I KNOW THIS MUCH

"Imagination and fiction make up more than three quarters of our life."

Simone Weil (1910-1943) French Philosopher

Don't know how Ms. Weil would know that, and "three quarters" does sound like a convenient number regardless.

But I do believe the concept is true.

What I imagine added to what I erroneously believe to be true is a big number.

What about you?

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.

THE MIND'S "TRUTHS"

"The mind can assert anything and pretend it has proved it. "

D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930) English writer

Something to think about the next time you're certain.

EASIER TO BE THE REAL DEAL

"To give up pretensions is as blessed a relief as to get them ratified."

William James (1842-1910) American philosopher/psychologist

Much easier too.

Simply be whatever you really are as opposed to what you would have others believe you really are.

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.

I CERTAINLY KNOW WHAT I ASSUME

"He is poor indeed that can promise nothing."

Thomas Fuller

17th century British clergyman/author

Planning is about the future, little more than assumptions regarding what may happen.

You always end up assuming more than you know.

You can't promise to know but you can promise the most accurate assumptions.

THE MAGIC OF REALITY

"We must not let daylight in upon the magic."

Walter Bagehot

19th century British economist

We act based on both illusion and reality and knowing each for what it is is important.

Let the magic lead you to what will one day, hopefully, become reality.

THE DON QUIXOTE IN US ALL

"Pray look better, Sir... those things yonder are no giants, but windmills."

Miguel de Cervantes

16th century Spanish novelist, dramatist and poet

We all tilt at something some time but better to make doing so the exception rather than the rule.

I MEAN THIS SINCERELY

"Hypocrisy is the homage that vice pays to virtue."

François de La Rochefoucauld

17th century French writer

And you have to look closely to know when you're dealing with hypocrisy, including when it's you being the hypocrite.

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.

The Illusion Of Truth

"Pleasure can be supported by an illusion; but happiness rests upon truth."

Nicholas Chamfort

18th century French writer

How many of your business decisions are based upon illusion versus truth?

How do you know which is which?

The Law Of Averages

"Remember: The average is as close to the bottom as it is to the top."

Unknown

And about as useful as a descriptor as is no descriptor.

Moreover being average today does not mean you will be again tomorrow.

Focus on what YOU are and should be and let "average" take care of itself.

I Have A Vision!

"A hallucination is a fact, not an error; what is erroneous is a judgement based upon it."

Bertrand Russell

20th century British logician

Hallucinations, illusions, unsubstantiated beliefs and the like, have their place in the creative process.

They are a way-station on the road to sound judgement.

Just be certain you consider rather than accept them as fact.

The REAL Boogie Man

"Imaginary evils soon become real ones by indulging our reflections on them."

John Ruskin

19th century English art critic

The art of business planning is separating real challenges from those we think are real.

The Watermelon Test

"When one has tasted it he knows what the angels eat."

Mark Twain

19th century American humorist/author

Mr. Twain was referring to watermelon.

Wouldn't it be great in business if it were as easy to recognize things such as integrity, truth, lies, and potential risk and reward?

The Difference Between Knowing and Assuming

"Not everything which is bad comes to hurt us."

Italian proverb

On the surface, contradictory; if it's bad it will hurt.

But when you add the perception that it is or will be bad, it makes sense.

How much have you not attempted or done simply because you feared the outcome?

The Danger of Misinformation

"I honestly think it is better to know nothing than to know what ain't so."

Josh Billings
19th century American humorist

Mr. Billings is talking about believing you know something you actually don't and certainly acting on misinformation ("what ain't so") is not a good thing.

I think far too many managers do so, far too often.