Hard decisions and…What we know
Hard decisions and…The Eeyore option
Winnie the Poo’s character Eeyore once said, “Things that seem thingy in your head sometimes aren’t so thingy when you say them out loud.” While that’s a great observation, and while just saying an idea aloud can be illuminating, saying them to someone whose judgment we trust can be downright brilliant.
That idea is of course founded on each of us having that trusted advisor or consiglieri off whom we can bounce a big idea or problem.
And that brings us to the question of who that person is. It might be our life partner. It could be an associate, a close personal friend, or that parent or mentor who’s seen it all. But regardless of which or who, the issue is having one to bounce an idea off when it’s necessary. And by the way, that doesn’t automatically mean that their input is a veto, or a blessing. It just means that we listen to their thoughts and suggestions.
What we eventually decide needs to be our own choice. But leavening that decision package with their input can be invaluable in coming to the best possible solution. Finally, we always need to bear in mind that tough decision affects you and not that advisor. So maybe even if it seems not to be all that “thingy” to them, it may well be. 😊
What we know…And what we don’t
When we started out in the business, most of us didn’t know what we didn’t know. But ignorance of the unknown is a continual aspect of living and learning. Heck, what we didn’t know about the opposite sex at sixteen would fill a book.
And our knowledge of how to raise children is either evolving, or if you’re at or approaching grandparenting age, it’s too late to matter much. But what about the business savvy you’re busy accumulating right now? Is it evolving fast enough? In all probability it is – but not as fast as it could.
Since we never know what we don’t know, maybe we all need to seek out that soaper “grandparent” for some help. You know, the pro who’s been at it for twenty-five plus years? Perhaps we need to ask one of those folks some big questions about what they know, and we don’t.
And if you’re one of those seasoned veterans, perhaps you need to mentor those relative newcomers on your team so that they can be fast tracked on their journey to a fuller understanding and fewer of those pesky unknown unknowns!