Stop Being the Smartest Person in the Room

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I was fortunate enough to be invited to a dinner last night, where I joined 15 people in eating some great food at CraftBar, and listening to Neil Golden, former CMO of McDonald’s, as he dropped some serious knowledge on the dinner table.

What struck me most about this dinner was that everyone there (except Neil) was a founder or CEO of a company. They were all in varying stages of startup, and it was amazing to hear their stories. Over the course of a few hours, I realized something really interesting – I was most definitely not the smartest person in the room, by a long shot.

Now, I’m not saying I’m brilliant all the time, but when you get paid to give speeches to audiences of 10,000 people, you start to think that you might know a little bit about the topic on which you’re being paid to speak.

That’s why it was so amazing to be surrounded by Neil and the others at this table – For over two hours, I just shut up and tried to take it all in. I left the restaurant with more knowledge and more ideas for things I wanted to do than I’ve had in the past three months. It was pretty awesome.

So… Think about this – If you’re always the smartest one in the room – Is that always in your best interest? When you go to dinners, are you the one everyone comes up to talk to, or can you take the time to listen to conversations and gain something from what you hear?

Believe me, I understand what a nice massage to the ego it is to want people coming up to you and asking you questions – But it’s just like working out – If you’re not constantly lifting heavier and heavier weights, or trying to run faster and faster, you’ll plateau, and eventually you’ll be overtaken.

If you’re always the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room. (Tweet this!)

Start introducing events into your life where you’re not the smartest person in the room. Hang out with people smarter than you – It’s the only way you’ll improve.

Join the discussion 30 Comments

  • Tracey Warren says:

    Need to step it up a bit. Thanks for the nudge to do so!

  • Tracey Warren says:

    Need to step it up a bit. Thanks for the nudge to do so!

  • Tracey Warren says:

    Need to step it up a bit. Thanks for the nudge to do so!

  • Tracey Warren says:

    Need to step it up a bit. Thanks for the nudge to do so!

  • Tracey Warren says:

    Need to step it up a bit. Thanks for the nudge to do so!

  • Brenda Spandrio says:

    My take away from this is “I just shut up and tried to take it all in.” That works no matter the situation or circumstance. By listening — and really hearing — you can learn a lot! If it’s someone smarter, you may learn a new truth or method; if it’s someone who’s struggling, you could figure out your next business venture!

  • Brenda Spandrio says:

    My take away from this is “I just shut up and tried to take it all in.” That works no matter the situation or circumstance. By listening — and really hearing — you can learn a lot! If it’s someone smarter, you may learn a new truth or method; if it’s someone who’s struggling, you could figure out your next business venture!

  • Brenda Spandrio says:

    My take away from this is “I just shut up and tried to take it all in.” That works no matter the situation or circumstance. By listening — and really hearing — you can learn a lot! If it’s someone smarter, you may learn a new truth or method; if it’s someone who’s struggling, you could figure out your next business venture!

  • Brenda Spandrio says:

    My take away from this is “I just shut up and tried to take it all in.” That works no matter the situation or circumstance. By listening — and really hearing — you can learn a lot! If it’s someone smarter, you may learn a new truth or method; if it’s someone who’s struggling, you could figure out your next business venture!

  • Brenda Spandrio says:

    My take away from this is “I just shut up and tried to take it all in.” That works no matter the situation or circumstance. By listening — and really hearing — you can learn a lot! If it’s someone smarter, you may learn a new truth or method; if it’s someone who’s struggling, you could figure out your next business venture!

  • Laurie Lam'x says:

    Peter, do you have tips on how to get invited to where the smarter-than-me people hang out? I’m sometimes hesitant to insert myself into new groups.

  • Laurie Lam'x says:

    Peter, do you have tips on how to get invited to where the smarter-than-me people hang out? I’m sometimes hesitant to insert myself into new groups.

  • Laurie Lam'x says:

    Peter, do you have tips on how to get invited to where the smarter-than-me people hang out? I’m sometimes hesitant to insert myself into new groups.

  • Laurie Lam'x says:

    Peter, do you have tips on how to get invited to where the smarter-than-me people hang out? I’m sometimes hesitant to insert myself into new groups.

  • Laurie Lam'x says:

    Peter, do you have tips on how to get invited to where the smarter-than-me people hang out? I’m sometimes hesitant to insert myself into new groups.

  • Laurie Lam'x says:

    Peter, do you have tips on how to get invited to where the smarter-than-me people hang out? I’m sometimes hesitant to insert myself into new groups.

  • Tunde says:

    Great lesson to learn. Listening is always better than talking but so difficult to adopt.

  • Kathleen Forsyth says:

    LISTEN is SILENT spelled another way. Even if you are the smartest person in the room, great information is available when we remain SILENT and LISTEN.

  • Jaime Izaks says:

    I like the point about being willing to learn from others, as you put it, “Shut up and take it all in”. So true! Other people have experience and expertise that you may not. Now, I own a Chicago PR agency but I do still love to learn about how to do greater PR than I did yesterday.

  • Jaime Izaks says:

    I like the point about being willing to learn from others, as you put it, “Shut up and take it all in”. So true! Other people have experience and expertise that you may not. Now, I own a Chicago PR agency but I do still love to learn about how to do greater PR than I did yesterday.

  • Jaime Izaks says:

    I like the point about being willing to learn from others, as you put it, “Shut up and take it all in”. So true! Other people have experience and expertise that you may not. Now, I own a Chicago PR agency but I do still love to learn about how to do greater PR than I did yesterday.

  • Jaime Izaks says:

    I like the point about being willing to learn from others, as you put it, “Shut up and take it all in”. So true! Other people have experience and expertise that you may not. Now, I own a Chicago PR agency but I do still love to learn about how to do greater PR than I did yesterday.

  • Jaime Izaks says:

    I like the point about being willing to learn from others, as you put it, “Shut up and take it all in”. So true! Other people have experience and expertise that you may not. Now, I own a Chicago PR agency but I do still love to learn about how to do greater PR than I did yesterday.

  • Mala Desai says:

    Good article Peter, enjoyed it. And I totally agree. Life is all about learning, growing and sharing. I enjoy learning from my friends and colleagues and sharing what I learn with others for good. I’ve shared this article on my Facebook Page, thanks.

  • Hugh Fullerton says:

    Spending a quarter century in academe, I often found that I was not the smartest (but rarely the dumbest) in the room. In such company, however, I found that many colleagues were brilliant in their fields, but not as smart as they thought when they ventured out of them. What I learned to look for (and listen to) were the wisest people in the room. They usually were not the noisiest, but when they spoke, it was worth hearing.

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