What you don't know is hurting you!

I remember one of my favorite jokes that I heard many years ago was where a pastor was asked which was the worst enemy in the church, ignorance or apathy? With what he responded, "I don't know, and I don't care!"

I recently made a post about how ignorance in our lives acts as a blind spot, eliminating hope of most people to truthfully understand their weaknesses and strengths. Without the knowledge of what a person needs to improve, how can they improve?

  In the picture above you will see the level of ignorance to the truthful activities of organizations that get larger. The executives that run and make the decisions that steer the organization are totally ignorant to much of the on goings of the organization.

The executives are ignorant to the daily interactions and with customers, how policies are executed and how successfully the organizations staff is at executing tasks in the successful ways of the organization.

This ignorance either makes these executives believe that the organization is headed in a direction that it is not, or that all things are rosy with the organization and their clients or customers.

Most of us have seen the TV show, Under Cover Boss, where the executives take time to go undercover and live and breathe the important parts of the organization, with the purpose of learning how well the decisions and directives from the executive office is reaching the foot soldiers. They are often very disappointed to find how they as the executives were living under false pre-tenses.

Some small business owners want to keep their businesses at a size that is easily manageable, and I can understand their approach, but for those that strive to for the highest levels, make sure that as you grow, that you open the lines of communication between the layers and levels of the organization, you might save yourself from a scary revelation in the future.

Stop to smell the ... stench!

We all know the adage, "This is the way my my father did it, and how his father did it, it worked for them and so it can't be wrong!" If you are in sales or as an entrepreneurially minded person trying to introduce new technology or processes to the market, you will understand this thought process and frustration.


It can be difficult and sometimes seem impossible to get your prospective clients, staff and colleagues to see things in a different light or from another perspective. As I have just said, it is all about the perspective and point of view that you hold. It is not that you are wrong or right, but you need to acknowledge that it is different to that of the other person.


I still remember an example given to me by a colleague at a critical time during an acquisition period of a company. He said to me that if you and I were standing at different places next to the same elephant, right up close to the elephant and asked to describe it, the likelihood is that we would not deliver the same description of the same elephant.


Here are a few points to consider when dealing with parties that may not share your same perspective or opinions;


1. Take a breath and remember that unless the other person is intentionally trying to be detrimental to achieving the same goal, that they are not personally trying to be difficult.


2. Ask what the other person sees and understand their view and perspective.


3. Don't be in such a haste and rush to get the deal or transaction completed. We live in a culture and time that no one waits for the right opportunities, but settles for what they can get now.


4. Help the person to take a step back from the elephant in the room and see the bigger, fuller picture!


We all believe that we are right and are most likely ignorant to other opportunities and choices, so in the same way that we hope that other be open to our ideas, thoughts and direction, we too need to be open to listening and considering their input, after all you might learn something new!

Ignorance

Ignorance is said to be bliss! It is blissful, not only because you are not aware of the negative things and aspects of life around you, but you are not even aware that you live unaware of this awareness. The ignorant life can be similar to that of a young child, care free and joyous.


However being ignorant not only reveals a lack of knowledge and experience, but comes with a terrible dark side to it. I came accross studies that have been undertaken to try and understand ignorance and the consequences to being ignorant. I believe that the most damaging consequence to beng ignorant is that as an individual, you are not even aware of the situation or aspect that you are lacking in.


In the studies undertaken, a large percentage of  participants who thought they had performed well during testing, came out with poor results. These particiants were not only ignorant to their abilities and knowledge, but they were ignorant to how their abilities stacked against their peers.


It has been quite a soul searching time for me since going through this research, searching within myself, the corners of my life where I may have felt or believed that I had it all together! The question is, did I really have it all together? Was I really as good at the skill or knowledgable of the material as I thought I was. How did my performance and knowledge truly stack up to my peers in the market place?


Am I just ignorant to the skills and performance of my peers around me, and in doing that ,do I then value the input and expertise of my peers? If I am ignorant to my poor performances, but consider myself to exceptional, is the ignorance of my inabilities creating growing problems in my professional life, where I do not ask for and accept assistance from a colleague more experienced, with better performances in a particular area of my job? I may think out of ignorance that I am more knowledgable or able to perform the skills required!


In a time of our world where testing is so frowned upon, I have to say that I value testing. It is so important to me to receive honest and unbiased feedback on my actual knowledge and understanding of a subject, person or situation. Without the testing and truthful results, how can I ever improve or do a better job? 

Investment vs Expense

We all know the adage, that life is all about the attitude and perspective taken. We are constantly encouraged to look at situations in life and business through a different lens or from a different angle. Sometimes we are too close to the situation or activity to see clearly the correct actions and steps to take in resolving an issue or challenge.

Having said this, I have been thinking recently more so the attitude and perspective taken by business people when it comes to the expenses incurred. So many small business entrepreneurs are always talking about how they can expense so many expenses for tax reasons, but perhaps they have taken this attitude a little too far.

If you took a poll, almost every business person would rather invest money into the future of the business health than pay a bill or expense. Expenses are seen as money leaving the company and reducing profits.

What is the difference between an investment and a expense? 

Some expenses just overlooked are in fact investments. It is my belief that an investment is anything that will bring a return on the money spent or invested. So if you spend $10, that $10 allows for you to generate more than $10 back in revenue, with the difference being profit. I have always taken the total return perspective, where the profit is measured against the total investment into the business activities, services and products. I have always wanted to see a return on the funds put to work and see a better return than I would putting that same amount of cash into the bank savings account.

Paying your electric bill is most likely viewed as a necessary evil cost, however if you take a step back from the immediate up close picture and adjust your thinking, without the electricity, you can not operate a business and generate a profit. The funds used to pay for the electricity are an investment into the company, and without the investment there can be no return!

Perhaps when you see some outgoing payments as investments into the operation and health of your business, you will not only pay the expense with less of a grudge, but you will be looking and expectantly waiting to see the return on your investment!