Monday, April 14, 2008
A sign of weakness?
Quite the contrary.
Albert Einstein, after reading Morris Cohen's book, Logic and Scientific Method, said "The intellectual honesty of the author makes us share the inner struggle of his mind."
Einstein was fascinated with the fact that Cohen had not provided ready-made answers. Instead Mr. Cohen led the reader through a series of "contrasting possibilities of conceiving the matter."
Our human nature wants to position us as the guru, the answer person, the resident expert. We want others to be blinded with the brilliance of our ideas. How often does that happen?
The reality is that people find our ideas more credible when we admit our vulnerabilities, the mistakes we made and the struggles we faced in developing those ideas. Why?
Quite the contrary.
Albert Einstein, after reading Morris Cohen's book, Logic and Scientific Method, said "The intellectual honesty of the author makes us share the inner struggle of his mind."
Einstein was fascinated with the fact that Cohen had not provided ready-made answers. Instead Mr. Cohen led the reader through a series of "contrasting possibilities of conceiving the matter."
Our human nature wants to position us as the guru, the answer person, the resident expert. We want others to be blinded with the brilliance of our ideas. How often does that happen?
The reality is that people find our ideas more credible when we admit our vulnerabilities, the mistakes we made and the struggles we faced in developing those ideas. Why?
- We're more real when we admit our vulnerabilities
- We demonstrate a higher level of confidence than most people possess
- We are more open to input from others which opens the door to better solutions
- We give others a chance to shine
It's counter-intuitive, but you gain greater respect and quicker implementation of your ideas when you acknowledge the struggles you had in developing them.
Tell our readers how acknowledging vulnerabilities helped advance your ideas by posting a comment.
If there are topics you'd like me to address, email me at dale@furtwengler.com.
A reminder that I'm going to be presenting the opening session of the Kirkwood-Des Peres Chamber of Commerce Small Business Week event at the AMG Corporate offices, 1610 Des Peres Road (Northwest Corner of Manchester and 270), Monday, May 5, 2008, 5:45 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. The topic is 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE.
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