Marketing Musings: The power behind “I don’t know”

One of the signs of a great leader is their approach to learning and thirst for knowledge. It’s not that leaders are not smart, savvy, and wise. It’s because they are smart, savvy, and wise that they know they don’t always know.

Marketing is about what we know, what we don’t know and what we can’t quite make sense of. We pull ideas, people and projects together to make a difference in the world of our customers. It’s the "what we don't know" that spurred me to write about Clayton Christensen’s?Anomalies Wanted? sign. For me, seeking out anomalies is key to a better understanding of the beautiful, complex, and mysterious worlds we live in and how we interact in those worlds.

It’s ok not to know. And there’s a great power behind “I don’t know” because it can unlock insights and greater knowledge and learnings. I like it when I hear “I don’t know” or when I don’t know because it means that there is something to research, explore, discuss, and open up. It’s like a present given to me; a key to a richer future; a path in a wild wood; a wooden boat with its bow poised to the open water.

I read somewhere this anecdote about teaching and learning:?

When a student in class gives an “I don’t know” response, the teacher simply says, “Tell me something you do know that might be helpful.”

Isn’t that beautiful? I like to do the same thing in my work meetings and at home with my children. It opens up dialogue around a subject without it being constrained by a yes/no, either/or paradigm and a black/white dichotomy.

Years ago, I wrote an article about learning organisations citing Genghis Khan and his ability to learn and assimilate ideas and innovations while extending the Mongol empire. We may know that his was the largest empire of continuous territories; however, it's little known that enriching interaction and learning was the philosophical basis of this organization: the Mongols tried to learn from artisans, merchants, cooks, linguists, and skilled workers with whom they came in contact.??The Mongol empire brought lemons to China and noodles to the West and spread German technology, French mining and metallurgy, and Islam in the territory.?

Members of an organization open to learning may identify themselves as creators and co-creators and have a thirst to meet people, systems, and projects that exist outside of the status quo.?

There's power behind “I don’t know.”

It’s like when Ryan Holiday challenges us to face our greatest opponent in his work?The Ego is the Enemy. Let’s embrace the spirit of not knowing and fight for the inclusion of different points of view; let’s foster a balance between profit and personal good and for the consideration of the human being as a reason for being and protagonist of change.

I know. I don’t know. I might know. Let’s find out together.

*****

Esther Clark?is author and outstanding contributor to Forbes and the World Economic Forum (WEF). Follow @ClarkEsther