60 Second Success

Chapter 2

1 Percent

If two men on the same job agree all the time, then one is useless. If they disagree all the time, then both are useless.

—Darryl F. Zanuck

Beliefs drive behaviors, just like goals do. Our beliefs tend to drive how we choose to see things and thereby create a heavy dose of influence as to why we are at odds with people who hold very different beliefs. We just see things differently, rooted in our upbringing, environment, experiences, and influences.

Presidential races are so much fun, or maybe not. Ever seen a Facebook post by one side that changes the opinion of someone on the other side? Doubt it. Ever see someone verbally attack another person who is diametrically opposed in their beliefs on some lighthearted stuff, like politics, religion, or climate change? Doubt it.

Our son, Mitchell, came home from work the other day and told us about an interesting conversation he had with his boss. He’s a good guy, by the way. Both have high respect for each other. He and his boss were discussing something political. I don’t know the specifics. Generally speaking, I think they are actually on the same side, though Mitchell doesn’t necessarily see himself on a particular side. He is more inclined to learn from people rather than debate people with different views. But I’m not so sure his boss shares the same open-minded attitude.

So seventeen-year-old Mitch respectfully offered this challenge to his boss: Go find someone with whom he is diametrically opposed in all major areas. If he’s right-leaning, look for someone left-leaning. If he’s a Democrat, look for a Republican. If he’s pro-life, look for someone who considers themselves to be pro-choice. You get the picture.

Only that’s not the challenge. It’s pretty easy to find them. The challenge is to find the person, engage them, and genuinely search to find one thing, just one, they both share in common. Find the 1 percent and focus on that. Build a discussion around commonality. Maybe they both like animals, seafood, or perhaps a good microbrew. Perhaps they share a birthday, TV interests, or a sports team they follow. There’s always something.

It was a great challenge. In fact, when he shared this with me, it made me think of a John Maxwell principle he offers in his book, Winning with People. It’s called the 101% Principle. Find the 1 percent we agree on and give it 100 percent of our effort. Wow. Mitchell has never read a Maxwell book, yet he nailed a Maxwell leadership principle completely on his own.

Maybe we should accept this challenge. Find the 1 percent and build on that.