Don’t Get Cocky About Your Knowledge

By Margie Clayman, Published November 2, 2014

I had never really noticed it before in myself, but up until recently, I’d gotten a bit cocky about what I knew about history, or at least specific events and time periods in history. If you asked me about Rosa Parks, for example, I would tell you her story and I’d be entirely confident I had everything right down to the last detail. The Civil War and Lincoln? I may not know everything but I know a lot. Where some topics were concerned, I felt, without thinking about it, that there was no more need to learn. I had the facts. What made me aware of this thought process is a television show I happened upon while scanning through Netflix a couple of weeks ago. The show is called Mysteries at the Museum, and in each episode artifacts at different museums across the nation are explored in detail. In every episode I’ve watched so far, I have learned about entirely new chapters of history, and I’ve also learned new facts about things I thought I knew everything about. The flush of learning new things is always exciting, but it has also been humbling in a way. I have realized that I let myself rest on my knowledge laurels where some topics were concerned. Had I not accidentally found this show, I might have continued to think that my learning about those topics was in pretty good shape. The Expert In today’s business world, everyone wants to be labeled “expert.” In manufacturing plants people strive to be master craftsmen. If you are in charge of HR you want to be thought of as the expert in those areas. In the realm of marketing we have “Content Marketing Experts” and “Social Media Experts.” There’s nothing inherently wrong with this. Experts garner respect. Experts can guide companies and people through difficult situations. Experts gain the confidence of others. I fear, however, that once a person gets that longed-for title, they may feel like they have reached their final objective. They are considered an expert. There is nothing left to learn. When you think you know everything, start over If this alarming cockiness of mine has taught me anything, it’s that one of the biggest warning signs we can get is that feeling that we know everything about a subject. I now believe that when you start to feel that way about any topic, you should stop in your tracks and go back to the very beginning. Learn about that subject as if you were completely new to the whole concept. This is particularly important in business. What you may know, or think you know, could now be outdated. Younger people coming into your industry may “know” something entirely different from what you have in your head. You both could be right, but your refusal to learn anything new could create a gap between you and younger peers. Unlearning and then relearning may reveal to you that new research has been done on the topic. You may realize that there are more efficient ways to go about your work, or you may learn that something you had always done is now considered downright incorrect. Consider the “website expert” or the “SEO expert.” If those people hold on to the knowledge that they were working off of in 2007, they are in big trouble today. No matter what your work is, and no matter on what topics you are considered an expert, I guarantee you there are still things you can learn or even relearn. Not only is keeping the doors of your brain open healthy for you, it also guarantees that you will truly be able to maintain the title of “expert.” That’s worth an investment of time, don’t you think?

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