My superpowers
14 May 2024
Whatever success I have had in life may be due to my two “superpowers”. Theoretically, everyone can acquire them, but as a practical matter, they will not. What are they?
First, I can say “I was wrong”. This is important because to be successful, we have to learn from our mistakes, which is difficult if you never admit to any. Many people believe they are never wrong. Of course, that is their first mistake; we are all wrong sometimes. If we work on difficult projects, we are wrong a lot - that’s just the way it is. The key is to acknowledge our mistakes and learn from them.
As a CEO, it is particularly important to admit that I am wrong. When employees make mistakes, I find it helpful to them to apologize for not explaining things better. Some managers like to show off their power by berating those under their control - I cannot see how that improves anything.
As a writer, it is obvious that I make mistakes. Most of my essays go through 5-10 drafts. Revising a draft means I didn’t get it right the first time. But that’s OK for me.
My second superpower is to admit “I don’t know”. Some people claim that they know everything. This, of course, is silly. None of us knows everything. We need to acknowledge what we don’t know and acquire this knowledge if it is important. This makes us more competent and also makes us more likable. It’s hard to like a “know it all”.
Do you have these superpowers?
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