#6) Intro: Disagreements

Hi, and welcome to "Always Be Better" with Mel Windham. Today we're going to talk about disagreements, but first a quick update.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned an upcoming episode on Drake's Equation, which will be my first presentation featuring graphics. But unfortunately, it's not quite ready yet. I've already poured hours into it, but it's turning out to be a massive learning curve. You probably won't think it's that much when you see it, but I'm certainly having fun with the preparations. Look for it coming shortly.

So, changing the order a little bit, today I'm going to breach the topic of disagreements. It's inevitable -- if it hasn't already happened, you're going to eventually disagree with something I say, especially when we get to the higher level topics. Or I'm going to disagree with one of your comments, but you know what? That's perfectly okay. 

My goal today is to emphasize this: That it's okay to disagree. Each of us have different upbringings and exposures in life. We have different talents, different religions, different political views. In short, we all see the world differently and we can each see certain things that most other people can't see. 

And that's primarily where these disagreements come from. We see something that doesn't seem quite right, and we think it would be better if we tried something differently. If we don't speak up, what we see will never get fixed. But often, when we do speak up, and when it counts, people do listen, and things change for the better.

I've seen this at my day job multiple times ... it's that synergy mentioned in my favorite Habit #6. 

Something needs to be done. We have a meeting to discuss. Someone throws out an idea. I may see a problem with that idea. I speak up. Another person says my idea is good, and perhaps he changes it some. Or perhaps someone tells me why my idea doesn't work. If I agree with that person, I drop my idea and we move on. If there's something else I need to present to support my idea, maybe I'll offer a rebuttal instead. But if everyone is doing this in good faith, we will eventually come together to the most optimal solution. And this happened to me this past week several times alone, and it can often be a quick process.

I've also seen where it doesn't quite work out so well. Now let's say Johnny over here really, really likes his idea, he may not let go and it can really wreck the entire meeting. The results are almost disastrous. I've seen many managers push some incredibly bad ideas and bad products that later torture workers for years. Covey refers to this type of thing as Negative Synergy.

Then comes the world where we have so much division and disagreement. Many believe that there's no way we could ever come together. Some say, "If we could only agree, the world would become a better place." I've said that, myself, recently. 

However, it's not the disagreement that's bad. It's how we react to that disagreement, and how we argue one with another. And honestly, I would have to say that most of us are very bad at arguing. Most of what I see on social media is one logical fallacy after another, and so much of doing the opposite of what Habits 4 through 6 teach.

We'll get through all of this, but it's going to take some time. There is a lot to learn and review. I'm planning a whole course -- spread out in small chunks so we can enjoy this -- and we're going to become better arguers. We'll go over logic, the fallacies I mentioned, Habits 4 through 6, and specific techniques and exercises to help us succeed. And then after that, perhaps we can save the world.

So, as we progress, I want you to never stop disagreeing. Hold on to your views, and get used to the idea of speaking out. You can perhaps start thinking of ways to do this effectively. How can you change your tactics to get people to listen? 

We'll come back to this in March when I present the first introduction to logic. That's all I have for now, and thanks for watching. Remember, we can "Always Be Better."