Listening is the best kept secret, by Nancy Dorrier

“Listen, do you want to know a secret?

Listen, do you promise not to tell?

I am in love with you.”

Listen, pay attention.

There is someone there. Someone brilliant and you will see them if you listen and listen a little longer.

At first and still, I have thought our new program on listening and love was about giving a gift, the gift of really listening without interrupting with your good idea or to make a joke or say what that reminds you of, etc. 

Now, I think it is also about giving yourself that gift of discovery, that gift of seeing for the first time.

What does this have to do with business strategy? With business success?  Except everything?

At the end of the day no matter what the numbers, no matter how big the success was, it was the people.

People that love to work together, think things through together, and pull together and celebrate a job well done or work out recovering from a failure together.

 I got up this morning and walked out to the end of the drive to pick up the Sunday New York Times in the familiar blue plastic wrapper.

Michael Gould, CEO of Bloomingdales, has an interview in the business section about leadership and he says it is a combination of passion and compassion.  He says, “I don’t think you can ever have too much warmth or empathy.”

So that is what we are working on.  It doesn’t always come naturally.  We are distracted by ourselves and what we want to say.  We are distracted by looking at our gadgets.

What is the best gift during the holidays or for that matter, anytime?

Listening

Listening

I mean really.

Does that mean doing nothing?

Not exactly.

It means putting your opinions, funny comments, interruptions, good ideas, correcting the grammar and the wrong details on the side.

It means discovery.

Now we have a CEO at Bloomingdale's saying some of the same, if compassion and empathy include listening.

He will sell lots of holiday presents that people will give here and there and everywhere. 

Will they listen as well?  To each other?  To the hard of hearing old people who told that story before?  To the kids telling an imaginary long tale of their next invention?

To their coworkers who they spend more time with than anyone?

To their customers and donors who make the place work?

Listening is the best-kept strategic secret a company can have, but it shouldn’t be a secret from itself.

Next post will be about love.  Another best-kept secret.