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There is power in learning from as many people as you can. IBJ gathered 29 Hoosiers, different in every sense of the word, for its first Interview Issue last week. Collectively, these interviews teach and reinforce many valuable life lessons.
Help others. Meet as many people as you can without trying to extract value from them. Jeffrey Johnson reminds us that “God wants us to be concerned with other people.” Amp Harris states his mission is simply “to help,” no matter what he’s working on.
Be open-minded. If we want to learn and grow, we need to be able to think differently. If all we ever do is engage with people who are the same as us, we will never accomplish this. Scott Pelath and Michael Feinstein reinforce this in their interviews. “There is no possibility of evolution or change if people stay in their own camps and never step outside their boundaries,” says Feinstein.
Talk to people. “There is still something very, very powerful in the spoken word,” says Johnson. We can accomplish a lot, a lot more quickly, if we put down the devices to have good old-fashioned conversations. Having trouble sparking those conversations? Break some bread together. “Having breakfast or coffee or beer together allows you to get to know the person,” says Matt Tully.
Failure is OK. In fact, many of the folks interviewed embrace failure as a big part of their own story.
Sarah Fisher shares that the idea is to learn from our mistakes. We tend to accept failure as a part of the process in so many other areas of our lives. We know we won’t pick up an instrument and play a masterpiece the first time. We understand we aren’t likely to hit a hole-in-one our first time on the golf course. Failure is a part of learning.
So why is failure so often frowned upon in business? Denver Hutt reminds us “that if you’ve never failed, you probably aren’t pushing yourself that hard. You’re probably not challenging the status quo.”
Seek joy, not happiness. “Happiness is all external. Joy is what you feel on the inside,” says Harris. Not only is this a great lesson to reinforce, it has been scientifically proven. Happiness comes and goes, but joy is with us through thick and thin. Want more joy in your life? Play. Hutt shares how valuable her kickball team has been. Unplug.
Scott Newman’s favorite place? “Anywhere there’s not a phone.” And don’t be so serious. People want professional; but serious, not so much. “Take your job seriously, but don’t take yourself serious,” is another great reminder from Newman.
Enjoy life’s little pleasures. Peter Wilt reminds us it is OK to enjoy cheap beer. After all, he did invent the Schlabst (Schlitz on the bottom, Pabst on top). Tully also shares his love for coffee: “Once you have caffeine in you, all things are possible.”
It’s up to you! Channeling her inner Kid President, Hutt reminds us that we all have the ability to make an impact and to do something awesome at any age. “It’s really up to you to decide what kind of impact you want to have on the city.”
Go be awesome today. IBJ has shown us that Indianapolis is full of wonderful strangers we can learn from, connect with and share a round of Schlabst with. Let’s just hope Peter’s buying.•
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Williams is U.S. marketing director for Israel-based Keter Plastic and communications director for Centric: Indy’s Innovation Network. Send comments on this column to ibjedit@ibj.com.
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