The Power Of "I Don't Know"
How often do you answer important questions with "I don't know"?
Over at Red Eye VC Josh Kopelman, Managing Director of First Round Capital and the founder of the Half.com book selling franchise (which he sold to Ebay for $350,000,000), suggests that startups and entrepreneurs should recognize that they won't have the answer to every question and they certainly should not try to pretend they do.
Although Kopelman's point is more about establishing credibility than about the practical value of saying "I don't know", I think this approach should extend to many aspects business life whether you are in startup or large corporate environments.
I think we tend to learn the most when we are intellectually vulnerable - when we really don't know much about a topic and admit that to an "expert" with a plea to enlighten us. This attitude can be a challenge, especially at conferences or meetings where you are surrounded by bright and competitive people who may even want to "eat your lunch". However on balance I think openness and transparency lead to the best idea exchanges, and establish the personal and professional credibility that leads to quality business relationships.
Over at Red Eye VC Josh Kopelman, Managing Director of First Round Capital and the founder of the Half.com book selling franchise (which he sold to Ebay for $350,000,000), suggests that startups and entrepreneurs should recognize that they won't have the answer to every question and they certainly should not try to pretend they do.
Although Kopelman's point is more about establishing credibility than about the practical value of saying "I don't know", I think this approach should extend to many aspects business life whether you are in startup or large corporate environments.
I think we tend to learn the most when we are intellectually vulnerable - when we really don't know much about a topic and admit that to an "expert" with a plea to enlighten us. This attitude can be a challenge, especially at conferences or meetings where you are surrounded by bright and competitive people who may even want to "eat your lunch". However on balance I think openness and transparency lead to the best idea exchanges, and establish the personal and professional credibility that leads to quality business relationships.
Labels: eBay, half.com, kopelman, red eye vc
posted by Joseph Hunkins at 1:08 PM
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1 Comments:
This is absolutely correct. I made the same point during my SVPMA presentation on product management last year, actually. I use the phrase "I don't know" whenever it's the truth in sales, marketing, and product management and it does wonders for clear communication and building your credibility. If you try to pretend you have answers to questions when you don't, you're being unethical, sooner or later you'll get tripped up, and people will lose trust for you. Plus, you seem no different from all the glib, overconfident know-it-alls in the Valley. But if you simply acknowledge it when you don't know the answer to a question, you display the self-confidence to acknowledge you don't know it all and by so doing differentiate yourself from the glib know-it-alls. Also, anyone who has heard you say "I don't know" will conclude "This person tells me when they don't know, so if they tell me something, they must really know the answer." There's nothing more dangerous than a person who claims to know everything. It's bad enough if they know they don't and are just lying; it's worse if they don't realize the limits of their own knowledge. If you don't know, just say so! Everyone else realizes you're not omniscient; there's no harm in confirming it. Of course, you should have done your homework in advance so this isn't a common situtation and tell them what you've done to investigate the question and how you'd go further, but whatever you do, don't be deceptive. Just be honest!
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