Being Point

Tag: wisdom

  • W. Edwards Deming Believed That Asking Naive Questions Promoted An Open Mind

    The consultant widely credited for being the architect of postwar Japan’s economic recovery was W. Edwards Deming whose famed “Deming System” became the gold standard of strategic consulting for decades.

    Deming was an author, consultant and advisor to governments and multinational corporations, and he believed that all organizations are holographic of their leaders.  With all of his accomplishment and wisdom, he often said that one of his primary strengths was asking “naive questions” – questions which assumed little to nothing about how things had always been done.  The reason?  To have the freshest possible approach and an open mind.

    Are there places in your business or employment situation where asking “naive questions” could be useful?  How are you with letting go of prior knowledge and assumptions, at least for a while, in service of seeing something new?  What resistances have you noticed to this kind of approach?  How can you effectively address those fears?

  • Disclose Your Goals To Others With Care And Wisdom

    Among the frequent questions about goal setting is the degree to which it’s best to reveal your goals to others. Likely, all of us have had the experience of telling someone else a goal and having that other person squash it in some way, including:

    * Telling us that we can’t do it

    * Reminding us when we’ve not met the goal yet, and not in a kind way

    * Making fun of us for trying

    * Not believing in us, but rather in our failing

    Disclose wisely because the survival and ultimate accomplishment of your goal may depend on it. Get the agreement of those to whom you disclose that they will only support you and never engage in any of the behaviors above. The support of others can be determinative.

    Bottom line: it’s your goal and you are the only one who, by definition, can ultimately be responsible for it. It’s not a terrible idea to hold your goals closely and disclose on a “need to know” basis at first and then slowly reveal as success toward the goal is had.

    What has been an approach that best works for you? Is it best for you to disclose your goals? When and to whom? Is there someone whom you can always count on to support you and believe in you?

  • Releasing Attachment to Wrongs and Starting Over

    So far this week, we’ve focused on our own starting over. Today, consider the wisdom of allowing others to start over with you.

    Everyone has made mistakes in life. It’s just a matter of degree, but . . . face it, no one escapes doing some really dumb things.

    We can assist others in their journeys by losing the attachment to past wrongs and saying, “The rest of my relationship with this person begins now.”

    Imagine what a difference that would make in business, family friend and romantic situations.

    Allowing others to start over means that you don’t hold their past performance against them. By giving them a clean slate:
    * Grudges disappear

    * Wounds heal

    * Harmony expands

    * Freedom grows

    This is not a “touchy-feely,” “lah-lah” strategy. Rather, it has highly practical outcomes. Life gets better! Results improve!

    Please think of some people whose conduct you can reframe in your mind as only in the past . . . and consciously allow them to start over. Breathe and observe the way you feel as you release the past and allow the present with nothing but possibilities.