About Dr Harley and EXeczema

How do you determine someone’s values?

As a Master Practitioner in Psychology I ask them: “What’s important to you in . . . ?” They would invariably have an answer prepared; one they had tested on themselves and one which felt comfortable. The psychologist's skill lies in using strong rapport to ask them what’s important to them in that answer. You can do that several more times until their true values are revealed. It's a safe rule that their true values were of greater value to them and others than the superficial values they suggested at the first level. When I decided to utilise my name as a global brand, it was my turn to be questioned. It was tough! Some of those helping me suggested words they believed represented the true values of Dr Harley. They utilised a psychology tool often wielded very skilfully by children: simply ask why and keep asking why each time an answer is given. With children it’s called being precocious — with psychologists it’s called wisdom. For those helping me it seemed more like revenge! Apparently I’d used this combination of “What’s important to you in . . .?” and “Why?” with some of them and they greatly appreciated their new understanding of themselves. Now they were asking what benefits people would gain from developing confidence and trust in the Dr Harley brand.

But enough of the journey; what was revealed?

A sequence of about 20 words which I was then challenged to rank. It was like looking at myself in a mirror that had many cracks and being asked to put a priority rating on each part of the picture. All the parts were obviously me yet which ones should the team use to best represent the Dr Harley brand; and in what order?

Care

That’s what I’ve inherently done all my life. I cared about others; especially for those I felt were not being adequately cared for by the establishment.

Trust

I have a weakness in that I like to trust people. There have been a few very rare occasions when I was proven wrong yet I’ve always preferred to keep doing it.

Confidence

I spend a lot of time examining the options and having decided which is most beneficial, I grasp it with confidence and conviction.

Leadership

I have no inherent desire to lead anyone. Then someone asked me a piercing question. “If I was going my way anyway, was it my concern if others chose to follow?” I battled with that one for some time until I realised I was favouring another word.

Inclusive

So much energy is wasted in being exclusive. If our values align, let’s combine our resources. Those are the five highest ranking values in the Dr Harley brand. What happens when you genuinely care about others, trust them and earn their trust, have confidence in your convictions, are happy if others want to follow your lead and share the credit of achievements with those who do? You have a very progressive team in which each person benefits and feels comfortable. If this feels right, share it with those you know will want to share the Dr Harley brand values.

Balance

I was raised in the Australian outback where you learn to keep everything in balance if you wanted to live. It’s a harsh environment where prevention is better, safer and easier than cure. You learned to care for those around you so everyone stays alert and alive. Going to university was the first time I lived in a city. Very quickly it became obvious I was being taught to treat diseases whereas my inherent values lay in preventing diseases developing in the first place. There were other people ideally suited to treating diseases allowing me to examine other options. My choice was a lonely path to find the first step in a disease process and use that to prevent the disease. I inherently believed the answers were out there and all I had to do was find the questions. That belief developed into a set of values that have served me well in bringing health and happiness to benefit many people around the world. I get to travel the world while having fun! People with my clinical qualifications are supposed to offer drugs to overcome diseases. My choice was to prevent the diseases, negating any need for those drugs. I deliberately chose to put health and happiness before company profits. I care more about people than profits, and many of those I’ve helped happily testify to that. Prevention of a skin rash escalating into eczema is a good example as demonstrated in the EXeczema® program described in my book What is eczema? A path to ending the misery. That approach made me unemployable! Luckily for me the internet and social media arrived heralding in the entrepreneurial revolution. That allowed me to share my musings with the general public, doctors and medical professionals who spread the positive news even further. When it became apparent that the combination of my values and way of thinking on prevention were ones others want to share, I found myself supported by some wonderful people who were happy to care and help. They prompted me to launch the Dr Harley brand so the public could have a personal name to trust with confidence.