Are You The Dumbest In The Room?

The Dumbest in the Room

Welcome back to the newsletter that is focused on equipping you with the skills and mindsets that will help you set yourself apart from the crowd. 

It is commonly said that if you are the smartest person in the room then you are in the wrong room. This week we will talk about the Why and the How behind the value of being the dumbest in the room. Let’s dive in. 

The Importance of Being in the Right Room

At first glance, this quote doesn’t sit right. Everyone wants to be the smartest person in the room. You feel a sense of worth and power when people look to you for the answers. That is why people feel honored and respected when you ask them to mentor you or go out to lunch to ask questions. (if you are not asking those questions to people we will talk about why you should be, next week) But being on the other side of this equation is not nearly as fun. That is why very few people ever get out of the “wrong room”. 

Why You Need To Get Out Of The Wrong Room Today

As simple and straightforward as possible: You cannot grow if you are the smartest in the room. How could you? If you have the mindset and posture of being the smartest person in the room you will not even be open to the most profound truths in the world. This mindset comes from a place of superiority that can often be valid. For example I am not going to ask questions about growing my business to a college student studying biology. But that does not mean this biology student has nothing to teach me. 

For simplicity’s sake, imagine all the information in the world was displayed on a typical 52-card deck. As you go about your life gathering information and learning new concepts you start acquiring say the 4 of spades, the 3 of hearts, and the queen of diamonds. Your friend on the other hand is doing the same thing as you yet he is gathering the 2 of clubs, the 9 of hearts, and the king of spades. It is only when you start asking questions and talking about the information you have learned that he can show you his 9 of hearts, a piece of information you have not acquired yet. The thing is you have no idea what cards he has just like you do not know what information and knowledge the people around you have. And if you have acquired a lot of cards it gets really easy to start believing that you do not need any more cards and that is when you start getting comfortable in the wrong room. 

Never give up the search for more cards. You truly never know what is behind the eyes of the people around you, it could be the very thing you are looking for. 

How To Get Out Of The Wrong Room

By establishing that everyone has cards to give and that we typically do not know what cards they have we can now talk about how we are able to get out of the wrong room. We get out of the room by asking questions. 

There is a story about one of the best investors to ever live, Warren Buffett, being asked to lunch by an up-and-coming young investor. This young investor waited for months and months to meet his hero over lunch and had his notebook full of questions to ask for Buffett. After the meeting was over the young investor recalled only being able to talk about himself due to the continuous flow of questions Buffett asked him. One of the smartest investors in the world, a man who is quite literally the smartest person in every room he walks into still embodies the mindset and posture of being open to learning from others. If Buffet can learn from other people then so can we. We can learn from people by asking questions and being open to hearing their responses.

Summary 

Being the dumbest in the room is not about intelligence or acquired knowledge. It is about your mindset and posture in your everyday life. It is about your ability to speak up when concepts do not make sense and not being afraid of asking a dumb question. Jordan Peterson talks about the importance of asking dumb questions is that you only have to ask it once then you are not dumb anymore. Ask the dumb questions and watch yourself get smarter. Watch yourself separate yourself from the crowd by continuously acquiring more and more cards. 

Practicals

The Problem: What mindset and posture do you typically walk in? Do you think to yourself that you can teach these people a lesson or do you think to yourself what lessons can I learn from these people? 

The Motivation: Why do you want to grow and what are you willing to sacrifice in order to grow? Are you willing to look dumb by asking dumb questions?

The Game Plan: In your next meeting, connect, or social gathering be the first to ask questions. Think about what cards the person across from you could be holding and ask questions that reveal those cards. 

The craziest part about asking questions and being the dumbest person in the room is that people will not see you as dumb. Instead, you will ask the question they are thinking and you will start establishing yourself in the room. A beautiful paradox. 

Be okay with being the dumbest in the room. Ask dumb questions once and become smarter. 

Go out. Make a difference.