At our Speakers Roundtable meeting, our colleague Mike Rayburn made a startling announcement. “A friend of mine wants to play a few songs and hang out with us tonight,” he said. “Please welcome…John Oates!”

Half of the most successful duo in popular music history — with his partner, Daryl Hall — Oates smiled at our small group and started performing some of their extraordinary hits…as well as the new tunes he is working on.

The fascinating aspect to me was that EVERY song had a story of something that John had overheard or noticed. His creative artistry was stimulated simply — yet importantly — by merely paying attention to the world around him.

It made me wonder: how much more distinctive and dynamic could our efforts become if we cared enough to pay attention to what is happening around us.

What do your customers say? What are your colleagues discussing? If listening can create a platinum recording career and millions in songwriting royalties for John Oates…what could it do for your products, services, and profitability?