Change The Conversation

I love the parties and activities in Park City on July 4^th weekend. At all but one event we attended, the guests were strikingly similar. Friday afternoon – a group of local vegetarian and yoga types. Saturday morning – artists and intellectuals at Sundance. And today, after the Main street parade, we dined with affluent conservatives. It wasn’t until last night that we attended an event where everyone was different.

The yogis, the artists, the athletic types, the young, the old, many living in fancy homes, others sharing apartments, were all laughing loudly, dancing, singing, bantering and generally having a marvelous time.

It occurred to me that only when we surround ourselves with dissimilar people and opinions can we truly learn something new. There’s a tendency to gather information and friends that support and validate our own beliefs. It’s only when we make ourselves think through something new and in opposition to our world view that we can have those “aha moments” and break through to a new level of achievement. As John F. Kennedy said, “Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”

At Levitin Group and ePercpio, we believe in the concept of “Many to Many” when it comes to training and management. We learn best through many different opinions. That’s why our platform includes a social networking component and the ability to instantly upload a thought, training video or success story.

This week, go out of your way to discuss things with people that you have nothing in common with; ask them to tell you more. Find out what the most successful salesperson in your company does to prepare for his or her day. Ask the manager you admire the most to share his or her beliefs outside the office.

In today’s world we needn’t take our chances to find the perfect crowd mixture at a holiday party, we can create our own diversity, and claim our own “aha moments.” To do this, we must get out of our comfort zone. After all, isn’t that what we ask our customers do to every day?