Perhaps one of the most useful and reassuring things I’ve learned over the years is that it’s not so important to know everything, but more important to know who may know what you don’t.
My first consulting job, when I was very wet behind the ears, was with a small theater consulting firm. The partners had a wealth of experience and expertise between them, and we had a number of large-scale projects with preeminent architects. At design meetings, they were uniformly kind to the new kid, but I remained very intimidated and in awe of the firms’ partners who interacted so easily and seemed able to answer all the questions that arose and to resolve the issues that arise during the design of a theater. Over time I realized that the partners often as not did not answer all the questions or resolve all the issues at the meeting but deferred their response. What did they do upon returning to the office? They called someone: a lighting rep, a rigging contractor, a structural engineer or whoever could provide the needed information.
How could they not know? Shouldn’t a professional know everything about everything in their field? Did my idols have feet of clay? At that time, I suffered the cardinal sin of all young people: the assurance and confidence that I knew everything about everything. The confidence and arrogance this brings can be a useful trait until life slaps you in the face and throws you on your butt to let you know that you don’t and that you’re not even close. Many years later, and with a very callused posterior, I take a more understanding attitude to my former bosses and allow myself the slack I was unable to give them.
In the years since then, I have gained a different sense of confidence, and hopefully not arrogance. I know many more things than I did, but also know more of what I do not, and I no longer look at this as a personal failing. If I don’t have an answer or immediately know how to resolve a problem or how best to evaluate/approach something, there are many people I can call. Some will be able to answer a specific question and others to knock things around. Who can help and in what fashion is variable: these folks are not slotted into fixed categories. I may call some on a regular basis and others infrequently. Many times, the initial question is answered, but other unanticipated issue(s) arise. Sometimes, there’s no good answer: only a choice between the lesser of two evils. I’ve come to realize that sorting these outcomes is what being a professional is really all about.
We are meeting new people all the time, so make friends with everyone you can because you never know and, of course, because it’s a nice thing for you and them. Friends, colleagues, business associates, acquaintances, someone you’ve met at a party are all valuable resources to be acknowledged and cultivated because you never know who you’re gonna need to call.
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