Mike DomitrzPresident, Author, and Speaker on Respect, The Center for Respect, Inc. · Author & Speaker on Respect for Schools, Corporations, & the Military since 1990 (has reached

We should seek to understand others before we dismiss them!

31 Aug 2023 · 1 min

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In this brief talk, the speaker urges the audience to approach the discussion with kindness—being calm, caring, attentive, and grounded. He emphasizes pausing before reacting, considering alternative perspectives, and staying open to new possibilities. An anecdote from a recent leadership event in Arizona illustrates the point: when challenged with the question, “Are you willing to be wrong?” the speaker realized that past failures don’t preclude future success, especially as people evolve over time. The core message is a reminder to adopt a growth mindset, remain receptive to being wrong, and treat each interaction with empathy and curiosity.

Chapters

Now, before we get started, one thing I'm gonna ask you to do is to lead with the sense of kindness throughout today's discussion. And you notice this graphic here, it talks about being calm and caring and being attentive and grounded. The reason this is important is I could say something tonight that makes you go, what? I would never agree with that. And I'm just gonna ask you to pause and say, hmm, why would I maybe agree with that? What's a way I could consider that? Just to consider new possibilities. I was at an event recently, just last week in Arizona with leaders, and somebody said, Mike, have you tried this? And I tried it in the past. I said, yeah, it's not going to work. And here's what I said, all the reasons it wasn't going to work because I tried it in the past. And he looked at me and said, just curious, are you willing to be wrong? And it was a great reminder that just because I thought something didn't work in the past doesn't mean it won't work with a new attempt. By the way, we're different people today than we were yesterday.