Monday July 21st 2025 by SocraticDev
Knowing how to listen and understand before acting is the key to avoiding missteps and progressing, whether in sales or in life.
The American film "Glengarry Glen Ross" (1992) by David Mamet presents New York real estate brokers from a somewhat shady firm where aggressive selling is an encouraged practice. It's another cult film like "Office Space" (1999) by Mike Judge where the working world is illustrated in a striking way. As much as it makes us laugh, it should also be a source of learning to help us move to the next level.
What matters at work are results
This film contains gems from a distant world where competition between colleagues is not only valued but erected as a system. Playing the role of a corporate motivator, Alec Baldwin's character says out loud to a poorly performing colleague who is pouring himself a cup of coffee:
"Coffee is for closers only!"
That is to say, the coffee paid for by the employer is a reward for those who produce results. That we must be clear: it's concrete results and not efforts and long hours spent at the office that are valued here.
Again, the same corporate motivator drops a bomb. The ABC of work is:
A: Always
B: be
C: closing
Here's another gem that makes me smile because it's so anti-socially correct. It's so raw and direct. While the working world often means hearing excuses and explanations to justify the absence of tangible results. Misery! Imagine this motivator unleashed in your workplace.
Listening to better achieve your objectives
Beyond the ruthless philosophy embodied by the main character Richard Roma played by Al Pacino lie nuggets of wisdom.
Roma is a shark and he's presented as such. Despite the violence of his words, I see him as an educator. He teaches a lesson to his colleagues: the savoir-être of a highly strategic person. What's not important isn't important. And what is important, is.
The nuance with which Al Pacino's character is portrayed is masterful. Having learned that a colleague signed an important contract, he stops and takes time to celebrate this victory in a sincere and attentive way. When another colleague tries to draw his attention to tortuous and fundamentally toxic aspects, he ignores him.
You want to learn the first rule? You'd know if you spent a day in your life. Don't ever open your mouth 'till you know what the shot is. You're a fucking child.
Richard Roma explodes at a colleague who just made him lose an important sale. Williamson spoke without knowing the context of his relationship with his client. He assumed he understood the situation and rushed to appease this client by giving him information that had the opposite effect. Instead of comforting him, his words only increased his torment.
And I'm the first guilty of talking too much without taking time to listen.
And that's the key to the kingdom: listening! Understanding the situation, understanding the context and listening to everything the other person has to say before speaking.
Not only is interrupting others impolite, but it's harmful to you. You lose your interlocutor's respect, you bring no value to the situation, and you prevent yourself from properly understanding the situation to achieve success.
Knowing how to listen and understand before acting is the key to avoiding missteps and progressing, whether in sales or in life.
translated from french by Claude Sonnet 4
