Being Right vs. Getting it Right
While serving a client yesterday, I was in a team meeting for a project we’re working on. It’s a complex project that intersects with several different departments. For that reason, it’s always helpful to bring the team together to get a second set of eyes and fresh perspectives. One woman, who is very new to the company, pointed out a few logical inconsistencies with my work. After discussing for a few minutes, it was clear she was right. I could tell she was confident in her perspective, yet hesitant to tell me I was wrong. Though it’s never fun to be wrong, I greatly appreciated her shining a light on this issue. To ensure she and everyone else would continue to feel comfortable, I let them know my perspective on the topic. “I’m in the business of getting it right, not being right.” From that point forward, the feedback and discussion opened up and the project was the primary beneficiary.
It’s not easy, but I try to make this my motto in life. Being right does me no good when I don’t get it right. It’s a fruitless endeavor with our pride being the only winner. This is actually one of the main characteristics I look for when interviewing prospective coaching clients. If they are in the business of being right, they can never reach their full potential. In fact, it will be a brutal coaching journey, full of butting heads and stubborn disagreements. On the other hand, if they are in the business of getting it right, there’s no limit to what they can accomplish.
When I think about this idea, a few different angles come to mind:
Just because something used to be true, it doesn’t mean it’s still true today. Investing is a huge example of that. Most people invest the same way today that they did 25 years ago. After all, it’s the way it’s always been done. What they don’t know is there are far better ways to invest today. Ways that didn’t exist 25 years ago. Easier, cheaper, better, simpler, and more streamlined ways. This highlights the importance of continually learning and evolving as our environment evolves.
We often get so engrained in the way we see something, we aren’t willing to consider that perhaps there’s a better way. This is a common occurrence in my line of work. If someone were to consider that I may be right about something, they have to simultaneously consider that they may have been wrong for the past 5, 10, or 20 years. This is a tough pill to swallow…..so many don’t. If we can humble ourselves to consider we may be wrong, we open ourselves up to the truth.
Sometimes we are right about something……but there’s more to the story. We know the truth, but it’s a half-truth. These can be deadly, as we get a false sense of confidence and let our guard down. These are pervasive in the financial world. There are a lot of universal truths people pass back and forth, but they are often only half truths. If we’re hungry to learn, we can find the missing pieces and get a fuller understanding of the real truth.
This is hard, but worth it. I haven’t always got this right. Strike that. I often got it wrong for many years. But the more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know. As you settle into your day, I challenge you to be in the business of getting it right, not being right. I promise it will change your conversations, your relationships, and yourself.