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More and more I find myself in circumstances where I'm having conversations that are sensitive or difficult.
Maybe it's my age, maybe it's my stage, maybe my brain is changing as the years go by.
I think it's my job, though, and the complexity of my life.
I can't remember when I was taught this or where I learned it from, but I've blogged about it here before, and I've referenced it many other times.
When you're confronted by something which you don't know that you agree with, there are two possibilities:
Number one. Yes, but…
To say " yes but” someone is to close them down; it is to tell them that you've pretended that you've heard what they were saying, but you're going to tell them what you're going to do anyway.
It's an expression of power, of domination over someone else; it never ever makes the other person feel nice.
Number 2. What if?
The second is to take what the person has said and to imagine what would happen if you followed that path instead of the one that you were about to present as a completed proposal.
Thousands and thousands of times, this has got me out of difficult situations, but more importantly, it's created value where, in the first instance, no value existed.
Collaboration wins hands down, every single time. What if is the start of collaboration?
Blog Post Number - 4643