No doubt I’m preaching to the choir when I say that being in a service-oriented role is both rewarding and tiring. Even simple listening practices, the subject of the last two weekly tips, take energy and effort to do well.

We’re continuing our focus on listening from last week because it’s an underdeveloped business skill that can’t be emphasized enough.

Listening, listening, listening. It’s been the subject of many weekly tips, like #2, #7, #34 and #56.

Why so much talk about listening? Because it’s such a critical skill for trusted advisors to master.

Have you ever been annoyed by someone, only to have them teach you a really valuable lesson?

That happened today.