The Art of Asking for Advice: A Memorable Experience
Transcript:
I remember years back when I was at Grand Valley. There was a particular writing assignment that I thought I nailed. I’m Dan Hansen and this is a Minute at RepcoLite.
I felt the paper I wrote was brilliant and so . . . like an idiot . . . I brought what I called a ROUGH DRAFT into work one day to let other people I respected look it over.
I SAID it was a rough draft and that I was looking for feedback. What I really meant was: It’s a rough draft because I used the economy setting on the printer and the only feedback I’m for is warm applause.
What I received . . . was an experience I can still remember clearly: 6 people gathered around a table, giving me advice on everything from my premise, to my conclusions, to my font choices and everything in between.
I got mad, defensive and argued for all my original choices. It wasn’t my best moment. But it’s not uncommon and I’m sure most of you listening have had similar experiences. Next time we’ll connect it to painting and home improvement AND, more importantly, we’ll talk about how you can avoid the whole thing! I’m Dan Hansen and that’s a minute at RepcoLite.
