The biggest downfall of people is what I term “Their Stickability”. They talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk. You need to be more interested than interesting … in not just people, but places and things as well. It’s about asking questions in order to educate yourself and then listening if you’re talking to someone or researching to find your answers. The universe has blessed us with the best tool to do the latter – Google – which can provide us with all of the information that we need.
In the context of business, I encourage people to always ask, “What else do I need to learn … what else do I need to know?” Asking that extra question quite often leads to extremely valuable information. I can’t begin to tell you how often I’ve found some sort of connection to that individual by asking questions like, “where did you go to school?”, “what did you previously do?”, “where did you use to work?”, and “who do I know that you know? Regardless, just imagine how much more you’ll learn and how much more capable you’ll be by just asking or thinking about that one extra question in each and every instance.
This advice applies to all aspects of business, even at the very start of your career. For instance, when you are applying, you should determine how many jobs there are, what are the types of jobs, where are they available, who runs those companies, and how their hiring process begins. This same concept carries over to your first job. Ask yourself questions like “what more can I do?”, “what truly is the mission statement of the company?”, “what is the history and perspective of the company?”, “who are the key players?”, “what are the key businesses and opportunities within this vertical?”, and “who are their other partners and channel partners?”. Later in your career, you’ll have an even great understanding of why it’s important to always learn more about things you may have done a certain way day in and day out.
Always be thinking – always be aware – because you’ll never know when the questions will lead to the unexpected. In that same vain, the unexpected sometimes provides the questions. For instance, you may be struck with something while watching television. Or reading an historical plaque on a building may prove thought-provoking. Regardless, when you see or are made aware of something, follow through. You’ll be glad you did. You won’t have any lingering doubts about whether there was one more thing you should have done or asked.
This same idea – of being more interested than interesting – carries over from business to life. If you go to a restaurant and you order a fish cooked in a white wine sauce, ask your server which varietal is it cooked in because this will be the wine that will pair best with that entree. If unsure about the dress for an event, inquire … and avoid the embarrassment of arriving ill-clothed.
So read, search, explore, ask … and then delve even further. Who knows what opportunities lay within the information you find. The more you ask the more you will receive.
