In Business and in Life, when you ask a question, listen carefully to the answers, withhold judgement, and stop to think about what and who it is that you hear.

You are certain to end up with a stronger, more meaningful judgement and more productive/constructive conclusion than when you might simply react. . . or get your shovel out and start to dig before asking and listening more carefully!

We all forget this great advice from time-to-time, and that’s okay, but not questioning and not listening carefully to a response is not okay. In other words, making unfounded assumptions without checking details is NOT okay, and is —in fact— “Risky Business.” It’s always better to ask too many questions than to draw too many conclusions!

In business, and elsewhere in life, we frequently find ourselves questioning and judging others with evidence that can often appear “obvious” on the surface, but that often turns out to be unfounded, manipulated, biased or even 100% untrue!

Every human-being experiences life’s trials and tribulations and the conclusions that others offer differently, and each of us is often subjected to uninformed and prejudicial judgements without realizing it because we may trust the source.

Sources and appearances are truly not always what they seem. How often have you considered the source(s) of information a cover up, only to discover what you saw or heard was actually 100% rooted in truth? Or: vice versa?

When appearances and hearsay seem to underscore “obvious” faults, it’s easy to accuse someone who appears to have acted or spoken in some questionable manner of being bazaar, thoughtless, even “sick” or “completely out of touch.”

Judgements and even “see for yourself” and “cut and dried” evidence can be easily misrepresented or misinterpreted . . . important opinions and opiniated questions and answers need to be fully-explored, even when they appear obvious . . . and this is especially true when the source is prejudiced, acting vindicated (or apart from the circumstances) and unaware or seeking justification . . . it’s your choice!