Not Knowing What You Don’t Know Can be VERY Expensive

We have all crossed paths with the proverbial “know-it-all” more often then we care to think about. You know: the expert on every topic from the secrets of the universe to the science of medicine and the idiosyncrasies of politics. It’s almost jaw-dropping when a peer group gathers at a business function and a discussion ensues on a topic on which a person in the group, who has no experience or expertise on the subject, takes the floor and asserts his or her opinion. It is instantly obvious to most other people at the meeting that this individual really has no idea what he or she doesn’t know.


I’m not sure what motivates this behavior in some people, and since I know what I don’t know on this topic, I did some research on the Internet and found the following: “Know-it-alls are set on 'transmit' most of the time. They are not up for receiving input from others. They want to be the ones giving out, transmitting their pearls of 'wisdom'. What they don't know isn't worth knowing and when they do learn something well… according to them, they knew it already. The know-it-all may be a highly intelligent person but their know-it-all attitude makes them narrow minded and less and less able to learn as the years roll by.”


Know-it-alls usually stand out quickly in a crowd because they tend to be bombastic and often arrogant. In fact, today with Internet forums and a variety of social media like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, people can easily voice their opinions unrestricted by the formality of face-to-face protocol and virtual anonymity. I have witnessed forum discussions specific to the cleaning industry where one or two individuals who dominated the conversations were your typical know-it-all folks. It was clear from their comments they were far from being the knowledgeable authorities they purported to be. We all know people in the cleaning business who certainly know how to clean a house but only think they know how to run a business. Just because a person has been cleaning homes on their own or operating a cleaning service for years, doesn’t necessarily quality them to espouse advice on operating a successful cleaning business. Yet, these are exactly the class of people who shrug off the concept of seeking out expert advice which could shave years off their learning curve, save thousands of dollars wasted on trial and error, help them manage their businesses more effectively and efficiently, attract great employees and build a wonderful staff and – and this is no small item, make a lot more profit in the process.


Take our House Cleaning Biz 101 course for example.


Some people might say, “I know a lot of the stuff you address in that program.” And, they might be right. In fact, let’s say they know 75% of the information we discuss. Let’s go so far as to say they know 90% even. It’s the 10% or 25% they DON’T know that could make the difference between failure, mediocrity or fantastic success! The problem is that these people simply don’t know what they don’t know.


I have been hiring, training and managing people in various industries since 1961. And I have done pretty well at it, too. However, after just four years in the residential cleaning business, I recognized the unique challenge of employee turnover in this industry. Yes, I was able to resolve some of the employee retention problems based on my decades of human resource management experience. But I knew what I didn’t know and I turned to some professional help. I hired a human resource expert and, at a cost of $25,000, we implemented a 5-step employee selection process, which is now part of the House Cleaning Biz 101 program. When properly implemented, it, along with other HR issues discussed in our program, has helped our clients find better employees and dramatically increase their workforce tenure.

If this was the only thing they were able to gain from the program, it would be worth thousands of dollars (and they didn’t invest $25,000 like I did to gain access to it). This is just one little gem that we share in the course; there are many, many more – any one of which can easily justify many times the small investment. This may sound like an excuse for a sales pitch for my program, but in fact most people who read this blog already own a copy of House Cleaning Biz 101. I use this example because it is a good one to illustrate my case in point.


I would be remiss in not adding one more thought to this topic: Not using what you DO know can also be very expensive.


Bypassing the opportunity to learn proven ideas and systems is one thing; failing to use information you do become privy to is an equally flawed outcome. However, human nature being what it is, this scenario plays out from grade school through college and throughout peoples' careers.


Not everyone who attends Harvard Law School becomes a top lawyer; some don’t even graduate. Not every student who graduates from Johns Hopkins University becomes a noted doctor. Yet all students get the same education from the same books and professors. Then, it also depends on whether and how the knowledge is subsequently applied which makes the difference between the drop-outs, the mediocre, the average and those who excel at their professions. Our industry is no different.

The truth of the matter is, we should be like sponges when it comes to learning things we don't know and to be ready to admit that we don't know what we don't know.  Then, when we know what we don't know and learn what we need to learn, we need to do our best to apply what we've learned.

.