On Courage

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it take to sit down and listen.”
– Winston Churchill

“One of the best ways to persuade others is with your ears – by listening to them.”
– Dean Rusk

“The art of conversation lies in listening.”
– Malcolm Forbes

“When you talk, you repeat what you already know; when you listen, you often learn something.”
– Jared Sparks

When customers say they want this or that, they’re simply telling you what they believe will make them happy. In marketing terms, they’re giving you the keys to the kingdom. So instead of telling someone what they should want or why they’re wrong to want what they do, it may be much more productive to listen with interest and respect, and then respect their wishes.

But be aware there is often a difference between what people say they want and their actual underlying desires and objectives. As Henry Ford said about his groundbreaking automobile company, “If I had asked people want they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Thus, the better you are at listening to others, the more you can understand the breadth and depth and subtleties of what they are trying to tell you. If you begin with an honest and genuine intent to fully hear the message, to truly understand what they want and why they want it, then it’s much easier to satisfy them. The customer, or the marketplace as the case may be, is always telling us what it wants. Listen intently.

People don’t always speak plainly or openly, and that’s where the multileveled, multifaceted art of listening comes in… Listen intently.

“Hearing is one of the body’s five senses. But listening is an art.”
– Frank Tyger

“A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he knows something.”
– Wilson Mizner

“I think the one lesson I have learned is that there is no substitute for paying attention.”
– Diane Sawyer

“You see, but you don’t observe.”
– Arthur Conan Doyle