It’s OK to be wrong

Among many other major discoveries that I don’t fully understand, Stephen Hawking found that black holes evaporate, possibly shedding quantum information held within into oblivion and rocking scientific paradigms on which we’ve built our understanding of the world to the degree that if you follow one thread, we are living in a hologram. The famed physicist helped bring the study of black holes into the public consciousness — no small accomplishment given how complex the field is. (I had to watch this video several times to even take a crack at that description.) Hawking was famously stubborn, but according to his friend and fellow physicist Leonard Mlodinow, he possessed an almost opposite quality as well — he had a great ability to admit when he was wrong and change course. 

Mlodinow has just published “Stephen Hawking: A Memoir of Friendship and Physics,” and in an essay on LinkedIn, he shares a story of the accomplished Hawking being proven wrong by a graduate student. The student proposed a theory that if correct, would have violated some of Hawking’s work. Hawking set out to disprove him, but realized the student was indeed correct. Mlodinow writes that Hawking was “annoyed at what he’d discovered and he kept it quiet for a while,” but ultimately conceded that the student was right and changed his stance on his own theory. 

I appreciate that Mlodinow lets us know Hawking was annoyed and didn’t immediately herald his own miscalculation. Too many leadership stories gloss over the emotional challenges of being a good leader and replace them with archetypal heroes and villains, or clearly good or bad choices. It likely took a lot for a world-renowned physicist to admit that a graduate student had bested him. 

Mlodinow writes that great leaders “actively examine and revise their own existing theories and jettison them if they no longer apply.” It sounds simple, but it’s so hard for so many to do this. 

What do you think? Why is it difficult for leaders to admit they are wrong and try something new? How have you done this successfully before? 

?? What other authors are up to on LinkedIn ??

• NPR personality Guy Raz started a newsletter on LinkedIn: The Possibility Post. In it he shares what he’s learned from years of interviewing high-profile entrepreneurs. They are lessons he also draws on in his upcoming book, “How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs.”
• In an audio clip, former professional poker champ Annie Duke walks us through an exercise in decision making around a possible job change. It’s from her upcoming book “How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices.”
• Wharton professor and business book aficionado Adam Grant is back with his top picks this season: The Fall Idea Books to Teach You Something New.

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