Greetings!
For those unfamiliar with Greek, the word up there is the word "ginosko", and it means - to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel
- to become known
- to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of
- to understand
- to know
- Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman
- to become acquainted with, to know
Many of us think that we know a lot of things, and perhaps rightfully so. We are probably pretty good, or even experts, at what we do, especially if it happens to be what we do for a living. Have you ever paused to ask yourself "How deep is my 'Know' of the subject"? How well do we REALLY know our business? What does knowing our business really mean? I was speaking to a PhD once, and he was reassuring me that, outside their specialties, PhDs are just like any other man in the street. I was a bit confused by the statement, but I couldn't figure out why. A few months later, I realized that we can't just be "experts" in our own fields and claim ignorance of other fields, particularly if those other fields are adjacent to ours. I realized that we have to go DEEP and WIDE. DEEP. Even when we happen to be experts in our fields, isn't it true that there is always something more to be learnt? After all those somethings that we continuously learn, isn't it important to synthesize what we continuously learn? And, after synthesis, is it important to integrate? Also, in many fields, new information comes in continuously. That doesn't mean that existing data becomes outdated, it may simply mean that existing data needs to be absorbed into a much bigger framework than that which existed previously. Is your business like that? WIDE. Whether we like it or not, we need to at least know enough about adjacent fields to be able to carry on an intelligent conversation with someone from that field. This is something not readily found in many people today. Do you read widely and extensively? Not just fiction, fantasy, romance and the like, but also classics, journals, articles and so on? Having sufficient knowledge about something so as to be able to ask intelligent questions would certainly put you in good standing with your associates and perhaps people with whom you might be transacting business someday. Being current with gossip is not important, but being current with what's happening in the political and economic arenas certainly are! Some women even read men's magazines just so that they can carry on intelligent conversations with men! I think men should do likewise! Chew on this for this week! Have a great time with your business, and I hope you would be able to have a great, positive answer to the question "How Deep is you 'Know'?" |
