Why having opinions matters

Maybe this is a controversial topic that will make people uncomfortable - I want to talk about not being opinionated enough.

Let’s start off with an analogy; discussing how many people select scores on a rating scale - whether it’s a survey, NPS ratings or something whose results range from 1 to 10.

When someone is uncomfortable to vote a certain way, they vote 7. If they think something is bad, instead of giving a 5 or 6 they will round up to a 7. If they are afraid that giving an 8 or 9 might be too strong of an endorsement, they will round down to a 7. 7 is the safe bet. It’s the i-am-not-seeking-confrontation number. It’s the please-let’s-get-along number. I personally dismiss 7 from the rating scale, because it gives an easy way out.

Unfortunately, this happens more often than you’d like in daily life. Say when someone proposes 2 options for solving a problem - you don’t want to be the person who defaults to “Oh yeah, either way works for me”. While it comes from a place of kindness that is an unhelpful contribution. The only thing worse is saying nothing at all. And don’t get me wrong, I have been that guy who says I’m fine with anything. However, I learned that to be an effective contributor to a discussion, it’s something I need to try to avoid or stop doing altogether.

I am going to try and underscore the importance of having strong opinions. They can certainly be strong opinions loosely held. You don’t have to be dogmatic in a way that you don’t leave room for discussion or negotiation.

Why is it important to have strong opinions?

You can build a great system that is founded on strong beliefs, but you will not build a great system that is founded on weak beliefs.

I call this the “Beliefs Antithesis”. This applies to systems that are technical, social or economical. Systems that are durable and stand the test of time, are built on rock hard foundations. These foundations come from a first-principles form of thinking. First principles thinking is a method of problem-solving that involves breaking down complex issues into their most basic and fundamental parts.

Everyone who wants to commit to being a strong leader, needs to be able to reason through a problem and present their opinion on it. To be a voice that people respect, you need to have strong convictions. Those convictions need to be grounded in strong reasoning, so you can defend your thoughts or actions. Don’t be disappointed or dismayed if you are unable to convince others about your idea. Learn from it and figure out how to best communicate the message. The problem in most cases would not be that you had a “wrong” opinion but that you had either incorrect messaging or missing inputs. Take that positively and learn from the experience.

This is a skill that is often lacking in people who are junior. No one wants to antagonize the person or group putting an idea or solution on the table. Unfortunately the only way you will grow in your career is to formulate your own opinions and be able to reason through them. Blindly following someone else’s voting or reasoning might work in the near term, but it will not catapult you ahead in life. I understand, it’s a hard skill to learn if this does not come to you intuitively. To overcome it, you need to observe and absorb from the best around you while giving it your own unique twist. As Neale Donald Walsch said “Growth begins at the end of your comfort zone”.

In closing…

Being apathetic when you are being asked to opine on something can be demotivating and unproductive to the people seeking your input. It’s easy to not care. Caring takes effort. Be empathetic and craft your opinions to fit what your audience is looking for to move the conversation forward. Your inputs matter and make sure to formulate strong opinions drawing on your experience and surroundings.