Strength in identifying your weakness

#myweakness is trending in a big way today as the world takes to identifying and exposing their weaknesses on Twitter.

It got me thinking about a valuable conversation I had with a successful businessman over a 1/2 chicken meal at Nandos about a month back…

We were discussing mentors and why it’s so vital to get a reality check from people with experience. We all know the sayings: “always get a fresh perspective”, “always get an outside opinion” and “two heads are better than one” – but have we stopped to think why exactly?

He put it like this:

No matter if you’re driving an old beat up Toyota Tazz or the latest Bentley Continental GT – all cars have blind spots. That’s why we have mirrors and when driving around in both business and life, we’re constantly checking our mirrors to ensure we don’t bump into things. Mentors are there to confirm what we see in our mirrors and sometimes help us change direction if we’re heading off course. Very often, we stop checking our mirrors or skim over what’s in them, and that’s when we put ourselves at risk.

He continued to tell me that the most successful people he knew, were people that valued great counsel from others. Particularly those that were willing to first acknowledge their weaknesses.

For example, take the dealmaker with an uncanny skill to sniff out an amazing deal. He’s got an incredible skill that many people would love to have. But he’s no good with numbers or law. That’s why he pays top dollar to several accountants and lawyers to ensure that his weaknesses are covered by people who excel where he would falter.

I’ve got to ask if we should be exposing our weaknesses to the world and if doing this doesn’t put us in a new position of weakness?

I think so, that’s why the only weakness you’re getting out of me today is the fact that I can’t cook great chicken. And that’s what led my mentor and I to Nando’s in the first place.