LACK OF KNOWLEDGE DOES NOT MEAN KNOWLEDGE DOES NOT EXIST

"They are ill discoverers that think there is no land when they can see nothing but sea."

Francis Bacon, 16th century English statesman/philosopher.

The absence of evidence to the contrary does not prove true that you want to be true.

The more at stake the more time you must take to verify what you believe to be true, actually is.

I CAN PROMISE YOU THIS

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the former."

Albert Einstein, 20th century German born theoretical physicist.

Appropriate as we make our way through this year's political season.

Most anyone can promise most anything.

Believe only what you see being possible after very careful consideration, not just what you'd like to see happen.

THE COST OF MISPLACED TRUST

"It is astonishing what force, purity, and wisdom it requires for a human being to keep clear of falsehoods."

Margaret Fuller, 19th century American journalist.

Always true but never more so than in political season, this one in particular.

Something isn't necessarily true simply because someone says it is, including that said by people you trust.

Gullibility comes at a high price, much more than $1.

ONLY WHAT YOU KNOW FOR CERTAIN

"What you don't see with your eyes, don't witness with your mouth."

Jewish proverb

False witness, accidental or purposely, is the same.

If you didn't see it don't speak of it as though you did.

NOT NECESSARILY WHAT YOU FIRST (THINK YOU) SEE

"The open-minded see the truth in different things, the narrow-minded, only the differences."

Unknown

And who's to say those differences are necessarily bad?

Like blind men touching an elephant, all thinking it a different animal based on having touched different parts, so too will truth appear different depending on one's perspective.

Your first impression may have nothing to do with what really is.

WE ALL HAVE BOSSES

"Liberation is not deliverance."

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French poet, dramatist and novelist.

So, now that you no longer work for someone else, have started your start-up and reviewed your list of "truths", make certain believing you are free is not on the list.

You've simply traded one master for many, many others.

DO YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU THINK YOU REALLY KNOW?

"A speculator is a man who observes the future, and acts before it occurs."

Bernard M. Baruch (1870-1965) American financier/political consultant.

I don't have a problem with this when it comes to investing.

It's when the speculation is about another person that things can get out of hand.

Make sure your facts are facts before you pass judgement on others.

I'M CERTAIN OF THIS

"To be uncertain is to be uncomfortable, but to be certain is to be ridiculous."

Chinese proverb

And at no time is this more true than when doing a start-up.

Most everything you believe to be true is in reality an assumption.

One by one prove or discard them.

NO HALF TRUTH

"The most dangerous untruths are truths slightly distorted."

Georg C. Lichtenberg (1742-1799) German scientist/satirist/anglophile

Only the biggest liars can feel comfortable attempting to justify a half-truth.

LEAST OF ALL BECAUSE I SAID SO

"Power is not revealed by striking hard or often, but by striking true."

Honore de Balzac (1799-1850) French novelist

"Striking true"; a euphemism for doing and saying what is right.

Making sure you are before you speak or act is the optimum expression of management power.

AND THAT'S NO EXAGGERATION

"Love is a gross exaggeration of the difference between one person and everybody else."

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish writer.

We all exaggerate, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. 

There's no harm in that in business unless we begin to manage based on what really isn't true.

A dead end street.

SELF EVIDENT IS

"A fanatic is a man who consciously over compensates a secret doubt."

Aldous Huxley

20th century British author

The more someone attempts to convince me of something, including that I already accept as true, the more I doubt its validity.

I CAN PROVE IT TOO!

"That which proves too much, proves nothing!"

Proverb

There comes a point where self-evident either is or you have to question the "truth" you think you've found.

ARE YOU REALLY REAL?

"Our greatest pretenses are built up not to hide the evil and the ugly in us, but our emptiness. The hardest thing to hide is something that is not there."

Eric Hoffer

20th century American philosopher/author

"The hardest thing to hide is something that is not there."

In you and your company.

If you know the value is not there sooner or later others will as well.

Probably sooner.

That's Cold. True Maybe, But Cold.

"We want all of our friends to tell us our bad qualities; it is only the particular ass that does so whom we cannot tolerate."

William James

19th century American psychologist/philosopher

Along with karma, candor too can be a particular bitch.

However if we can summon the intestinal fortitude to listen we may learn something very important albeit painful.

What Do You (Really) Know?

"From error to error, one discovers the entire truth."

Sigmund Freud

Late 19th/early 20th century Austrian psychologist

Partial truths come easy; they are the ones we discover quickly, only later realizing we didn't know as much as we thought we did.

But What If They're Right?

"Love your enemies for they tell you your faults."

Benjamin Franklin

18th century American statesman/inventor

Not everything they say about you is true.

Only that which is.

Stagnant Thinking

"The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind."

William Blake

18th century British poet/painter

Notice there is no qualification regarding which opinion.

All opinion.

If you don't believe that to be true, it's time to alter your opinion.

Truth Be Told

"The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names."

Chinese proverb

While denial is often more comfortable it rarely is long term.

Acknowledge reality, the sooner the better.

"Truth never damages a cause that is just."

Mahatma Gandhi

Late 19th/early 20th century Indian nationalist

Remember this the next time you are in a meeting, listening to opinions contrary to yours.

They may be wrong . . .

. . . but what if they're right?