Surrounding yourself with people whose talents surpass yours, who are smarter in all the areas you're not, is the key to success. That and using your two ears to listen twice as much as you talk...
My ears are getting better, I think. I hear I'm talking more than the others.
That's the first step, realizing you have a problem.
Now, the next step is getting in the habit of keeping the mouth closed...and listening to my friends and colleagues, partners and vendors, customers and staff, wife and family.
Tough, sometimes.
But, I remember the surprise and delight when I ask someone what they think or how they felt. Bottomline: I learn something. And if I do the talking...I don't. That means, I don't get to learn how smart everyone around me is...and they don't get the pleasure of sharing how much they know. And we don't get the joy of discovering all that, together.
Vernes Harnish share a quote from Brian Price, President of Rockwood Retaining Walls, about the importance of employee and executive education: I don't want to be the smartest guy in the room.
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