Listen Quicker!

Business training gurus cling to myths which,

instead of increasing efficiency actually limit the
productivity of busy executives. These experts jam
soft-sill competencies into business people along with
too many !uotation and mars.
The worst of these trends is the evil practice of
active listening " a dangerous procedure where customer
servicers are supposed to pretend they actually give a d#$n
what is being said by the customer. %hile consultants
chatter on about the values of active engagement more
important priorities and opportunities are being missed
lie &aceboo and surfing for porn. 'fter all, if you
spend your time listening to people, you(re never going to
get your real wor done.
)ntil today(s Listen Quicker! breathrough, the
practice of listening has remained the same for centuries.
The process goes something lie this* underling begins
speaing+ you(ve heard it all before " blah, blah, blah -
other subordinates chime in with more nonsense+ you try not
to ill anyone. ,-t(s worth noting that email was
specifically invented so you could ignore these complaint
sessions..
/ou don(t have to tae this abuse any more.
%elcome to the first real breathrough in business
listening since on-hold music " Quicker Listening. 0nce
you master QL, you will increase your efficiency and
effectiveness exponentially. /ou can begin your new
business efficiency by reviewing the general rules*
A) Make Assumptions 1 minutes into any presentation,
you(ve got all the information you need or want* good
idea2bad idea, lie it2don(t lie it, buy it2won(t. 3ae
an assumption about the results of the conversation and go
with it. /our initial reaction will invariably be better
than any judgment you mae after you(ve listened to all the
blah. 'nd if you(re actually wrong, remember that you(re
the boss so you have a huge list of people to blame.
B) Jump To Earliest Conclusion " as soon as you(ve got
the drift, jump to the nearest conclusion. 4emember,
you(re very smart " how else could you have risen so
!uicly to middle management5 Business contains very few
surprises. 6o with your gut and give your brain a brea.
C) Listen Selectivel " occupy yourself with other
tass while you endure the blabbing person in front of you*
chec your 78' and email, catch up on some notes. - once
wored with a guy who would have entire phone conversations
directly in the middle of our staff meetings. 9e was :;4/
important and let us now it every chance he could.
!) Snap "our Ju#gments " re-open your personal
assessment toolbox* %hat a stupid idea< and 9e(s a
moron< and %hy are they wasting my time5 " saying these
phrases to yourself, or out loud, will get you bac to your
des much more !uicly.
6enerally speaing, business people spea much too
slowly " especially during company-wide meetings. /ou
simply can(t afford to listen as slowly as people tal "
you must listen quicker than they tal. By following these
basic rules, you will free up vast amounts of valuable
time.
9ere are more basic guidelines to wor by*
Feign Interest: Its dangerous to care too much about
what is being said and done around you! /es, it(s
important to immerse yourself in the daily operations of
your business " but you must also retain the healthy,
sarcastic voice of septicism that got you where you are
today. -t(s useful to loo down on subordinates and appear
irritated with peers. 0f course, when dealing with
superiors, change your entire personality to suit their
tastes.
Make Even More Assumptions: The vast majority of
business information is unnecessary " you either already
now it or it don(t need it. ;specially as it relates to
business meetings, information falls into four categories*
=. 4edundant " information you already now by
heart. 3any times the information you(re
receiving at meetings is data you actually
created.
>. 0bvious " be nice, sell more, come up with
new ideas, act lie a team, no more porn
websites, etc. This information would be
called common sense if anyone had any sense.
1. -ncomprehensible " here(s our new
telecom2intranet2email2organi?ational
structure for this year. @ow that used just
got used to the old system, good luc
understanding this one.
A. 3oderately useful " this is the information
that is both new to you and reasonably
applicable to your future. This category
comprises less than B.A=C of all business
information.
D. 4andom information " this is data that is
interesting but useless to your life. &or
example* 9ow(d they get the pictures on
that screen5 and There(s a bird outside
our meeting room window< " these are
samples of random information that captures
attention.
6iven that the bul of business information is
redundant, obvious or incomprehensible, it(s not only
reasonable to jump to conclusions " it is your
responsibility.
/ou must become more realistic. @ext time a speaer
promises to just tae a few minutes of your time, " tae
out a timer and put them on the cloc. -f they tae more
than a few minutes, leave. 4emember, life is too short to
waste it in a hotel ballroom.