The Unknown Known

A New Years Resolution for me.  Leaders are welcome to borrow.

Geoffrey Wheatcroft’s thinking (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/opinion/sunday/unknown-knowns-avoiding-the-truth.html?scp=1&sq=unknown%20known&st=cse) has got me recalling some of the probably countless times in my career when I have failed or refused to know the known.  There was the time when I knew a television news team I managed didn’t have the chemistry to draw successful ratings; the time when I knew there was something fishy about a marketing campaign for which I was ultimately responsible; when a corporate policy was poorly conceived and when a client with whom I spent serious consulting time wasn’t ever going to “get it”.

I had decided to unknow the known.

I managed by hope.

We are, I think, compelled to default to avoiding or dismissing the known when the energy required for (sometimes risky) response seems unavailable to us.  This is the most charitable reason I can think of.  There are, I fear, less chartible and even sinister reasons for this phenomenon (politics anyone?), but lets think about business leadership here and chalk up avoiding-the-known to anxiety and energy depletion.

Our Energy Management Model implies and invites truth seeking within self.

Let our New Year be a (re)beginning of knowing the known and acting with courage.

Peace, Howard

We are excited about the publication of our new book, Healing Leadership – A Survival Guide for the Enlightened Leader now available on the Kindle format. We are offering it at a reduced introductory price of $9.99. You can get it here.

Explore posts in the same categories: Uncategorized