Tougher Than The Times Archive

 "When I listen, I have the power.  When I speak, I give it away." - Voltaire

In July, Lea and I celebrated 22 years of marriage.  Years ago, I learned that the following simple Bible verse has the power to prevent and repair damage to a relationship:

"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak..." James 1:19 A

This admonition clearly has implications for marriage and personal relationships, but in our increasingly relational economy, it has everything to do with business success as well.  A few months back, I wrote a blog post about my most unique selling point.  To summarize, I realized that as a consultant, the most valuable thing about me is that I know there is no value in what I know... only in what YOU implement.  This is very contrary to the positioning of most business consultants. 

 Most consultants fall into what I call the "expert" trap.  In their attempt to gain new clients, they keep the conversation focused on what THEY know... on THEIR certifications... on THEIR expertise.  In short, this keeps the conversations focused on THEM, in an effort to "impress" their perspective client.  They are quick to speak and slow to listen.  They come prepared to BE or OFFER a solution, but do not listen to fully understand the problem.  This is a very unfortunate scenario in sales, because sales are made in our client's world, not in our own.   But it is unfortunate in every other area of business success as well.

No matter what position you currently occupy; CEO, janitor, educator, manager, owner, assistant or salesman; your success will largely be built on how well you can relate to others.  Being slow to speak and quick to listen is a powerful (and profitable) first step.

It seems that all of humanity yearns for what they have the least of.  In today's fast-paced culture, where conversations are interrupted routinely, schedules are over-booked, and people are over-looked, what we are yearning for is focused attention.  We want someone to show us that they care enough to listen, that what we are saying is important.  Your employer, your employees, and your clients are no different.

Fall is a time of fresh starts.  I want to challenge you to implement more focused listening in ALL of your relationships for a month.  I promise it will be the most profitable (tangibly and intangibly) exercise you have done in a long time.  If you take my challenge, don't forget to shoot me an email about how it is going for you.  I would love to feature your success in an upcoming newsletter or blog post.