I Respect Your Opinion, As Long As You Agree With Me!
This Wednesday will be 23 years since the tragic events of 9/11. Every year, I take time to remember my experience and share it with others. At the time, my wife and I lived in NYC and I was working at my office downtown that awful day. As I watched the second plane hit the South tower from my office window, I can remember my feelings of shock, sadness, fear and ultimately anger as if it were yesterday. Finally getting on a train heading back home, I can remember a bond trader sitting behind me trying to close out a position and dropping the phone gasping that one of the Towers just collapsed. I stared in disbelief and could not fathom what I was seeing. In the days and weeks after, one thing that I can tell you is that everyone, and I mean everyone, in NYC and around the country worked together towards a common goal, which was recovery.
Fast forward to today, and we as a nation have lost that feeling of togetherness and working toward a common goal. In the business setting (and pretty much everywhere else), job security, inflation, politics and more are all hot button topics. Unfortunately, social media, unclear guidance from our leaders and a rapidly approaching election has not helped the situation. I don’t recall where I heard it (probably a comedian), but I think the following quote is unfortunately applicable in the current times:
“I respect your opinion as long as you agree with me”
When this type of mentality becomes pervasive in your organization, bad things typically result. It is critical to check in with your team and be open to others’ perspectives. It does not mean you have to agree with them but be respectful and know that you are working towards a common purpose. More importantly, as long as everyone is on board with the direction of the business, the differences will work themselves out. Below are some good communication strategies that successful organizations embrace:
- How Great Leaders Communicate (hbr.org)
- If You Want To Learn The Art Of Effective Workplace Communication, (forbes.com)
- 10 Tips For Effective Communication In The Workplace – Forbes Advisor
- Communication Is at the Heart of Positive Employee Relationships (MIT Sloan Management Review)
To wrap up, I will share this quote:
“The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives” ~ Anthony Robbins
Here are a few other things that may be of interest:
- August Update From August Wealth Advisors (Thanks to Howie Greenberg for sharing)
- Economic Review: September 2024 – Silvercrest (silvercrestgroup.com)
- Tunnel 2 Towers Run-Walk – This is a great organization honoring the memory of NYC Firefighter Stephen Stiller, who lost his life to save others at the Towers on 9/11. My friend, Sean O’Dowd from Silvercrest Asset Managment, is participating again in this annual event.
As always, please don’t hesitate to email myself (jsanders@mpl-law.com), Andy Miller (amiller@mpl-law.com), Christian Miller (cmiller@mpl-law.com), Erik Spurlin (espurlin@mpl-law.com), Brad Leber (bleber@mpl-law.com) or anyone in our office with questions or comments.
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