Two friends were walking down a busy street one evening when one paused and said, "Listen to those crickets chirping."

"What crickets?" said the other person. "I don't hear any crickets. Hey, you!" He waved down a woman passing by. "Do you hear crickets around here?"

"No," the woman said, and went on her way.

The first man closed his eyes for a moment, then walked to a mailbox on a nearby lawn, reached down, and picked a cricket up from the grass.

"That's amazing!" said his friend. "How did you hear that?"

"Watch," the first man said.

He dug into his pocket for a handful of change and tossed some coins onto the sidewalk. Immediately, the door of a house opened, a car stopped and two passersby stopped to look for the coins.

The first man shrugged. "It all depends on what you're listening for."

We are born with two ears, but only one mouth. Some people say that's because we should spend twice as much time listening as talking. Others claim it's because listening is twice as difficult as talking.

Whatever the reason, developing good listening skills is critical to success. There is a difference between hearing and listening. Pay attention! Your next job/account/paycheck may depend on it.

These statistics, which I've gathered over the years from sources including the International Listening Association website, really drive home the importance of listening. At the same time, they demonstrate how difficult listening can be:

-- 85 percent of our learning is derived from listening.

-- Listeners are distracted, forgetful and preoccupied 75 percent of the time.

-- Most listeners recall only 50 percent of what they have heard immediately after hearing someone say it.

-- People spend 45 percent of their waking time listening.

-- Most people remember only about 20 percent of what they hear over time.

-- People listen up to 450 words per minute, but think at about 1,000 to 3,000 words per minute.

-- There have been at least 35 business studies indicating listening as a top skill needed for success.

In addition, there are a number of behaviors to avoid if you want to be a really good listener: interrupting, avoiding eye contact, rushing the speaker and letting your attention wander. Don't rush ahead and finish the speaker's thoughts, because you might take them in the wrong direction. Arguing, as with a "yes, but" response, indicates that you were more interested in getting your own point across than listening to others. Trying to top the speaker's story doesn't win you any points either.

Listening can be hard work, and some people are more challenging to listen to than others, but when you find yourself tuning out what someone is saying you should ask yourself why.

If you want people to listen to what you're saying, make sure they feel like you have listened to them. When we feel we are being listened to, it makes us feel like we are being taken seriously and what we say really matters.

In his book, "The 8th Habit," management guru Stephen Covey tells a true story about the importance of asking other people their opinions.

Covey says J. W. "Bill" Marriott, executive chairman and chairman of the board of Marriott International, the world's largest hotel chain, described to him "the biggest lesson I have learned through the years."

It is, said Marriott, "to listen to your people. I find that if you have senior managers who really gather their people around them, get their ideas and listen to their input ... you make a lot better decisions."

Marriott said he learned this lesson from an encounter with President Dwight Eisenhower when Marriott was a young ensign in the Navy.

"I ... had been in the Navy for six months and had come home from the Supply Corps School for Christmas. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson came down to our farm with General Eisenhower."

Marriott said it was extremely cold outside, but that his father had put up targets outside for shooting. He asked the president if he wanted to go outside and shoot or stay by the fire.

"He just turned to me," said Marriott, "and asked, 'What do you think, ensign?'"

Marriott said he told the president it was too cold outside for shooting and to stay inside by the fire, which he did.

Marriott said that lesson, asking and listening to someone else's opinion, has stayed with him and has been a big asset in his business.

Mackay's Moral: It's amazing what you'll hear if you just listen.

Do you remember the TV show "MacGyver"? The titular hero was the epitome of resourcefulness. He would get trapped, usually in a building that contained a ticking time bomb, but he was able to free himself by being resourceful and using what was available to him, like duct tape or chewing gum. I was always intrigued -- and impressed.

I value resourcefulness highly in my employees. Resourceful people can figure things out on their own and find a way to make things work. They are able to use resources at their disposal to help them solve problems or overcome obstacles.

Resourcefulness seems to come naturally to some people. They aren't about to give up just because the odds are stacked heavily against them, even when it doesn't involve ticking bombs.

Consider what happened during the construction of the world-famous Brooklyn Bridge. In 1863, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea for this spectacular bridge. But bridge-building experts throughout the world told him to forget it. They said it could not be done.

Roebling convinced his son, Washington, also an engineer, that the bridge could be built. The two of them developed the concepts of how it could be accomplished. Remember, this occurred more than 150 years ago, without benefit of modern technology.

The project was only a few months into construction when an accident on the site resulted in the death of John Roebling. Shortly thereafter, Washington contracted the bends during underwater construction of the bridge's pillars and was partially paralyzed. Everyone assumed that the project would have to be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built.

Even though Washington was incapacitated, his mind was as sharp as ever, and he was determined to complete the bridge. As he lay in his bed, he taught his wife how to instruct the engineers who were building the bridge. For 13 years, Washington painstakingly oversaw construction from afar -- until the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge was finally completed. It still stands today, carrying more than 150,000 cars and pedestrians every day.

