TM - June 2008 - (Page 66) [full potential] by Marshall Goldsmith T T The Difference Between Great and Near Great wo lawyers are sitting at a bar at Spark’s Steakhouse in New York City. (Don’t worry; this isn’t a lawyer joke.) One of them is my friend Tom, and the other is his law partner, Dave. They’re having drinks as they wait for a table to open. They’re in no rush, as Spark’s — where New York’s rich, powerful and glamorous can be spotted on any given night — is the kind of place you don’t mind hanging around. capable of doing so when it really matters to us. If we’re on a first date with a guy or girl we really want to impress, we will be paragons of attentiveness and interest. We will ask all the right questions and will focus on the answers with the concentration of a brain surgeon operating inside a patient’s skull. If we’re really smart, we’ll calibrate the conversation to make sure we don’t talk too much. politics, entertainment and any other field is the great ones do this all the time. It’s automatic. For them, there’s no on-off switch for caring, empathy and showing respect. They don’t rank personal encounters as A, B or C in importance. They treat everyone well — and everyone notices. Going back to my friend Tom’s experience, Boies stuck around the bar and made a lasting impression on him. There was no discernible reason for him to treat Tom as his new best friend. The two attorneys have different practices, and the chances their paths would cross in court or that they could do each other any professional favors were practically nil. On this particular night, one of the If we’re in an important meetelites in attendance is superstar ating with our bosses, we will listen torney David Boies, who the U.S. government hired to argue its antitrust case against Microsoft and the The ability to make people person Al Gore feel like they’re the most turned to in 2000 to argue his presiimportant person in the room dential-election when you’re with them is the challenge in front skill that separates the great of the U.S. Supreme Court. from the near great. Boies comes over to say hello to Dave and join the pair for a drink. A few minutes later, Dave gets up to make a phone call outside. It turns out to be a very long call: Boies stays at the bar and talks to my friend Tom for 45 minutes. What they discussed is not relevant to this column. What is relevant is Tom’s recollection of the encounter. “I’ve never met Boies before,” he said. “He didn’t have to hang around the bar talking to me. And I have to tell you, I wasn’t bowled over by his intelligence or his piercing questions or his anecdotes. What impressed me was when he asked a question, he waited for the answer. He not only listened, he made me feel like I was the only person in the room.” I’m not sure why all of us don’t present ourselves the way Boies did all the time. We’re certainly About the Author Dr. Marshall Goldsmith is a world authority in helping successful leaders achieve positive, lasting change in behavior. He is the author or co-editor of 22 books, including What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. He can be reached at editor@ talentmgt.com. without distraction to every word they say. We’ll mark their vocal inflections, seeing nuance and meaning that may or may not be intended. We’ll lock on their eyes and mouth, looking for cues and clues in their facial expressions. Basically, we’ll be treating them as if they’re the most important person in the world. Likewise, if we’re on sales calls with prospects that could make or break our year, we prepare by knowing something personal about them. We ask questions designed to reveal their inclinations. We scan their faces to figure out how badly they need what we’re selling. We’re at Defcon Five in terms of attentiveness: full alert. The only difference between the great and near great in business, In other words, Boies wasn’t thinking there was some future benefit to be derived from being nice to Tom. Yet, he still made Tom feel like the most important person in the room. In showing interest, asking questions and really listening to his answers, Boies was simply being himself, demonstrating the one skill that has made him a great success. The ability to make people feel like they’re the most important person in the room when you’re with them is the skill that separates the great from the near great. In my next column, I’ll write more about how you can achieve this state of focused listening. 66 June 2008 talent management magazine www.talentmgt.com http://www.talentmgt.