There’s benefit in the discourse

“Benefit in the discourse” was a phrase that was a touchstone from my law school study group.  Maurice, the originator of that phrase and many other phrases, loved to discuss at length.  Maureen, Faith, and I often had our moments of grinding a subject flat.  As a group, we discussed to learn, to help each other, to challenge ourselves on the issues and to improve our understanding.  When I analyze, I tend to be brief, direct and don’t often require a lot of discourse.  However, I remember Maurice’s phrase when I am in meetings or talking to others that need the comfort of further analysis and discourse.

I broach this topic as we begin to engage in the blog for our coursework.  Let us refrain from impatience and condensation.  Aha moments may arrive for us even when we think we have it all figured out.  There is no one approach or best answer.  Many of the topics we will discuss can be argued – What should be the business priority or what key drivers are affecting an industry or a business cycle?

The blog discussion is intended to be a skill building and practice area for sharing diverse perspectives and conflict resolution.  All voices will need to be heard so let’s focus on listening.  Let’s keep to one conversation.  The goal is to focus on learning, not to win the argument but to seek the next level of understanding in order to expand the inquiry.

We often had heated conversations within our study group and we did not take it personally.  Remember the old Warner Brothers cartoon with the coyote and the sheepdog?  The coyote and the sheepdog would be in combat but then they would clock out and go off together.  Similarly, engage intensely if necessary, be passionate about your thoughts and positions and recognize that it is just a conversation.  Even in business, profits and processes are being discussed, very few of us are in the ER or first responders saving lives.  Let’s keep the dialogue in perspective and grow our understanding.