I DIDN’T KNOW – what I didn’t know

When I first graduated at 21, I was quite sure I could do almost anything, suitably trained.  Did you ever feel the same? 
I was quite sure I could learn any skill and possibly any profession, given the right opportunity.  You too?  I had no career advice worth its mention at any stage, but a lot of formal education.  I had a great compendium of others’ knowledge, but no self-insight or self-understanding.  I also had very little knowledge of the world of work, apart from some holiday jobs.  And even much later, I had no idea what I might be any good at.  Above all else, I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

Decades later, I am amazed to realize how much I still don’t know!  And more, I keep finding hugely successful people who also don’t know what they don’t know.  And I am forever in awe of them for having the courage to admit this, so we may learn together.

I think of the inherited multi-millionaire land-owner who wanted to move the family business forward in a different direction, but who also wanted to know more about formal strategic planning tools that would enable this more securely.  QED knows little about land ownership, but we know a great deal about formal strategic planning and realising shareholder funds. It was a privilege to share our skills together.

I am also reminded of several family patriarchs who have developed very successful businesses by the sweat of their own brows, but have wanted their next generation to learn what they know, to take their businesses forward.  Sometimes it takes an outsider such as QED to stand back to achieve this.  It isn’t that the next generation doesn’t want to learn; they just don’t know what they don’t know.

The same goes for many other business skills.  The more we know, the more we realise we don’t know.

Which reminds me of a great quote from Mark Twain: “When I was 20 I thought my father to be a complete and utter fool.  Now I am 25, I am amazed how much he has learned in 5 years!”

For more information please call Jeremy Thorn on 01302 761222.