Listening skills

Overcome your listening problem to succeed in your entrepreneurial venture

When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen you may learn something new.

Dalai Lama You started on your entrepreneurial journey with a bang, and along with your partners, you were sure to achieve your dreams of being the best in your field. Yet, a year later, you see yourself at war with your partners. Your employees are not in sync with your organizational roadmap and somehow your customers don’t seem to get your idea. What went wrong? What’s wrong with your partners, employees, and customers? Nothing at all! It’s you who have a problem – a listening problem. As strange as it sounds, many of us have a serious listening issue? The result of this seemingly trivial issue is huge: 1. Discord in the management team 2. Unhappy employees 3. Lack of understanding within teams

4. Disappointed customers 5. Skeptical investors The repercussions of all these negative vibes will invariably be loss of goodwill in the market and business setbacks. So listening is critical not just within your organization but more so with your customers.

Listening essentials Let’s look at why listening is so critical for you when you interact with every stakeholder around you Your partners Your partners are your allies and you definitely need to proceed as a team with a common philosophy.

But you cannot always be in agreement with each other’s point of view. This is where the art of listening comes in. Listen empathetically and understand their opinions. Finally, take a decision that you are all in agreement with. Discussions and differences of opinions cannot be avoided but what you can definitely avoid is these disagreements escalating into permanent discord.

Your investors Your investors are critical for the success of your entrepreneurial initiative. So it’s important that you keenly observe what they have to say and definitely read between the lines. Listening does not mean agreeing. Hence, be clear that you understand what your investors’ expectations are and respond accordingly rather than allowing miscommunication breed discontent.

Your customers Listening to your customers is an art since most often it’s what they don’t say or don’t do that hurts your business. Listen into the social media and online chatter about your organization’s reviews. Value negative and positive feedback with the same level of sincerity. Ensure that you interaction is personalized at every step. It’s often your customers who tell you what’s working and what’s not. More importantly, they often indirectly provide you the direction in which your journey should proceed. A complaint can be an opportunity to excel in delivering a service, introduce a new line of products, or fine tune processes.

Your employees Listen carefully to what your employees have to say since they are the lifeline of your organization.

While you may make the plans, the key to a successful implementation is with your employees so make sure that they are inspired to be part of your team. Listen to their ideas, opinions, grievances, and reviews and you will definitely benefit from the changes you will be making as a result of these inputs.

Your competitors and your landscape Listen keenly and sharply to your competitors and leaders in your vertical. Be the first to get a hint of a possible new wave in your field, disruptive innovations, an opportunity, or, in the worst case, a threat.

The sharper you listen, the earlier you are forewarned and the better your response will be. Very often not listening to the landscape makes you redundant in your field. There are many examples, from Nokia

to Toys R Us. These failures have startled even industry specialists, but the reason is clear. They had a listening problem – they failed to listen to their changing landscapes.

Talk a lot – but listen a lot more You definitely need to do a lot of talking if you are to gain visibility in this competitive market. However you also need to listen equally well, if not more. But more important, avoid listening just to reply or to place a counter-argument. Listen to understand and comprehend. Never listen half-heartedly or to just a portion of any information. This can lead to miscommunication. Listening is not only related to talking, it’s equally about understanding cues, body language, and non-verbal hints and patterns. Listen equally to the hows and whys of a point. Be empathetic when you listen and most important – remember what you listen to and translate it into action. If all this seems tough to master, turn to your business mentor or business coach who can guide you in building this critical skill set. #BusinessMentorIndia #BusinessCoachIndia #BusinessCoachMentorIndia #BusinessMentorForEntrepreneursIndia #BusinessMentorForEntrepreneurs #BusinessEntrepreneurship #BusinessMentor #BusinessCoach #BusinessEntrepreneurshipIndia #SarathyMentor #SarathyCoach #BusinessMentorForEntrepreneurInMumbai #StartupMentor #StartupCoachInIndia #MentorForStartups #BusinessCoachandMentorIndia #BusinessCoachandMentorsIndia #StartupBusinessMentorIndia #StartupMentorCoachIndia