"You don't learn anything from talking to sameness."

Judith Jamison is the artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She offers the following advice:

When you're dealing with numbers, see the people behind those numbers, and understand that they're just like you. You just happen to have a college degree and you could be very, very smart. But they might be smart in other ways that you aren't. And give people full credit for being who they are. It's so important to remember that.

And it starts with, "Hello, how are you?" and listening.