In a scene familiar to anyone who’s been to New York, the sign in front of a display of canvases said “Spray Art: $60”.
Thousands of people walked by. A few lingered. One buyer haggled her way to a 50 percent discount. Another bought four pieces because he said he needed something for his walls. Over the course of seven hours, three people made purchases for a total of $420.
Sound about right?
Maybe so, except the items on display were original works by the British street artist Banksy — and one of the purchasers later sold her two pieces at auction for $200,000.
Why the disconnect? Passersby experienced Banksy’s art outside its natural habitat. Put the same piece up for auction sale at Sotheby’s, and a different perception rules the day. It must be awesome, and extremely valuable.
We appreciate it, at least in part, because we think we’re supposed to appreciate it.
See the same art displayed on a folding table in Central Park? It blends into the fake Rolex, fake Coach background.
The same is true situations. Like the time virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell played incognito in a D.C. metro station and was basically ignored. Days later the Avery Fisher Prize winner was in the middle of a sold out, headlining tour of Europe.
Granted, it’s natural to add extra weight to advice we receive from people we admire and respect, and to subtract weight and even disregard advice we hear from people we don’t respect, or simply don’t know.
That’s understandable.
At the same time, a real problem.
Say you run into Mark Cuban. You tell him you’re an entrepreneur with an idea and you ask for product/market fit advice. He’s a nice guy, and he gives you some tips. Within minutes you’ve mentally scrapped your idea, and why shouldn’t you? He’s Mark Cuban! He’s forgotten more about startups, and building businesses, than most of us will ever know.
But maybe in this case he isn’t right. He doesn’t know you. He probably doesn’t know your market or your competition. Yes, he’s Mark Cuban, but still, his opinions — like anyone’s — are based on his particular background, experiences, and perspectives.
What’s right for him may be far from right for you.
And keep in mind he’s not always right. No one is. As Charlie Munger said, “If you exclude the great buys, we have a pretty mediocre record. Warren and I got five stocks right in fifty years, and the rest were kind of middling.”
Sure, most of the people you run into won’t be as successful as Cuban. Are you going to automatically hang on their every word? Unlikely.
But you should always listen. Just as you should never reflexively accept a message because you admire the messenger, nor should you reflexively discount a message because you discount the messenger.
Opinions, advice, information: it’s all data, and the more data we have, the better.
Strip away the framing you might apply to the source. Strip away the setting or environment. Consider the advice, the information, and the opinion based solely on its merits.
The quality of the source matters, but ultimately the quality of the information –and its relevance to your unique situation — matters a lot more.
The more you listen, and the more people you are willing to listen to, the more data you will have at your disposal to make smart decisions.
You don’t have to agree, but you should always try to listen.
Because a Banksy is still a Banksy: no matter who displays it, and where it might be displayed.