Getting and Giving Advice

None of us is an island. Nor do any of us have all the answers. It would be fair to say that we live in a world of collaboration which is an awesome thing. Sharing ideas, challenging each other, taking the thread of an idea and watching it shift, change, and morph into some exciting it just plain fun. It’s a sugar rush for the brain!

Dealing with challenges

Facing a career decision or some other major decision is a challenge for all of us. Being able to seek out the counsel of others and hear their ideas and suggestions is invaluable. We have likely all benefited from this kind of situation.

The problem

Here’s the problem as I see it. Each of us is likely stuck in a generational bubble. University students only seek the advice of other university students. Young up and coming business people tend to only seek advice from their peers. Managers striving for senior leadership roles often only seek the counsel of peers.

Cross-pollination

This is too narrow an advice process. I think it is critical that we cross pollinate generational thinking up and down the chain. As a young man entering the business world my dad advised me to find three people who were in difference career roles, successful, who I respected, and to seek their counsel on any significant decisions. One of the best pieces of business advice I have ever received! I have used the model of three advisors for my entire life.

It’s about mix

Early on I sought the advice of people who were senior to me in role and age. Over time I mixed it up by adding the advice of much younger people to keep me balanced in my perspective. This has enabled me to make much better decisions. I also sought the advice of peers but I purposed to keep it mixed up by adding generational advice.

Listening

You should work at developing professional relationships up and down the generational chain so that you get good balanced advice. As a younger person I learned to listen with patience to the advice of older people. There is absolute relevance in their stories – you just have to listen for it. Now, as an older person, I have learned to listen with patience to the advice of younger people. There is absolute relevance in their stories – I just have to listen for it!

Core principles

I find that the best approach for getting value out of generational advice is to try and distill the conversation down to a principle or two. What is the core principle of the advice being given to me? I ask a lot of questions to ensure that I understand their perspective.

Today I have a rich group of people ranging from early 30’s to 80’s who are part of my advice pool. They help me make better decisions.

How about you? Who is in your advice pool? Do you have a healthy generational mix? If not, what can you do to improve it?

David Reimer