The 4 Most Important Words

If you subscribe to newsletters, are on Twitter or buy magazines, you can identify with the fact that you have come across many articles that gives you advice starting with the following words: “the 4 most important this or the 5 most important that.” It is as if there is a formula for success, a formula for weight loss, a formula for rising up the perfect kids. But life is not a formula, is it? So, if the heading of this post is, “the 4 most important words”, what would formula are we referring to?

Thankfully, there’s no formula. Tom Peters (www.tompeters.com) says that the 4 most important words is “WHAT DO YOU THINK?” What does “what do you think” mean? It means YOU ARE A PERSON OF VALUE WHO HAS AN OPINION THAT I WANT TO HEAR! How many times, in the course of a day, do you ask people “what do you think?”

One of the ways to be effective, is by asking the right people “what do you think?”. What are some subjects that you can categorize your question in?

If you want to get something done, ask the Do-ers “what do you think?” The Do-ers have talents like Achiever (hard workers), Arranger (organizers), Consistency (producing standard operating procedures), Discipline (produce structure and routines), Focus (setting priorities for the goal) or Responsibility (committing to getting things done). Who are the Do-ers in your world?

If you want to influence people with your ideas, ask the influencers “what do you think?” Influencers have talents like Activator (getting people to start something), Command (selling your ideas), Communication (getting the message out there), Maximizer (making your ideas better), Significance (striving to make it a success) and Woo (strategic networking). By getting input from your influencers, your ideas will grow into something larger than yourself.

If you want to build better relationships, ask the relation builders “what do you think?”. They have talents like Developer (investing in people), Empathy (feeling what others feel), Harmony (creating peace), Includer (including those that feel left out), Individualization (making people feel special) or Relator (building close and trusting relationships). Who are the relation builders in your world?

If you want to think differently about a problem or an issue, ask the strategic thinkers “what do you think?”. These are the people with talents like Analytical (brings data and facts), Futuristic (how will the future look like if you act), Connectedness (what will the consequence be of your decision), Ideation (thinks outside of the box), Input (resource giver), Strategic (what is the best option). The strategic thinkers in your life will help you to make better decisions.

BOTTOM LINE: Look at your world. Identify those that are do-ers, influencers, relation builders and strategic thinkers. So, in what category do YOU fall? What will YOU answer when someone asks you “what do you think?”

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