While I was in a taxi the other night in Madison, Wisconsin, I decided to start a conversation with the driver. The discussion started with Uber, then went to the Packers, politics, and finally, the stock market. He was an expert on every topic. I have found that people that know everything seem to stop growing intellectually. After all, if you know everything, there’s nothing left to learn.
I see a similar challenge with egomaniacs. If you believe you know better than everyone else, you stop listening. If you stop listening, you stop learning. Once you stop learning, you no longer move forward.…
Years ago when I was in a sales role, I was having difficulty getting to a very large prospect. He had an assistant who was his gatekeeper. She was very controlling, ornery, and had that mother hen type personality. I decided that the only way I was going to get anywhere was to win her over. That became my mission. I knew I would have to find something she was passionate about in order to make the connection. I began by looking around the cubicle she worked in to observe pictures or items on display. If someone uses the limited office space they have to display something unrelated to work, there is a very high probability that it represents something for which they have a passion.…
