Have you heard the story of the blind men and the elephant? It’s a very old fable that reminds us our perspective is not the ONLY perspective to consider. Our CEO Peer Advisory Groups in DFW provide CEO’s and business owners a variety of perspectives from other successful leaders that help us see beyond our own experiences, and to understand the entire picture.
Here is the story if you have not heard it before:
Once upon a time, there lived six blind men in a village. One day the villagers told them, “Hey, there is an elephant in the village today.” They had no idea what an elephant is but they decided, “Even though we would not be able to see it, let us go and feel it anyway.” All of them went where the elephant was and each one touched the elephant.
“Hey, the elephant is a pillar,” said the first man who touched his leg.
“Oh, no! it is like a rope,” said the second man who touched the tail.
“Oh, no! it is like a thick branch of a tree,” said the third man who touched the trunk.
“It is like a big hand fan” said the fourth man who touched the ear of the elephant.
“It is like a huge wall,” said the fifth man who touched the belly of the elephant.
“It is like a solid pipe,” Said the sixth man who touched the tusk of the elephant.
They began to argue about the elephant and every one of them insisted that he was right. It looked like they were getting agitated. A wise man was passing by and he saw this. He stopped and asked them, “What is the matter?” They said, “We cannot agree to what the elephant is like.” Each one of them told what he thought the elephant was like. The wise man calmly explained to them, “All of you are right. The reason every one of you is telling it differently because each one of you touched the different part of the elephant. So, actually, the elephant has all those features what you all said.”
“Oh!” everyone said. There was no more fight. They felt happy that they were all right.
Moral of the Story
The moral of the story is that there is usually some truth in what other people say. Sometimes we cannot see that truth because others have a different perspective than we do. So, rather than arguing like the blind men, we should learn more about what other people say in order to understand them and avoid arguments. It teaches us to be tolerant towards others for their viewpoints as we work to refine our own.
None of Us Is As Wise As ALL of Us
Getting a different perspective on the challenges you face as the leader of your company allows you to make better decisions and act quickly to capture opportunities. Often, our members come to the monthly meeting with a decision they’ve made and want the group to affirm it. We ask them lots of questions to understand what is really the issue or opportunity. Then we can share our experiences to help them see other perspectives they may have missed, in order for them to make the best decision.
This is all part of your personal and professional evolution as the primary decision maker for your company. We all need the help from others if we want to be our best, and wise people become even wiser when they accept wise counsel from others. Join us at our next “CEO LEARNING SESSION” in Dallas to experience what this is like. Sign up today.
Come “Learn, Grow, Share – Evolve” with us.
Robert Hunt
REF Dallas