All too often human beings presented with information, especially new information, immediately relay that information to others in an effort to increase their NET WORTH. The challenge is the person relaying the information does not always ASK enough questions, thus passing on information that is not 100 percent accurate. Whether you are the person who delivers or receives the message, you must ASK MORE questions before delivering or acting on that information.
Misinformation: I closed the deal
If I had a nickel for every time someone told me the deal was closed when in fact it wasn’t, well, I would have a lot of nickels. Just recently I had someone come triumphantly into my office to tell me how they “closed” a huge business deal. But when I began to ask the most basic of questions (like what are the terms) and they couldn’t answer, I knew the deal wasn’t closed.
When I sold cars there was a saying that we used to live by: It isn’t a sale until the customer drives the car off the lot.
In the car sales world and many sales environments you are essentially judged by how many cars you actually sold or how many deals you actually closed. We had a board each month that charted all of the actual sales of each salesperson. Once the board reflected that you sold a car, then you could officially state that you sold the car. If you went around telling people how you closed a deal and the car had not been delivered to the customer (or was not recorded on the board), then you would develop a reputation of someone who was spreading inaccurate information. I understand that humans want to be recognized for their hard work, but by jumping the gun and spreading inaccurate information you run the risk of a massive withdrawal from the Emotional Bank Account.
If you are the person who is receiving information, it is extremely important that you ASK questions to ensure the information you have received is accurate and complete. I discuss in Ask More Get More a story about an employee who gave me information that was not accurate, and I unfortunately did not ask enough questions. This led to a decision that could have been catastrophic to the business. ASK MORE questions and you will GET MORE information that will allow you to make the right decision.
Misinformation: Make sure you have all of the data
I recently had a lawyer come to me to give me their advice on some new marketing laws that had changed and how we should adapt our business accordingly. I began to ASK the lawyer questions about the law and the marketing initiative that the very advice was being given on. The lawyer was so excited to give me the information that he forgot to ASK the most basic question of the marketing department: ARE WE ACTUALLY DOING WHAT THE LAW IS DESIGNED TO REGULATE? The answer was NO. We weren’t even doing what the law was discussing, but the lawyer wanted me to make immediate changes. Luckily I was once a young lawyer too, and yes we are human and make mistakes. I simply told the lawyer to go ASK MORE questions.
When you are building your NET WORTH by relaying information, you need to assume that people are going to make mistakes, and the best way to uncover a mistake or misinformation is to…..you guessed it, ASK questions!