Leaders face complex and uncertain situations every day: What will sales be like next year? Will our new product succeed? What will the competition do? But the most challenging circumstances are often completely unexpected, because we never even knew to look for them. (In the parlance of Donald Rumsfeld, the former U.S. secretary of defense, they’re the unknown unknowns).
Simple Ways to Spot Unknown Unknowns
Avoid mistakes that, in hindsight, are obvious.
October 23, 2017
Summary.
Leaders face uncertain situations every day, but the most challenging circumstances are often completely unexpected. To better anticipate your blind spots, seek out an inside perspective from someone with direct experience in the situation. And ask the right questions, like “What do you wish you’d known when you were starting out?” You should also war-game your potential failures, imagining in advance that an initiative has failed and working to understand the reasons why. If you have to assume your project is a failure, what might account for that? Last, test for implicit assumptions. Assumptions can stifle progress and limit potential when no one thinks to question them. Although blind spots cannot be fully eliminated, these strategies can help you better understand the gaps in your experience and improve your performance.