More Thoughts from the Big Apple

Tonight I spent the evening at a Holiday Party dinner with executives and consultants from my company. I spoke to one of the Senior VPs and told him I respect him. Why? Not because I want him to remember my name but because he is real. He is direct. He wants to hear what you think. Will he tell you what he thinks back? Absolutely. Will you learn something from him if you listen? Absolutely. I told him a weakness in corporate America is the "worker bee" fear of the senior executives. Execs are people too. They want feedback - good or bad - as much as we do. If they are worth their title, they know they don't know it all. The people in the 'trenches' are the ones who complete the picture. The execs know they need to listen. However, the peeps in the trenches need to speak up. My Senior VP asked me directly what I thought about a particular challenge we had this year. I told him. I have co-workers who will be amazed I told him what I think and not what he wants to hear. He needs to know...if he doesn't know, he can't support a solution.

Communication. Look through my blogs and you'll see it's a common theme I have. Am I the perfect communicator? No, it's something I'm developing. It's something that makes the world go around. If everyone communicated with each other, we'd avoid alot of conflict and undue stress. We would...oh, I don't know....learn something from one another. At Thanksgiving I spent much of the evening listening to a friend's mother. She has lived a long life and seen many things - including the destruction of her house during Hurricane Katrina. She has much wisdom -- given indirectly through her stories or directly when asked. I listened much more than I spoke that night, and I learned new ideas and revelations about myself. Communication. It's a key to life.