Why We Listen
Regardless of what other folks say about us, we don’t actually know it all. As smart as we are and with as much training and education as we already have, we still don’t know everything nor have we thought of everything. Just as “There is wisdom in many counselors” when you hear others thoughts about something you might be thinking, “I never thought of that!”
Caution: Common sense tells us to filter and judge what we hear before we act.
I recently began offering a new version of an existing product. One of my trusted advisors (my lovely wife, Sweet Janice) saw the new item and said “Why don’t you put these two things together?” It never occurred to me until she mentioned it. Now it is my best selling item and has opened up a whole new product line. It took some thought and hard design work to actually make this idea work, but it turned out to be a pretty good suggestion.
Several years ago I was at a Woodworking Show and the Epilog Laser Representative stopped by my booth to admire some of my fancy Christmas ornaments. He asked how I cut the inlays on the ornament globes. I said I used a scroll saw. He suggested that a laser cutter would be much faster, more accurate and have greater detail. I said a laser couldn’t cut the thickness I would need in solid maple and walnut. He quickly demonstrated that I was misinformed. He knew something that I didn’t. I acquired an Epilog Laser about six months later which paid for itself in the first 30 days after I brought it on line.
Listening is an extremely powerful method for us to move to the next level, but we must filter out what we hear and not accept things on blind faith before we act. Here are some filtering questions I use when I hear a new idea.
Consider the source. Does this information line up with what I already know to be the truth? Does it make sense? Could it work? Would it be worth the cost and effort? What if it doesn’t work or is actually wrong? What are the consequences? What is the upside? The downside? Is it legal, moral, ethical? Does it pass the smell test? Does it line up with my “Handbook For Living”? Is there any joy, is there any love with this idea? Would my Momma be proud if I do it this way? What do some of my trusted advisors think of this idea?
Using these filters eliminates 99.99% of the TV ads I see. It eliminates about the same amount of emails I receive. Because of the equipment I own and operate, I sometimes receive requests for work in industries I don’t wish to be associated with. Sometimes the requests don’t pass the smell test; if something doesn’t feel right, I don’t do it on principle.
For those other 0.001% of the times when a new idea or suggestion makes it through all of my filter questions, some of them turn out to be pretty good ideas after all. Someone wisely said to me “Son, when you make a mistake, it shouldn’t be the fatal kind.”
Remember that wherever you go, there you are. Here is my inspiration for this week’s message.
Job 15:8 NIV Do you listen in on God’s council? Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?
Ester 1:21 NLT The king and his nobles thought this made good sense, so he followed Memucan’s counsel.
Acts 27:21 NIV After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss.
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