Simplicity and Law 8 on Trust

John Maeda in The Laws of Simplicity (The MIT Press, 2006) tells about learning to swim as an adult. Swimming was not easy until he learned one simple experience. He relates the way his unorthodox swimming instructor taught.  He says the instructor spent most of his time telling him to "lean back" and trust the water.

I kept waiting to learn how to swim, but in the meantime became more comfotable just leaning back or bending forward in the water.  A formative moment occurred when he (the instructor) told us to go ahead and flap our arms and feet, and suddenly I was swimming!  I realized I could always swim--I just didn't trust the water.

He thought of this experience when he visited Bang and Olufsen, the high styled designer of electronic equipment.  They did not focus on the quality of sound but the "quality of leaning back."  Bang and Olufson needs to know about sound but the sound also needs to know about the listener.  

Trust is simple or is it complex? 

Listening Takes Courage



The story is told of the newspaper ad during the great depression.  A young man saw a "help wanted" ad for a telegraph operator. He had studied Morse code at home while he was unemployed, but he had no experience. And his heart sank as he joined a room full of way too many other men seeking the same job.  Not unlike our times where unemployment is so high.

The young man found a chair and sank into it, already feeling dejected because so many people were there for the interview.  After only a few minutes, however, the young man’s face suddenly brightened, he jumped up out of his chair and ran into the interviewer’s office. Within a few minutes the interviewer who was the manager appeared at his door with the young man to announce that the job had been filled.

Everyone was shocked and disappointed.  One of the men who had been the first to arrive and had waited the longest time asked with great indignation, "What did he say that landed him the job?  After all, he was the last one here." The manager answered in a calm manner, "It was nothing he said. All morning long I have been tapping out a message on my office window in Morse code. It was loud enough for all of you to hear. The message was this: 'If you can understand this message, come on in. You're hired.' All of you heard the noise. He was the only one who listened to the message."

Listening is a simple task but we make it very complicated.  Here are some ways to improve our listening.  What actions can you add to the list?

·        Don’t think the other person doesn’t understand.  The problem may reside inside us. 

·        Ask for clarifications don’t be too eager to respond. You may have transformed the comment into something you would have said.

·        State in your own words what you think you heard the other person say. 

·        Have courage, listening takes nerve.