12 Questions To Exponential Knowledge
Everyone knows more than you. You possess pockets of knowledge that excel others. But, when you think you know, assume you don’t.
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Even when you know the “most,” many know more.
Knowledge and questions:
The opportunity of knowing is “not knowing,” effectively.
Few things surpass the beauty of questions from someone with knowledge. You learn the most about others by the questions they ask, not the statements they make.
Use what you know to know more. Even ignorance can ask questions.
7 ways to gain knowledge:
- Argue to apply. Theories are wonderful. Application brings them to life.
- Challenge to prove right.
- Go with not against.
- Explore for clarification not to devalue. It’s easy to shut others down and learn nothing.
- Understand purpose before discounting ideas. Knowledge seeks the reason behind reasons and ideas.
- Bring context to discussions. How might supervisors view this, for example.
- Pursue clarity until action emerges.
Action creates it’s own clarity.
12 questions toward exponential knowledge:
- How has this impacted your life or leadership?
- How did you come to these ideas?
- How could others put these ideas into practice?
- What difference does it make?
- Why does it matter?
- What are you trying to accomplish?
- What does this mean to the people it affects?
- Who benefits? Why? How?
- What happens if you try?
- What happens if you don’t try?
- What if you fail?
- What if you succeed?
How can leaders grow their knowledge, especially when they think they know?
Well the say I heard it said goes a bit further…..”It ain’t what you don’t know, it is what you know that just ain’t so”!
The biggest belly laughs I get are from the Spiritual Supremacists, you know folks who think their story of God is the only right one!!
Biggest problem there is the sticky wicket of multiple exclusive paths to God!!! See how that dog just don’t hunt?? Hehe
So holding the world like a loose garment, having an open and nimble mind has become paramount in my life.
Considering the brainiacs have discovered we each have 64 strands of DNA and only 20 turned on leaves me in awe of Gods handiwork. Knowing I do really know jack about this spiritual being having a human experience thingy.
Add that to we only use about 7% of our conscious awareness!! Means to make a quality decision 93% of the needed info I am not aware of at all!!!
See how silly Spiritual Supremacists are? Actually Supremacy thinkers of any ilk. Funny thing about these folks, they do not recognize the danger in their thinking. Oh sure people see the results of race Supremacists but don’t make the link to the error in their own Supremacy thinking!!
Ok so I can proceed and succeed by being honest, keeping an open mind. Understand if it cones into my focus it is there for a reason. Just be epically curious!! And listen and read everything I want to learn. Brain retains as much as 68% that way.
And of course comfort the disturbed and disturb the comforted!!!!
Ok back epically curious knowing in the overall scheme of things I don’t know jack but open to learning!!!
SP
EA
SP… For sake of a healthy dialogue, I am looking for more clarity from you. I’d like to learn more about where you are coming from with this view about spiritual supremacy, as you remind me of someone close to me. Is your point of view on the spiritual in agreement with the dominant philosophy of our day, post-modernism? In other words, do you hold the viewpoint expressed by post-modernist philosophy which in summary states something like: “There is no such thing as absolute truth. It is equally possible for “my truth” to be true for me and “your truth” to be true for you”. Does this accurately express your view of truth and in particular spiritual truth?
Well JC great question deeply appreciate your curiosity.
My truth is and I realize you might not like it much, but it is I don’t know!!!! Lol
Thing is reality is with 93% of the information unavailable nobody really knows either. That is why we call what we believe in faith.
So nobody KNOWS but Spiritual Supremacists insist they do AND anyone with a different view is wrong!!! Hogwash!!! Different is not wrong, it is different!!!
Our reality is we just do not know do I am not going to take a position of absolutism JUST to comfort myself.
I get it I grew up in a Spiritual Supremacy home. I know how uncomfortable it is to really take an objective look at the hogwash. Scary!!
Scary to go from the comfort of it must be do cause my Momma and Daddy told me so to thinking as an adult myself.
My parents are warm and loving people I love them very much. It is just the God of my adulthood is not the God of my childhood!! Just like I do not believe in the tooth fairy and Santa anymore either.
I know if you are an absolute thinker JC my wishy washy, “I don’t know” wont get too far. That is ok it respectfully does not have to get far to you, just me.
I deeply appreciate your question. If we were in a dark room, only 7% light available and we asked 10 people to describe in detail what was in the room…..the answers would not be very accurate as we turned up the lights, right? Right
So if that is where we are in this human the thingy absolutists is any form or fashion are not very accurate, how can they be 93% in the dark????
And Absolute Spiritual thinking falls into this category too.
So what to do? I treat Gods other kids like I want to be treated and understand we are all an eachness in the allness of Fod no matter what separating Spiritual camps have to say.
Hope that clarifys and again thanks for the question.
Deism is cool, why so many of our Founding Fathers of this great country were Deists.
Good day.
SP
EA
Yes, there is absolute truth.Rite is still rite even when no one believes it. Wrong is still wrong even when everyone believes it. When this stops, civillised societies parish.
