June 15, 2007

“Am I talking too much?”

“Who knows?  We stopped listening about 20 minutes ago.”

We entered a large hotel conference room ready for a long day of strategic planning.  It was the first of a two day off-site conference.  Strategic planning, as you know, is tough duty.  Things usually start slow and taper off.  A rhythm is established early when each person around the table takes a turn speaking the foreign language of strategy (first rule of strategic planning:  you must be seated AT the table for your ramblings to have credibility).  The session on this day was following the pattern perfectly. 

After everyone had been given an opportunity to speak briefly, two or three people began to dominate the meeting with back and forth exchange that only they seemed to understand.  Minds were wandering and eyes were already watching the door, hoping for the caterer to bring the mid-morning snack.  Sound familiar? 

At the height of the now out of control discussion, one of the “strategists”, deciding on his own to take control of the meeting, went to the hotel provided easel pad (you can visualize this, can’t you?) and began a painful diatribe.  After a long time, realizing now that he had lost us completely, he stopped, asking, “Am I talking too much?”

Without missing a beat, the response came from the most senior leader in the room, “Who knows?  We stopped listening about 20 minutes ago.”

Laughter erupted.  One ego was destroyed.  When order was ultimately restored (after a fifteen minute break), our strategic planning took a different route.  No longer did certain individuals have the affinity for the sound of their own voice they held prior to the break.

We simply cannot learn or contribute in a meaningful way without listening.