I don’t know.
The three words that kill any consulting, coaching, or training gig.
The three words that kill any sale (B2B or B2C).
The three words that kill any career around a meeting table.
We recognize the vulnerability, powerlessness, and transparency in the “I don’t know” statement. And in the face of workplaces, organizations, and even communities, increasingly hostile to vulnerability, powerlessness, and transparency, “I don’t know” seems like a time waster.
Better to just bulldoze through and hope for the best.
Destigmatizing the “I don’t know” would go a long way toward normalizing the fact that there are legitimate things that we don’t know, legitimate information that we don’t have access to (or understanding of), and legitimate perspectives that we don’t acknowledge.
And, to be the appropriate role model, I’ll start:
I don’t know…
