What Do You Do With a Toothpick?

After a few seconds, I responded that, of course, I would throw it away.

“Exactly,” he responded.

This client then went on to tell me he had spotted a used toothpick on the floor that housed the C-suite offices of his organization. To me, he seemed overwhelmed by a meaningless piece of garbage.

I asked him, “What’s the big deal? It’s a toothpick. Someone was just careless; it happens.”

That was exactly the point, he explained to me.To him, that “meaningless piece of garbage” was indicative of a bigger problem: not caring.

To me, it was an “ah ha” moment. His point was simple, yet profound: unless everyone cares, none of us care. A caring mindset is paramount to success in work, at home, and in our communities and places of worship. If just one of us stops caring, it creates a domino effect: we all stop caring.

Think about the last time you picked up a piece of trash on the sidewalk, helped your neighbor without being asked, or thanked a co-worker for critical but necessary feedback. These are all small actions, but again, the sum is more powerful than the individual actions. Caring has a snowball effect because little things add up.

Caring isn’t someone else’s issue—it’s your issue. It’s my issue. It’s your neighbor’s issue. It’s the CEO’s issue.

Caring starts with you: how many “toothpicks” have you picked up today?