Good evening Rick
JC: I saw and read your response to Scott’s response down further in this blog, and from what I know about Scott, he too is about compassion and care for others in his depth. From your question to him and his answer to you, I sort-of see you guys on parallel tracks: Same God, same truth, same lessons, and even same experiences–“different schools.”
Speaking for myself, sometimes I feel the words, terms and context we use today is often far greater than in thought. It’s as if we each have our own language. Yet, our main “trip”–as individuals and in our collective capacity–is to really try to talk (communicate) with one another
and to translate our thoughts into the language of others.
For example, I didn’t know what Spiritual Supremacy meant–until you asked about it, and Scott
clarified it. And, furthermore, I would not have asked about it. By the same token, when you asked about “your truth, my truth, and post-modernism as a dominant philosophy,” I was about
ready to find one of my girlfriends and go have a drink or ten. But, then I began to think a bit deeper, and I said to myself, “Self, there is absolute truth, and there’s a relative truth based upon life experience that leads us to wisdom which leads to…”
What’s wonderful is us…people…communion…and/or as Scott says “Deism.” The Alpha and the Omega. He had me when He said something I shall never forget for myself: “I AM.”
Thanks guys for an inspiring conversation. Continued blessings…rick
Good morning Dan;
The worlds wisest most respected inteletuals and leaders realise when learning stops so does growth. When others perceive their leadership believes they are the smartest people in the room, outside the box thinking comes to an abrupt halt. ” Nobody likes a know it all, NOBODY “! This attitude will always result in organizational stagnation and poor employee moral, lack of employee involvement and a dramatic drop in volunteerism. Instead, purposely create an enviroment where sharing different perspectives are welcome. When divercity in thinking is embraced your organization has laid a foundation that inspires a ‘Team oriented attitude’. While I was a District Representative with the USWA, I designed an Employee College Tuition Reimbursment program that contributed conciderably to pulling an otherwise dismal Steel Mill from closing it’s doors, to becoming the number #1 producer of Railroad Wheels and Axle Assemblies in the world. I did not do this, their employees did through educating themselves while acknowledging growth starts by realizing whenyou think youknow, you really don’t. “Either learn to love to learn, or learn to lose”.
Cheers my friend
Steve
Thanks SGT. Glad you jumped in today. Love that last sentence. Powerful.
Why thanlk you Dan. You are welcome to use it from time to time. However, it will cost you the price of breakfast or lunch!!!!!!! LOL
Dan, excellent reminders. In my time as a leader I was always more at risk when I thought I knew. It cut me off from additional possibilities. Over time I learned to add a question that was very helpful to me and to our team, “Is there another right answer?” This moment of ‘pause’ in our deliberations almost always allowed us to think at a deeper level and to either affirm what we had thought, or find another right answer. This also enabled us to respond to a situation rather than react. This ‘deliberateness’ enabled us to make fewer mistakes as we moved to implementation.
Good stuff.
Best…Jim
Thanks Jim. Those who think they know are more at risk than those who don’t. Man!! That says it all. I’m going to remember that.
Thank you, SP.
I need to do some thinking on what you have shared. I really thank you for your willingness to share. To me, it reflects a characteristic like compassion and care for others and I value that in life.
Would it be ok to ask some more questions, if I have any?
Hope you have a good day also.
JC
Even when you think you know . . . listen. Listening is the only way you will learn more since listening is half (maybe the most important half!) of any conversation!
Happy Monday! : )
Thanks Dianna. Yes! As Edward DeBono said, “Those who think they know, don’t.”
Find the way to make your “know”ledge more accessible and expandable for others. I like wikis because they allow me to share my knowledge internally and externally and assume I can trust others who find value in it. It says, “here’s my knowledge, add to it or change it as you see fit”.
All of my life I’ve been humbled by people, events, places, things, education, knowledge, facts, and especially common sense—which, for me, is not all that common.
A 15 year-old girl and her Downs Syndrome baby were being transferred to a Children’s Hospital after recent delivery, and the young mom was screaming, “Why me? Why my baby?” Shoot, I was only 24 years old and didn’t have lots of experience, and really didn’t have any deep, wise or truly consoling words for the young mommy. Heck, I was going to start explaining the XY chromosome phenomena, etc., in my “usual academic/cerebral” fashion. In the E.R. waiting room, however, was an older Hispanic woman who called me over and said to me in Spanish, “Son, you tell the young girl she has been chosen by God to have a baby who forever more will be sinless, unlike most of us. That baby is very special gift. Now, go. Hurry and tell her that God has chosen to give her a gift.”
Talking about meeting someone who knows more than oneself: That lady blew my hair back and humbled me. Here’s what I learned.
When faced with trying times and the “known” facts are seemingly against us, we must remember all the known facts are not all the facts, and certainly not all God knows. It’s okay for us NOT to know something—for it is our faith God knows everything. Just because we don’t have answer…does not mean God doesn’t have an answer. When we do all we can, God does all we CAN’T!
How can leaders grow their knowledge, especially when they think they know? Continue to seek individual perspectives.
Good points, all!