Yesterday, we had a session on emotional intelligence. What it means, how it affects your relationships with your team and how you can be better at it.

At the end, we each had to write on a post-it note one bad or negative behavior that we thought would be detrimental to our success here that we were going to actively try to stop doing. What was mine?

“Stop judging and/or dismissing people and ideas so quickly.”

This has always been a struggle of mine, but the first couple of days of this program showcased it in a whole new way. Before I started on Monday, I was convinced I had all my fellow classmates figured out. I thought I had researched enough about the partner companies to know who I was interested in and who I wasn’t. For some reason, I even felt comfortable passing judgement on their businesses.

And then I had a discussion on the train ride home and man – it hit me like a ton of bricks. A classmate, Matt, said to me, “You know, I think we’re all guilty of that, but I try to remind myself that these people have poured their entire hearts into this thing. What have I poured my entire being into? What have I built? Nothing. So who am I to pass judgement?”

Bingo.

Every day we are bombarded with founders, co-founders, CEOs.. people who eat, sleep and breathe their businesses. And for three straight days, I’ve learned more about a company that initially I wasn’t impressed with, and have been completely blown away.

And as for my classmates? Incredible stories. Every single one of them.

So thanks, Matt, for the gut check. Looking forward to many more.