A well-known US CEO told me once that he went to around 500 meetings with his staff all over the world every year. Some of the meetings involved hundreds of people in conference centres, others just a handful round a table; but he always started the meeting with the same question.

‘Tell me, what can I do to make this company better?’

He said he made all his best decisions based on what he learned from the answers.

Proof, if ever it was needed, that the most important management skill is…listening.