What are the benefits of having an open mind when dealing with business or personal life issues?

Simply - you can get to solutions that work vs. failures that do not challenge your preconceived notions. I've had the displeasure of working with hardcore ideologues and it has almost without exception held us back - not because of ethical problems, but because they completely refuse to tackle problems rationally.

I see an open mind as a great thing simply because no one knows everything. You could learn from Sergeants who learn from Corporals who learn from Privates, and the other way around. Personal life speaking, you have no idea what a little sibling could tell you, or what you could tell your parents. Nobody knows or can understand everything, but having an open mind is the first step in that direction. I feel I may have been a little off topic there but hopefully I got the point across.

greater options!