This Knocked My Socks Off!

Are you a whistle-blower? Or do you cringe just to read those words? According to Margaret Heffernan* (links to a dead link)  in a 2012 TEDTalk, most whistle-blowers are good guys. A whistle-blower can provide constructive conflict, which is vital for success. Heffernan says that great research teams, relationships, and businesses allow people to deeply disagree. When we are afraid of conflict, our doubts remain hidden. But when we dare to break that silence – when we dare to create conflict – we enable ourselves and the people around us to do our very best thinking.

If that knocked your socks off, take a look at our next cool topic, coming soon. And if you want to peruse all of the previous sock-knocking blog entries, visit the Knocked My Socks Off archive (links to another blog site).

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* Margaret Heffernan is an entrepreneur, chief executive, and author. Heffernan blogs for the Huffington Post, for CBSMoneywatch and for Inc.com. In Heffernan’s third book, Willful Blindness, she examines why businesses and the people who run them often ignore the obvious – with consequences as dire as the global financial crisis and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

Heffernan M. Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril. New York: Walker Publishing Co; 2011