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of TM - June 2008 TM - June 2008 Editor’s Letter Contents Human Performance Leading Edge Foundations The New Components of Compliance Candid Culture: Embracing Employee Complaints Transitioning to a New Era: C&B at Nonprofits Three Ways to Build Successful Manager-Employee Relationships Implementing Successful Learning Programs The Succession Fix Fifth Third Bank: Putting People First Zaxby’s: Making Employees’ Jobs as Palatable as Its Menu Workforce Readiness: Preparing Personnel to Meet Business Goals Kelley Blue Book: Writing the Book on Performance Management Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources Full Potential TM - June 2008 TM - June 2008 - (Page Intro) TM - June 2008 - TM - June 2008 (Page Cover1) TM - June 2008 - TM - June 2008 (Page Cover2) TM - June 2008 - TM - June 2008 (Page 3) TM - June 2008 - Editor’s Letter (Page 4) TM - June 2008 - Editor’s Letter (Page 5) TM - June 2008 - Editor’s Letter (Page 6) TM - June 2008 - Editor’s Letter (Page 7) TM - June 2008 - Editor’s Letter (Page 8) TM - June 2008 - Contents (Page 9) TM - June 2008 - Contents (Page 10) TM - June 2008 - Contents (Page 11) TM - June 2008 - Human Performance (Page 12) TM - June 2008 - Human Performance (Page 13) TM - June 2008 - Leading Edge (Page 14) TM - June 2008 - Leading Edge (Page 15) TM - June 2008 - Foundations (Page 16) TM - June 2008 - Foundations (Page 17) TM - June 2008 - The New Components of Compliance (Page 18) TM - June 2008 - The New Components of Compliance (Page 19) TM - June 2008 - The New Components of Compliance (Page 20) TM - June 2008 - The New Components of Compliance (Page 21) TM - June 2008 - The New Components of Compliance (Page 22) TM - June 2008 - The New Components of Compliance (Page 23) TM - June 2008 - Candid Culture: Embracing Employee Complaints (Page 24) TM - June 2008 - Candid Culture: Embracing Employee Complaints (Page 25) TM - June 2008 - Candid Culture: Embracing Employee Complaints (Page 26) TM - June 2008 - Candid Culture: Embracing Employee Complaints (Page 27) TM - June 2008 - Candid Culture: Embracing Employee Complaints (Page 28) TM - June 2008 - Candid Culture: Embracing Employee Complaints (Page 29) TM - June 2008 - Transitioning to a New Era: C&B at Nonprofits (Page 30) TM - June 2008 - Transitioning to a New Era: C&B at Nonprofits (Page 31) TM - June 2008 - Transitioning to a New Era: C&B at Nonprofits (Page 32) TM - June 2008 - Transitioning to a New Era: C&B at Nonprofits (Page 33) TM - June 2008 - Transitioning to a New Era: C&B at Nonprofits (Page 34) TM - June 2008 - Transitioning to a New Era: C&B at Nonprofits (Page 35) TM - June 2008 - Three Ways to Build Successful Manager-Employee Relationships (Page 36) TM - June 2008 - Three Ways to Build Successful Manager-Employee Relationships (Page 37) TM - June 2008 - Three Ways to Build Successful Manager-Employee Relationships (Page 38) TM - June 2008 - Three Ways to Build Successful Manager-Employee Relationships (Page 39) TM - June 2008 - Implementing Successful Learning Programs (Page 40) TM - June 2008 - Implementing Successful Learning Programs (Page 41) TM - June 2008 - The Succession Fix (Page 42) TM - June 2008 - The Succession Fix (Page 43) TM - June 2008 - The Succession Fix (Page 44) TM - June 2008 - The Succession Fix (Page 45) TM - June 2008 - The Succession Fix (Page 46) TM - June 2008 - The Succession Fix (Page 47) TM - June 2008 - The Succession Fix (Page 48) TM - June 2008 - The Succession Fix (Page 49) TM - June 2008 - Fifth Third Bank: Putting People First (Page 50) TM - June 2008 - Fifth Third Bank: Putting People First (Page 51) TM - June 2008 - Zaxby’s: Making Employees’ Jobs as Palatable as Its Menu (Page 52) TM - June 2008 - Zaxby’s: Making Employees’ Jobs as Palatable as Its Menu (Page 53) TM - June 2008 - Zaxby’s: Making Employees’ Jobs as Palatable as Its Menu (Page 54) TM - June 2008 - Zaxby’s: Making Employees’ Jobs as Palatable as Its Menu (Page 55) TM - June 2008 - Workforce Readiness: Preparing Personnel to Meet Business Goals (Page 56) TM - June 2008 - Workforce Readiness: Preparing Personnel to Meet Business Goals (Page 57) TM - June 2008 - Workforce Readiness: Preparing Personnel to Meet Business Goals (Page 58) TM - June 2008 - Workforce Readiness: Preparing Personnel to Meet Business Goals (Page 59) TM - June 2008 - Kelley Blue Book: Writing the Book on Performance Management (Page 60) TM - June 2008 - Kelley Blue Book: Writing the Book on Performance Management (Page 61) TM - June 2008 - Kelley Blue Book: Writing the Book on Performance Management (Page 62) TM - June 2008 - Kelley Blue Book: Writing the Book on Performance Management (Page 63) TM - June 2008 - Kelley Blue Book: Writing the Book on Performance Management (Page 64) TM - June 2008 - Editorial Resources (Page 65) TM - June 2008 - Full Potential (Page 66) TM - June 2008 - Full Potential (Page Cover3) TM - June 2008 - Full Potential (Page Cover4)
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.