The Cost of Knowing is Too Great
Tony D'Amelio
Putting ideas and audiences together: I manage a select group of high-profile experts who speak at events.
I have had a Post-it Note on my computer monitor for a few years with an important reminder to myself. It reads, “The cost of knowing is too great.?“
I read that little bit of wisdom somewhere a few years ago - I can’t remember where - and it felt important enough to put it where I would see the words every single day.
It’s kept the idea top of mind – which is a good thing.
What those words mean to me might be very different from the idea they conjure up in your mind, but I think the advice is relevant for everyone.
I began running my own business after I graduated high school. It helped finance my college education.? Things were so much simpler then. (And I was much more naive, too).?In starting a business from scratch, you learn to keep tabs on a few metrics that keep you pointed in the right direction.
领英推荐
Over the years, while technology made business easier on so many fronts, it has also made things much more complicated. The ability to extract and slice and dice information is positively mind-boggling. That’s where “The cost of knowing is too great” comes in. Data can be overwhelming and a distraction. After doing this business for a long time, there are a handful of simple metrics I lean on to give me a clear view of things. I don’t need to invest any more effort which doesn’t add enough additional insight.
When I encounter some new problem, the words help to keep me focused. Could I go deeper? Always. Could I know more? Absolutely. But at what cost??Time is finite. In an environment where things move fast, it’s better to get the measure of things and keep moving forward – measuring and course-correcting along the way.
It’s not my nature to discount more info. As an engineer by education, I’m fighting my native instincts when I put a lid on spending extra effort to know more. But I need to accept that most times, the cost of knowing is too great. The push to know can get in the way of taking action.
The cost of knowing is too great. How does that resonate with you?
Protocol consultant, author, speaker, continuing education instructor
3 个月This is very similar to the General's 70/30 rule. :)
?????????????? ?????????????? ?????????????? ?????????????? │ ?????????? │ ??????????????????
3 个月Love this framing.
Marketing Technology & Operations Consultant
3 个月Tony, you're spot on regarding the cost of knowing being too great and you're right, "... while technology made business easier on so many fronts, it has also made things much more complicated."?I may add the same post-it note to my monitor!
The Growth Leaders LLC, The Client School
3 个月In my growth coaching practice, we teach/coach that our American culture values “knowing” but the knowing actually shuts down curiosity and learning. We observe that people who “know” suffer from certainty. Consider the phrase, “I know all about Steve or I know all about that company.” The last time I ever said that to a client was the last time I ever said that to any client. That’s because they replied, “no you don’t Gary and how arrogant of you to even suggest that your limited knowledge about us is knowing us.” So when I saw the title of Tony’s post I thought about the true cost of knowing is super high in terms of damaging or losing relationships. I prefer, “I want to learn more about X vs. I need to know more about X.” And the next time you’re around someone who says they really know you, you can laugh to yourself or out loud.
Founder & CEO @ Zen Media | Keynote Speaker | Henry Crown Fellow (Aspen Institute)
3 个月100%. I’ve been thinking about this myself lately. We have an urgency towards information but what we need is an urgency towards action.