There’s a big difference between paying attention, and listening.
Yes, listening is indeed one way to pay attention.
But commercially, we learn a lot more about a person, a company culture or a company as a whole when we pay attention to what they do. Their actions reflect their motivations, beliefs and priorities with much greater accuracy than their convincing, carefully polished words.
Here’s what one of my mentors taught me when I started out in business. It’s saved me from making bad decisions countless times over the years.
What people say, is what they want us to think they will do. What people do, is what they actually do.
I’ve found that advice to be enormously valuable, before making any important, commercial decisions. I hope you find it equally useful.