How wisdom connects a caring mindset

While wisdom is not a characteristic of a caring mindset, it certainly plays a role. It’s what connects straightforwardness, thoughtfulness, accountability and resilience. Here is what I mean.

When I was a young engineer in the automotive industry I deliberately sought out the advice of the top quality experts in my field, those who had been in the business for decades. I knew what I did not know and was not afraid to ask their advice.

Their wisdom was essential in helping me understand the automotive industry and grow as a professional.

Too often in our society, especially when it comes to organizations, we tend to dismiss people with a lot of knowledge gained over many years. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? It’s true. Once you hit a certain age, it’s assumed you have nothing to contribute.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

During that period of my life I made an effort to seek out people I knew had been in the industry for years, people with decades of experience. I wanted to benefit from the wisdom I knew they had. Guess what? I learned it all. I developed many deep and lasting relationships with these gurus and sages.

I like to think that in many ways, we learn from each other. As a society, we seem to have lost at least some of our respect for the wisdom that comes with a lifetime of service. We are wrapped up with trying to out-impress each other instead of learning lessons that can impact all of us in a powerful way. You’re afraid of being with older people because we don’t want our peers to think of us as out of touch or uncool.

You know what I say? There is nothing cooler than spending time with someone who has a deep wealth of knowledge developed over the decades of working and collaborating and competing. You have heard me in the past talk about the huge impact my grandfather had on me. It was his wisdom that influenced me the most.

If you want to develop a caring mindset, hang out with the people who already have one.