I spent part of today talking through—in depth—some complex ideas with a friend. These were ideas I’ve been thinking about on my own. I shared what I believe, and why. He challenged some of my thinking, which I appreciated. And he gave me his perspective, based on his experiences. All this led to some insights neither of us anticipated. I walked away with some great insights, more clarity of thought, and increased conviction.

Looking back, some of my greatest breakthroughs weren’t the result of my thinking about something in isolation. They came from using sounding boards—that is, from sharing my thoughts with people I consider strategic thinkers. We fed off each other in those conversations, and the result was something better than I could have come up with on my own.

If you’re trying to do something great, make sure you have sounding boards. Two heads (or more!) are usually better than one.