In principle, big ideas are always the result of putting our heads together. Really big ideas are already out there in the heads of many people just waiting to be put together. Without sharing my ideas with fellows and without openness to new ideas I am a prisoner of my own limitations, incapable of more than I can imagine.
Practical Tip: I serve the group best when I am humble. I accept that I probably don’t have all the best answers and if I do, the question is surely small. I talk with others about my ideas and their ideas. I release my ideas, let them be criticized, and let others build on them. I trust the wisdom of the group.
It’s okay that I don’t understand everything; that it doesn’t all fit in my head. I am open to ideas and achievements beyond my imagination.
– Craig Freshley
Click here for one-page PDF of this Tip, a great way to print or share.
What I love about this tip is that it releases the need to act like we know more than we do. It encourages people to be authentic and a bit vulnerable so participants can do the same.
Generally agree but there are a few people out there who are truly gifted thinkers whose wisdom needs to be respected. I seriously doubt that Einstein’s theories would have resulted from a committee of physicists. We often make progress by doing what is innovative not by doing what is acceptable to the larger community. But this still involves keeping an open mind.
Thank you for this great quotation! I have used it in a variety of meetings. I have noticed that it puts participants at ease–to remember that they don’t have to know everything and can listen to others. Thank you, Craig!
kEEP AN OPEN MIND