Look at the title, and think about whether or not you pay attention to everything said to you in a given day; or do you hear only what you want and fill in the blank spaces with noise?  In a job such as recruiting or sales, the ears are almost more important than the eyes when it comes to making decisions. Any time a decision needs to be made; it is best made when all the information is at hand, and that no nuances or misinterpretation is at hand. I have a calendar at home, and one of the pictures depicts a rabbit with his fingers in his ears saying “I’m not ignoring you, I’m listening to my fingers”. While this seems funny, as I thought more about it, I realised that there are alot of decisions made without having enough information, and by having enough information, I mean by listening to all the facts before reacting.

Our days are made up of a lot of little conversations with people, be it in person or over many possible ways on the internet, or on the phone, that it is possible to confuse conversations, or swear you heard something from someone that was never said.  Hmmmm…. If we hear all we are told, and we listen to all that is said to us…..How is this possible? Simple….in a nutshell….we didn’t listen completely to the thought expressed, or digest it completely before reacting.

In our zeal to please those around us, oftentimes we react to things before we take the time to act on them. Its this knee-jerk reaction that often leads us into trouble where there really wasn’t any forming.  This could eventually cause enough bad blood between people that countries would go to war for honour, rather than just admit that they didn’t hear the entire statement which they were being told.

In sales, something that simple could cost us a much valued client, or a deal which we had spent a lot of time working on, or worse even a shot to the reputation which will take a long time to fix.(if ever)  Trust is key; so is hearing everything before taking action.  That can be the hardest part of the equation, as most people are wired to lash out at WHAT THEY THINK has been said; when in reality no such thing had been said or even intimated.  For those of us in the “people business”, its easy to get caught up in the moment, and judge or defend someone or something without having the right information, or getting involved in an issue or help out in a consultation or a sale without being asked. Giving information prematurely, or at all when it is not needed is grounds for creating a bad situation when it doesn’t need to happen.

We get involved because we think we are helping. Great if we were asked, not so if we weren’t.  Think about all the occasions where getting involved cost you something you never should have lost.  Was it worth it in the end?  Probably not….Maybe next time, Listen to the entire statement and then act on it, and not on what you think was said…..Something To Think About…..

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