“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”
– F. Scott Fitzgerald, as quoted in The Monday Morning Memo on January 6, 2025
It’s a skill missing from our political environment and seems to be in short-supply in many of our business dealings.
“We’re right, and they’re wrong.” “We stand for good, and they stand for evil.” “We’re honest, they’re liars.”
Where’s the person we’re trying to serve gonna land in there? And what if circumstances, market conditions, or customer habits change? Will we still be right, good, and honest? How can we be flexible and move with our markets if we’re going to draw hard lines on every feature, every issue, every challenge?
Of course, we need guiding principles, and we need to be able to differentiate. We also have a critical need to understand the conflicting position. Why does the other party believe, claim, or promote something we disagree with? And, if we make the conversation about why we do what we do the way we do what we do – and when we make it clear we understand and appreciate – even if we don’t accept – the other side’s views, what does that tell our Clients how we’ll handle things when they have an issue or problem with our product or service? It tells them we’ll be reasonable.
There ain’t enough reasonable in too many conversations or negotiations these days. We can lead and make a difference by bringing it to the conversations and negotiations in which we engage.
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