Madhu Einsiedler

GROWTH CHALLENGE

Madhu's Discussion Questions

My business partner prefers
– To research all options before making a decision – in detail
– To consider all facts – in detail
– To plan everything thoroughly
– To do things himself rather than delegate

I prefer
– The big picture
– Fast decisions
– A general idea and then work it out as I go along

I’m sure you know people who are the white to your black, the yin to your yang, the opposite of you in various ways. Often to a degree that we don’t even talk to each other anymore. That’s when “opposite” has tranformed into “opposition” which has transformed into “adversary”.

In order to work together, to use our different preferences and potentials to create something we alone never could we need to find the place within ourselves where we allow ourselves to get in touch with these opposites.

It can be as simple as this:

  • What is it about “details” that makes me nervous, bored, anxious?
    Details make me feel like I get lost in a flood, I feel like I lose the general overview – a sense of uncertainty and losing control.
  • How come a slow decision making process makes me uneasy and often angry?
    The fear of not being fast enough, of being left behind, stuck, alone.

My business partner and I talked a lot about this. We found, it’s similar fears and feelings of uncertainty, of losing control that drive us. He tries to manage them through collecting more detail, through taking time before deciding.

We want to avoid similar feelings, are bound to similar drives – yet we have developed different strategies to deal with it. That’s all. Different ways to deal with life.

  • When have I ever taken time to consider all facts in detail?
    I actually have – when writing my master thesis, and I loved it.

My partner and I we have learned to complement each other. Of course we occasionally drive each other crazy. After all, we have been married for almost two decades.

THE CHALLENGE

What do you oppose?
What would happen if you were like that?
How can you prove this is true?

Other Challenges ...

I have not left Madhu's office without understanding myself better and being able to earn more money.