you can grow. Those who feel they are good enough the way they are and see no need to change may be thumbing their noses at the rest of the world, telling everyone else that the world must adapt to them.

Customers have a word for companies and employees that feel pride without humility—arrogant. It's important to feel pride in the organization for which you work. Balancing your pride with an equally strong measure of humility means that you open yourself for growth while admitting that the world spins on an axis separate from yours.

Humility keeps us edgy in a positive way. It's how we sustain the lead. It means that we do not allow ourselves the excess of arrogance. Those who embrace humility recognize that they can get better and will strive to make that a reality. Those who embrace humility as a virtue see the world from different vantage points. What message do we communicate to others when we fail to see things from their point of view?

Humility in business means sharing the credit for a job well done. It is offering others their due praise. It means understanding your ideas from another person's perspective. It is being a part of something bigger and better than you. Humility means not taking yourself too seriously. No one in business is indispensable. The stark reality is that business will go on tomorrow with or without us.

In his popular book, The Purpose-Driven Life, Rick Warren said this about humility: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.”