God Gave You Two Ears and One Mouth
My mother, God rest her soul, used to tell me (often), “Larry, God gave you two ears and one mouth—use them in that proportion.” When we become leaders, we sometimes become drunk with the elixir of power and begin thinking that people are actually listening to us! That makes us believe we have something important to say.
Many times, people struggle trying to understand how to figure out what other people want or expect of us. My experience has been that people will tell you everything you need to know about how to effectively work with them if you will only shut up and listen to them. Ask any of your business analysts how they determine requirements for new solutions. Then ask them what percentage of their time they spend talking versus listening.
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