I’ve given a lot of unsolicited advice growing up. It’s hilarious when I give it thought but I guess it’s fitting that empty vessels make a lot of noise. Over the years, my thesis on unsolicited advice has changed and here are a few thoughts.
– 95% of advice is useless – solicited or unsolicited. That’s because great advice is easily actionable. This requires a willing recipient, an advice giver who the recipient respects and, of course, great advice. So, it’s very easy to go wrong..
(Observation: The ‘willing recipient’ is the most common missing factor.)
– You can only truly give to those who are willing to receive. And that’s the other issue – most advice is unsolicited.
– There is only one exception to this – when you are actively engaged in developing/coaching someone. This involves a mutual understanding between the two people that one plays the role of the Jedi Master (and equivalent) while the other is the Padawan Learner. Even here, it’s most likely a domain specific relationship (e.g. professional, sports, music etc0)..
(The absence of the mutual understanding is the cause for most parent-child conflicts. Parents, understandably, assume they are all-encompassing “Jedi Masters” by right. Unfortunately, this has to be earned..)
– An interesting addition to the mix – one of the wisest people I know stays away from advice altogether. He throws ideas into the mix and shares his point of view. He avoids the 95% advice trap altogether.
I still think there’s a lot of magic in advice. Advice is literally experience/pearls of wisdom that is passed on from generation to generation. We are where we are today thanks to advice (both good and bad).
If done well, it’s magic.
A Learning a Day 