Being right

Do you want to be right or do you want to create something?

— Phil Stutz, Stutz

I like to say that being right is half the battle. And not even the most important battle at all.

Many people believe being right is all there is. That once you are right you are deserved recognition for it. The struggle comes when those who believe are right don’t get their way. Their ideas don’t move forward. Their suggestions are shut down. They don’t get support for their projects. They get pushed aside, or worst, ignored entirely.

Being right is half the battle, the other half is getting people on your side. Without support nothings moves forward. The hardest part is not having ideas, or even correct ideas. The hard part is making other see your point of view, having them understand why you think your ideas are better than those of others.

There are a lot of ways to get people on your side, and many of them have nothing to do with being right. In fact, some of the most successful people are wrong more often than they are right. But they are also very good at selling their ideas, at getting people to see their point of view.

The ability to persuade, to convince, to gain support, is a skill that’s worth honing. It’s a skill that’s just as important as being right.

Most people want to be right, but the few who win are the ones who also know how to get others to see their side.