“To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge.” – Confucius
We don’t know what we don’t know. So if you don’t tell us, we still won’t know.
From the companies that offer valuable additional services that their clients are unaware of.
To the pizza chain that actually hand makes all their dough, preservative free, each morning.
To the rangers in Zimbabwe who purely through talking to their clients (myself and my husband on our honeymoon) learnt that one had lost everything during the Mugabe regime while the other hadn’t. That moment of shocked realisation of the inequality and struggle that had hit one of them, unbeknownst to his partner who had been working extensively with him, remains a vivid memory.
To the team member who has a hidden talent that could help the division. To the leader who has problems at home but carries the burden silently. To the team that hit a milestone but no-one was told. To the division that discovered a better way but didn’t, or couldn’t, spread the word.
We seem to unconsciously filter what we will divulge at work, based on what we believe to be right. Perhaps because it is unconscious, we don’t consciously think enough about the ramifications of not sharing information.
What more could you tell about you, your role, your team, your division, your service, your product or your company that will help us help, understand, improve, choose or select?
Why not make sure you add an additional piece of relevant information, however small, each time you’re interacting with a stakeholder. Why not share a bit more next time you’re in a meeting.
Open up your communication. You may well help us know what we don’t know.