Joe uses the Covey subway story — a man judging unruly children until learning their mother just died — to illustrate how thinking you have the complete picture blocks compassion, solutions, and growth. The shift is instantaneous once new information arrives, but it can only arrive if you’re open to it.
This applies at every scale. An architect and an atomic scientist see the Chrysler Building completely differently. Neither is wrong; neither has the whole story. The integration of multiple perspectives creates better solutions — like how both a tech-forward and marketing-forward company are limited, but combining both perspectives yields something superior.
The trap: this doesn’t mean abandoning your own perspective. You can hold your truth while acknowledging it’s not the whole truth. As Joe says: “This is a helpful perspective and it might not be helpful to you.”
“It’s about being able to integrate new knowledge and if you can’t integrate new knowledge because you think you have the whole story then you’re limited, period.”
Related Concepts
- The story you carry may not be the full truth
- Wonder eliminates defensiveness
- Iteration beats perfection