I first heard the fable related below from Cory Treffiletti. Just giving credit where credit is due.
When someone tells you something or tries to sell you something, do you listen first and speak second?
It doesn’t matter how smart you are or how knowledgeable or how long you have been doing what it is you do; sometimes the person talking to you may be smarter or more knowledgeable than you.
What tends to get in the way is ego.
When you talk first and listen second, your ego is getting in the way of you potentially learning something.
There was once a very successful older executive that had a mannerism that everyone noticed, but no one dared ask him about. In tense or challenging situations, he would always reach into his pocket and pull out a neatly folded piece of paper, unfold it, read it then refold it and put it back in his pocket. Whatever he read tended to give him a sense of calm and helped him overcome many difficult situations. At his retirement party, a young executive asked him what was on that little piece of paper. The older man took out the piece of paper, unfolded it and handed it to the young man and walked away. On the piece of paper was the simple phrase, “They may be right.”
-Mike
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