“But he that dares not grasp the thorn should never crave the rose.”
Anne Bronte

Roses go to the daring. Those willing to risk occasional flesh-piercing to enjoy the succulent beauty of the rose.

Are you daring enough?

Chances are you’ve burned the boats at least once. You needed to make a big, outrageous commitment and you lit the torch. Unless you’re a serial entrepreneur, you reserve boat burning for very special occasions.

Daniel Kahneman explores the perils of confidence in deliciously insightful detail here for the New York Times.

One point was particularly intriguing for advisors. How many times do clients “who face a difficult question often answer an easier one instead”? And how often do we advisors help them dumb down the issue into one we can quickly resolve?

Think about it. The tough question: “Why are we failing to close new business at the rate we used to?” morphs to “How can we re-tool our website to attract more clients?”

Tapping out (from the combat sports) is yielding to your opponent. Defeat is immediate.

In football, tapping out—for anything less than being unconscious—is considered a disgrace. Take the Bears’ Jay Cutler, who refused to re-enter a critical playoff game after a minor injury. Astonished fans derided him as he sat on the sidelines and victory slid from their grasp. The price? A Super Bowl berth.

The fans aside, he also lost the respect, trust and confidence of his teammates. And in financial terms, his value as a quarterback took a large hit.

"Well done is better than well said." - Benjamin Franklin “

In consulting (and law and finance), “well said” is important. Well said wins you cases, assignments and awards. Well said compels the right people to want more. Well said is a critical skill.

But well said is only the beginning.

I attended a delightful dinner party co-hosted by a highly experienced consumer market researcher. Listening to him was a mini master class in truth seeking and truth telling.

No shrinking violet, Bob built his reputation on listening to everyday consumers and asking tough questions, unswayed by client or agency opinion. Being real and challenging conventional thinking are core elements of his DNA.

Which got me thinking. Are truth seeking and truth telling given adequate attention in the advisory professions?