Faster Horses
In Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits, he advises: “Seek first to understand, then to be understoodâ€. In this habit, (habit 5) he describes the four levels of listening; ignoring, pretending, selective listening, or attentive listening. Covey suggests we should learn to listen using the fifth and highest form of listening - empathic listening.
Empathy, our ability to truly understand others, lies at the core of our ability to recognize opportunity.
Yet, as small business owners, we often become so preoccupied trying to impress the world with our unique abilities that we often stop listening.
Empathic listening takes effort. It requires us to walk in the shoes of others. To set aside our own needs, to understand the world through the eyes of others, to understand their needs, often in ways that they themselves may not fully understand, much less be able to articulate.
Henry Ford once remarked that if he would have asked his customers what they wanted, they would have asked for faster horses.
Entrepreneurship, our ability to start and grow a successful business, is as much about emotional intelligence as it is about technical knowledge and skill. It’s as much about EQ as it is IQ.
And, as Stephen Covey says, we can’t effectively prescribe a solution for a problem we haven’t accurately diagnosed.
Insights, Exploits And Life-Lessons
