When we asked Allison Hemming, founder of The Hired Guns, during an interview for our upcoming book what advice she had for other entrepreneurs she said to read The Corner Office column in the Sunday Business Section of The NY Times. It was something that I occasionally did. Since talking to her I make a concerted effort to do so more frequently.
A couple of weeks ago they featured Robin Domeniconi, an SVP at the Elle Group. She had lots of good things to say about trusting your gut, trusting your peers, and not being afraid to be vulnerable.
There was one thing that she said that I really liked. Robin said that she made sure her team used “MRI” – which stands, in this case, for Most Respectful Interpretation. I love this. It is easy to think about the worst case scenario or jump to the wrong conclusions, especially when you don’t have a lot of data about a situation. MRI means giving the benefit of the doubt and assuming that the other party has the best intentions.
It’s a small thing that can have a big impact. I can think about so many times when I’ve been wrong in my assumptions or misread a situation. I’m guilty of building things up in my head with very little data to support it. MRI would have saved me a lot of grief in these scenarios.
So, when I’m not sure what to make of a situation, I’m committing to making the most respectful interpretation and, if I need to, follow up by asking more questions to get the necessary information.
Thanks Allison, thanks Corner Office, thanks Robin!
-Adelaide
