It’s not about you. It’s just not. In fact, in our long human history, it has rarely been about singular personalities. Rather, it has almost always been about groups, families, tribes, or organizations.

But what is “it”? “It” refers to what ultimately matters being focused on an individual, as in “what is most important here is how the outcomes impact you.” This can also apply to larger groups like a company when, for instance, they do things in self-interested ways that disregard the impact on the larger body of stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, and communities. This self-interest is how they make “it” all about them. And it is this self-interest that, while seemingly being done in the name of self-preservation, actually does more harm than good.

When organizations make the story all about them, it promotes selfishness, greed, and a host of other objectionable behaviors. These behaviors get propagated, and before you know it, every employee is acting out in self-centered ways that end up being repellant to customers—and anyone else who touches the company, for that matter.

The antidote begins with an understanding that it truly is not all about you or your organization because, for one, your organization is bigger than you think. You see, your organization is not limited to a small band consisting of executives, managers, employees, and investors. Much like our personal lives, where our circle of influence is more than just our immediate families—think parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, etc.—our businesses have a wide group of relationships in their circle of influence. These include those executives, managers, employees, and investors mentioned above, plus customers, suppliers, and the community.

Once we accept the fact that success relies not solely on our organization’s efforts but rather on the efforts of a wide group of stakeholders working in concert, we can move from everything being about our organization to everything being about the ecosystem of relationships with all stakeholders.

And those relationships are all service-based. Each of them relies on the constituents providing beneficial value for each other. For example, the company provides revenue for suppliers while the suppliers provide goods, services, and raw materials for the company. Each member of the ecosystem is in a similar bond for mutual benefit. And without each other, the ecosystem dies—not to mention the business.

So, what is the prescription for progress? Continuously improving the service provided to all stakeholders in the ecosystem. If you are providing the most value with as little hassle as possible, that will come back to you. It is a principle that gets proven time after time in life. Some call it karma; some simply say, “What goes around, comes around.”

If you want to make your business life easier and more enjoyable, start by looking at your company. Does it come at everything with the thought that all that matters is the impact on the organization? Does it look at the entire ecosystem (customers, employees, investors, suppliers, and community) and how it can best serve it, or does it marginalize some members in favor of others? With a few answers here, you can begin working to build better, more mutually beneficial relationships with all of your stakeholders, and by doing so, make your business stronger, more resilient, and a model of service excellence. That’s a great place to be.

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