Remember, Remember…

The 5th of November 1603 should have been famous for the death of hundreds, and the destruction of The Houses of Parliament. But it isn’t. Instead, it is famous as the day the ‘Gunpowder Plot‘ was interrupted when The Justice of The Peace uncovered Guy Fawkes crouching in the bowels of the Parliament cellar poised with a match, some barrels and a rather miffed frown. Or so I imagine.

So what made the difference? Simple answer:  somebody listened.

In this case Robert Cecil, the Secretary of State at the time, who was handed a letter outlining the plot and felt concerned enough to pass it onto the King, who in turn ordered a search of the cellars. It’s a good thing he listened.

Listening is important. It’s how you know what others are thinking. It’s how you know what others want. More than that, it’s how you begin to build enough of a knowledge base to understand what people really want, what they say they want, what they think they want and what they don’t really want at all. By listening hard enough,  you  can make much more informed decisions which can only be a good thing.

Of course, listening is only half the story. You’ve got to act upon what you hear, just as James I (or VI, as my Glaswegian upbringing compels me to mention) did. And was very glad of doing so I’m sure.

‘Remember, Remember the fifth of November’, so goes the rhyme. In this case, remember that listening AND acting upon what was learned, helped save a lot of trouble, a lot of bother and lot of clearing up. Start to apply that thinking in your own life, and you might be surprised what you uncover.

Brought into the world on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 and filed under 1000thoughts.