i-TFTD #243: On Discussing Effectively

#243-1. Nothing lowers the level of conversation more than raising the voice.
-Stanley Horowitz


#243-2. The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
-Joseph Joubert


#243-3. In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.
-Anon


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Healthy debate based on principles, values, facts and logic is like oxygen for any society, including an organization. Too many people avoid arguments, and managers prevent them. One research study conducted on poorly performing teams found that there was a lot of argument amongst members of the team. They were surprised when they found that the successful, high-performing teams also had the same characteristic! I am sure the quality of debate in the two cases would have been different—quality in terms of content, issues being debated, tone and also how members behaved after the debate.

i-TFTD #5

1. Temper takes you to trouble, Pride keeps you there.
-Swami Chinmayananda

2. Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right'. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.

-Napoleon Hill

3. Imagine that you are funded by the Universe, because you are.
-Burt Goldman

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Chinmayananda's aphorisms are pithy. Here he points out that sometimes we not only make a mistake but follow it up with a bigger mistake of not correcting. This is what I like to call "stuckness thinking" either due to ego or false pride. The solution is to pause, shake ourselves figuratively and move on.

Hill is an old proponent of positive thinking who wrote famous books such as Think And Grow Rich. The above statement is crisply brought out by the enduring tagline of Nike: Just Do It.

The third quote is a bit abstract but profound. Could be interpreted at multiple levels.