Resourceful people can see the upside of down times. They are not willing to give up just because things get complicated. And here's a news flash: They are not all geniuses. They just don't accept defeat easily.

This story should inspire you for the times when you are out of duct tape and chewing gum.

Once upon a time, a young donkey asked his grandpa, "How do I grow up to be just like you?"

"Oh, that's simple," the elder donkey said. "All you have to do is remember to shake it off and step up."

"What does that mean?" asked the youngster.

The grandfather replied, "Let me tell you a story: Once, when I was your age, I was out walking. I wasn't paying attention and fell deep into an old abandoned well. I started braying and braying. Finally, an old farmer came by and saw me. I was scared to death. But then he left. I stayed in that well all night.

"The next morning, he came back with a whole group of people, and they looked down at me. Then the old farmer said, 'The well is abandoned and that donkey isn't worth saving, so let's get to work.' And believe it or not, they started to shovel dirt into the well. I was going to be buried alive!

"After the first shovels of dirt came down on me, I realized something. Every time dirt landed on my back, I could shake it off and use it to step up a bit higher! They kept shoveling, and I kept shaking the dirt off and stepping up.

"'Shake it off and step up ... shake it off and step up ...' I kept repeating to myself for encouragement. And it wasn't long before I stepped out of the well, exhausted but triumphant."

So no matter how difficult the situation, no matter how bad things get, no matter how much dirt gets dumped on you, just remember -- shake it off and step up. You'll be all right.

Mackay's Moral: When you're out of resources, it's time to get resourceful.

Looking back on his extraordinary career of 35 years, NASCAR driving legend Richard Petty noted that during his first 20 years of racing, he had an excellent record of winning. For example, he won the Daytona 500 seven times!

However, in the late 1970s, his career went into a decline from which it never recovered. Other racing teams had gone high-tech, refining their cars with ever more sophisticated engineering, while the Petty team was complacent and set in its ways.

"We'd been winning steadily for 20 years and decided we wouldn't change," Petty said.

Petty, one of the greatest drivers in racing history, ended his career without a win in his last eight years.

Lesson learned: Resistance to change and complacency can defeat any person or organization, no matter how talented.

Success is sweet, but it can quickly sour if the ingredients aren't fresh.

I've seen plenty of businesses, large and small, rest on their laurels only to be lulled into a coma. On the one hand, it's tempting to go along with the tried and true -- if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

But that's an adage that needs to be tested constantly. Times change, tastes change, technology changes. People change. And aren't we all dependent on people for our business?

"Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose," said Bill Gates. That's why success can be a breeding ground for complacency. People and organizations become content, satisfied and comfortable -- too comfortable -- in the way they do things. In short, things are going well and they don't think there is a need to change.

First lady Eleanor Roosevelt wrote something similar: "More people are ruined by victory, I imagine, than by defeat."

Complacency can happen to everyone. It doesn't matter how large or small the company or individual. We have all battled complacency at some point. The real trick is to not let it hang around for long.

"I often think we should have a director of corporate insecurity because complacency is the Achilles heel of most companies," said Sir John Bond, former chairman of HSBC Holdings. "As my Chinese friends remind me, today you're a cockerel (chicken), tomorrow you're a feather duster."

Norman Augustine, former chairman of Lockheed Martin, told a story about one of his company's electronics facilities in Orlando, where "complacency started to infect one of our manufacturing processes."

He said: "Occasionally, parts were omitted from component kits prepared for assembly and inspection at another factory. Each missing part disrupted the assembly process and frustrated the workers assembling the products. I borrowed an idea from an automobile dealer in Dallas I had heard about. The dealer received few complaints from customers because he gave them the home telephone numbers of the mechanics who worked on their cars. I arranged for workers to include their names, work phone numbers, and self-addressed postcards in the kits they prepared. Complaints dropped precipitously."

All these examples describe corporate complacency. But the problem also hits individuals. In this job climate, sometimes it feels safer to stay put, even when your job or company isn't meeting your goals or needs. While security is a good thing, you also have to consider what it's doing to your future.

Is your career on the right track? Is it progressing as you planned? If you've been in the same place for a while, think about these items:

-- Contentment. The most important consideration when making career judgments is whether you're happy. Do you find your job satisfying? Have you created a reasonable work/life balance? If you feel good about going to work each day, you've probably found your niche.

-- Development. Have you kept up your professional skills and credentials? Does your position allow you the opportunity to grow and to capitalize on your strengths? Being content isn't sufficient reason to let your skills stagnate. You should continue striving to enhance your marketability.

-- Environment. Are you in a stable organization that will serve your needs well for the foreseeable future? If your company is experiencing a dip in sales or market share, you should consider how those losses might affect your position in the coming months.

It's fine to be comfortable. It's great to be content. But when those translate to being complacent, it's time to take stock, before your stock is worthless.

Mackay's Moral: When on the ladder of success, don't step back to admire your work.