Three Things

[mickeyd]

I am a regular viewer of Animal Spirits with Ben and Michael.

Here is a bit of wisdom from the recent podcast:

There are three things people in the finance world hate to admit:

I don’t know.
I was wrong.
I didn’t expect that to happen.

Can't say I disagree.

 

[Dtail]

Just in general I have noticed it is unusual to hear "I don't know" these days.

 

[Car-Guy]

On the other side of the coin they are pretty quick to point out,

"I've been saying that"
"The market signals have been clear"
"We nailed that one"




To name a few....

.

 

[SnowballCamper]

I took the liberty of generalizing to a more broadly applicable popultion

There are three things people [-]in the finance world[/-] hate to admit:

I don’t know.
I was wrong.
I didn’t expect that to happen.

 

[CaptTom]

I've embraced "I don't know" as one of my more common answers.

Everyone seems to want absolutes. They want someone else to take the responsibility for difficult decisions. This is especially true when electing leaders. They want confident, black-and-white answers.

The reality is, we're all winging it. Everything is nuanced. There are lots of gray areas.

Far better to say "I don't know. Let's try this..."

(I'll never be elected to anything.)

 

[Cayman]

I've embraced "I don't know" as one of my more common answers.

Everyone seems to want absolutes. They want someone else to take the responsibility for difficult decisions. This is especially true when electing leaders. They want confident, black-and-white answers.

The reality is, we're all winging it. Everything is nuanced. There are lots of gray areas.

Far better to say "I don't know. Let's try this..."

(I'll never be elected to anything.)

You have my vote CaptTom

 

[street]

Another vote for CaptTom.

I see it often, where this is the best way and only way. I might be or it might not be and yes to many gray areas.

 

[Bigdawg]

I've embraced "I don't know" as one of my more common answers.

Everyone seems to want absolutes. They want someone else to take the responsibility for difficult decisions. This is especially true when electing leaders. They want confident, black-and-white answers.

The reality is, we're all winging it. Everything is nuanced. There are lots of gray areas.

Far better to say "I don't know. Let's try this..."

(I'll never be elected to anything.)

My favorite is "I don't care". #APATHY. Well, I do care about somethings. Most? Not so much.

 

[COcheesehead]

I learned long ago that the secret code to the next level in life is to say NO.

 

[OldShooter]

With a new important relationship (vendor, employee, customer) I have always looked for "I don't know." and "I screwed up." Nobody knows everything and everybody screws up once in a while. When I have heard these two things I consider that to be an indication that I can probably trust this person.

 

[Aerides]

On the flip side I remember I once had a (well-paid) employee who liked to hedge his answers... "Not as far as I know" type of thing. Or he'd throw the "according to someone-else it should be xyz"

Ah, but I said, I'm asking you because it is your job to know.

But, in day-to-day interactions where I'm now more often the customer: I want to hear... I don't know, but I'll find out and get back to you quickly! It is vanishly rare...

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

With a new important relationship (vendor, employee, customer) I have always looked for "I don't know." and "I screwed up." Nobody knows everything and everybody screws up once in a while. When I have heard these two things I consider that to be an indication that I can probably trust this person.

Interesting, and I 100% agree, and a value I try to instill into computer science students (in a Systems Analysis & Design course).

When I was in my last mega-corp job, I was directly working with customers (I worked on a sales team but mostly as a technical resource). I think one of the most important things that made me successful was that I was not afraid to answer a question with "I don't know, but I will find out", followed up with a date/time I would get back to them with an answer or update. (Also, I would *always* get back to them by that date/time.)

These were $$ projects where the person managing the project career was either very positively or very negatively impacted by how the project went. What I found out is that TRUST is everything in that environment, because their career depended on the outcome.

 

[CaptTom]

Interesting that a few here implied they'd vote for a candidate who admitted they didn't know everything. If only that were the majority!

It scares me a little to see anyone waving flags or holding signs with any politician's name or face on them. Sure, vote for whoever you think will act in your best interest. But when it starts looking like a cult of personality, there's only one way that can end. We've seen this movie before.

But I digress. Here's my best "I don't know" story:

I took my young son to a new family physician (remember those?) Young guy, maybe a couple of years older than I. He checked out my son then turned to me and said, basically "I don't know. But I've got a buddy doctor who specializes in this kind of thing." Got the guy on the phone and talked about my son's diagnosis, with us right there.

He's still my own PCP. Unless he finally retired like he's been talking about lately. Yeah, you want someone who doesn't think they know it all.

 

[LateToFIRE]

Everyone seems to want absolutes. They want someone else to take the responsibility for difficult decisions... They want confident, black-and-white answers.

The reality is, we're all winging it. Everything is nuanced. There are lots of gray areas...

Feel like I face this conundrum every single day in both personal and professional life. People want answers. They want solid, confident, unequivocal answers signed in blood.

If I don't have the answers, I at least try to create a plan to get to the right answers, along with a Plan B for what to do just in case the answer is wrong.

 

[CaptTom]

...If I don't have the answers, I at least try to create a plan to get to the right answers, along with a Plan B for what to do just in case the answer is wrong.

You've got my vote!

 

[Car-Guy]

I took my young son to a new family physician (remember those?) Young guy, maybe a couple of years older than I. He checked out my son then turned to me and said, basically "I don't know. But I've got a buddy doctor who specializes in this kind of thing." Got the guy on the phone and talked about my son's diagnosis, with us right there.

He's still my own PCP. Unless he finally retired like he's been talking about lately. Yeah, you want someone who doesn't think they know it all.

Personally I typically don't trust anyone who speaks in "absolutes" on just about any subject. My PCP physician often guesses (I believe) and he's been practicing 30+ years. Same with the one I had before him. But they are educated guesses that usually make sense to me. I have a specialist that has made "absolute" statements that have turned out to be incorrect. I still think he's pretty good at what he does (or I'd find someone else) but I take anything he says with a grain of salt.

 

[OldShooter]

... These were $$ projects where the person managing the project career was either very positively or very negatively impacted by how the project went. What I found out is that TRUST is everything in that environment, because their career depended on the outcome.

I used to teach a few modules of megacorps project management course. One thing we emphasized was the importance of having a competent customer and the risks if you do not. Trust and honesty were the foundation of course, but technical competence and willingness to work mutual problems was another important aspect.

... I took my young son to a new family physician (remember those?) Young guy, maybe a couple of years older than I. He checked out my son then turned to me and said, basically "I don't know. But I've got a buddy doctor who specializes in this kind of thing." Got the guy on the phone and talked about my son's diagnosis, with us right there.

He's still my own PCP. Unless he finally retired like he's been talking about lately. Yeah, you want someone who doesn't think they know it all.

I have a similar story. Doc studied the computer screen then turned to me and said: "I suppose that if I am not going to treat you according to the national guidelines I better tell you why." This guy will never lie to me !!

... you want someone who doesn't think they know it all.

Worse yet, someone who doesn't know but doesn’t want you to realize that.

 

[street]

With a new important relationship (vendor, employee, customer) I have always looked for "I don't know." and "I screwed up." Nobody knows everything and everybody screws up once in a while. When I have heard these two things I consider that to be an indication that I can probably trust this person.

Yes, yes I agree totally. With a customer or consumer "even if they are wrong they are right" per se.