There’s a very seductive trap that people often fall into when they become successful. They become full of themselves and their success and begin to entertain thoughts like, “I know what I’m doing,” and, “I’m way too good to fail.” Most important, they stop listing. A case in point is Boeing. The company lost two 737 MAX aircraft—one in 2018 and one in 2019 which resulted in the deaths of 346 people. There was also the incident where a cabin door came off during a flight in January of 2024. When Boeing employees, referred to as “whistle blowers,” tried to point out Boeing’s quality problems to Boeing’s management, they were ignored and pushed aside while company management continued to emphasize increasing production while reducing costs. Recently, during a congressional hearing, the current Boeing CEO was asked if he thought speaking to these “whistle blowers” would be a good idea. His response was, “Yeah, I think it would.” Clearly, listening to the employees who knew of Boeing’s quality problems first-hand was not high on the management’s agenda. If it had, these incidents may well have been prevented.

One Sentence Wisdom

• “Listening is a master skill for personal and professional greatness.” — Robin S. Sharma
• “I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.” — Ernest Hemingway

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