Whether you’re dealing with one of your team, an advisor, a potential supplier, ask them this: “Is this what you really think, or is it what you think I want to hear?”.
It’s all too easy to commission a report to back up your point of view. Too easy to work with a sycophant who wants your business or a kind word from you. But what’s the point?
If you really want to create competitive advantage, get double digit growth or make a lasting impression in a saturated market, you need to do something radically different. Be prepared to listen to a point of view that you normally wouldn’t. Don’t be prepared to accept ‘good enough’ or small victories. And don’t fall in to the trap of thinking that just because that’s how you did it last year, that it’s the way you should do it next year.
