A couple of weeks ago I did a mock interview with an executive I’m coaching. One of the interview questions I posed was this: “You have employees, external customers, internal customers (stakeholders or peers), and your boss. Put them in order of priority in terms of serving their needs.Regardless of the type of company or organization, here’s the answer and why:1. External customersThe purpose of any company or business is to win and keep customers. Without customers, there’s no business, no shareholder value, and no jobs. Since there are a finite number of customers, in practical terms, they are irreplaceable. They’re always the highest priority.2. Your bossYour boss is more important to the success of the company than you and your peers. You may not like hearing that, but in just about every case, it’s true. You may think you’re more competent than your boss and you might even be right. But that doesn’t change the fact that his function incorporates yours and is higher up on the org chart so, by definition, his needs top yours or your peers.3. Internal customers (stakeholders or peers)Each and every one of you has peers, stakeholders, internal customers whose functions are intertwined with yours and whose needs are important. Marketing folks, for example, should count product groups and sales as their stakeholders. You should make it a priority to meet with them periodically and ask them how you’re doing. Next to paying customers and your boss, they’re needs matter most.   4. EmployeesSo, here we are. The dirty little secret no executive, business leader, or manager ever wants to admit. Nevertheless, it’s true. Employees are at the bottom of the totem pole in terms of how important their needs are to their management. That’s all there is to it.Don’t get me wrong. Creating a culture where employees are empowered, challenged, and supported, where they can really make a difference, should be huge for any company. But all things being equal, as priorities go, employees come in dead last on that list. Sobering as that sounds, it’s entirely as it should be.

2. What do people most need from me, and how can I provide it?The box-checking exercise tends to be about my wants. Shifting it to others’ needs brings greater well-being. This is straightforward: Decades of research—and millennia of common sense—have shown that self-centeredness leads to fluctuating emotions at best, while a focus on the needs of others can bring stable happiness. And lest you think this makes a person passive or unambitious, note that there is a significant body of evidence showing that a focus on the good of one’s institution (as opposed to oneself) enhances career success as well.