I once worked for an individual who surrounded himself with people who were afraid to disagree with him. They were what are often called "yes men." They were always telling him what he wanted to hear and were never willing to risk his "wrath" by holding opposing views.
That company no longer exists. Long before it failed however, they decided they no longer needed me. I voiced my opposition at least once too many times and lost my job as a result. Blessings are often disguised quite thoroughly.
I've had people work for me that would never voice opposing views. They would get me coffee (even when I didn't really want it) and say "yes, sir" and jump if I asked them anything. They drove me crazy. I ask questions in the hope of obtaining an answer, not in getting the response of a lap dog. The fastest way to gain favor with me is to tell me when I'm wrong (hopefully in a polite way) and then explain to me why. I can't learn from someone who always agrees with me and we can never get better if we blindly go down the wrong path.
I ran across the following quote:
"I never learned from a man who agreed with me." __ Robert A. Heinlein
What can I do with such a quote? I certainly can't learn anything from it; he agreed with me!
Chris
1 comment:
...reminds me of the one-liner John Wayne used in one of his appearances on Laugh-in: "I once had a friend who told me to shoot first, and ask questions later. I was going to ask him why, but I had to shoot him."
(c:
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