“You’ve got to watch for what you don’t want to see and listen for what you don’t want to hear.”
– John Madden
Don’t you sorta miss John Madden on football broadcasts?
Perhaps it goes beyond just watching and listening, though. When we probe, we get to facts much faster. When we are in possession of facts, we make better decisions. We know where to practice, where to re-focus, where to cut bait and where to hunt big game. Too often, though, we don’t really want to know… A golfing buddy of mine often asks, “Am I the worst putter you’ve ever seen?” (He is.) Every time, I reply by saying, “You should never ask a question to which you don’t want to hear the answer.”
I don’t believe that, though.
We must ALWAYS ask questions we might not want to hear the answer to. We must always look for the body language, the sudden (or gradual) change in behavior or the loss of ability to make eye contact, and we must probe to determine what’s behind them. Otherwise, we’ll risk complacency and detachment, two “icky” (technical term) conditions. Otherwise, we’ll risk getting surprised, and you know how we work to avoid surprises!
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