Talking Story

Starting new conversations in the workplace!

  • Rosa’s Books
  • ManagingWithAloha.com
  • RosaSay.com

Maintaining Your Ignorance

September 5, 2006 by Guest Author

Aloha,

This article has been updated, and now appears on my Managing with Aloha blog.

You can read it here:

Readiness, Good Impatience, and Maintaining our Ignorance

The articles and essays I currently publish can be found on www.ManagingWithAloha.com (RSS)

Thank you for your visit,

Rosa Say
Workplace culture coach, and author of Managing with Aloha, Bringing Hawai‘i’s Universal Values to the Art of Business: Learn more here.

Filed Under: Guest Authors Tagged With: Adrian Savage

Comments

  1. Cohesive Integrity says

    September 5, 2006 at 5:49 am

    Coverups are a sign of Immaturity

    An unwillingness to be seen as ignorant is frequently an obstacle to learning. But a willingness to purge one’s mind of past acquired knowledge and start over in the learning process, frequently leads to more efficient learning and a deeper comprehen…

  2. Tertiary Education says

    September 5, 2006 at 6:32 am

    Knowing and Not Knowing

    Great advice from Adrian Savage who in addition to writing at Slow Leadership or The Coyote Within has the honor to post at Talking Story today:
    Always acknowledge your ignorance. Never allow yourself to presume to knowledge, even the little you t…

  3. Rosa Say says

    September 5, 2006 at 7:27 am

    Adrian, you are amazing. One thing I have learned since knowing you, is that I must get myself in that “mind like water” frame of mind when I sit to read the essays you write, for just one of your essays can send waves through me, not ripples. The first two thoughts which came to mind for me in reading this were these;
    The critical importance of our demeanor, and how what you refer to as “ignorance” softens us, gives us the wisdom of humility, makes us more likeable and attractive to others engaging with us, and keeps us ever youthful.
    Second, how today’s learning wisdom may well be about “learning filters” and our practices of discernment so we can focus well and put the Pareto principle in play. For example, should this be the current strategy with vision statements and mantras for businesses, where we mantra to filter, channeling mission-driven energies into focus amongst the information overload? But then the balance, so we keep in mind your warning to prevent “encouraging rigid orthodoxy and unthinking reliance on existing ideas.”
    And this quote is nothing less than profound: “Learning does not exist to replace ignorance. It is there to add to it.” ” well see now, that’s three things already!
    I’ll be coming back to this Adrian.

  4. Greg Balanko-Dickson says

    September 5, 2006 at 10:15 am

    Very insightful and fastinating read. The Open Mind and the Closed Mind…
    “Only the leader who acknowledges his or her ignorance is free to consider all options, research as many possibilities as can be found, and approach every problem with an open mind, for when we know that we do not know, our minds are receptive to new ideas and unexpected insights. Minds, like windows, can admit fresh air only when they are open. The mind of someone who is sure he or she knows the answer already is tight shut against any form of mental ventilation.”
    Mental ventalation… what a fresh concept. Thanks for opening my mind to the power of ignorance and how the Pareto principle applies to true learning.

  5. Karen Wallace says

    September 5, 2006 at 10:52 pm

    Adrian, like Rosa, I found the reading of this article brought up many things for me – waves all. I too will come back to this for further absorbing (in my ignorance:).
    It occured to me as I read that the willingness to admit we know nothing and to come from a state of ignorance can be more readily done if we clear excess from our minds. So many of us are suffering from information overload we dont think we have room for anything more.
    If we occasionally take a scrubbing brush to the data banks of our mind and clear some space, press the delete button on all those outdated assumptions and paradigms, could we have a clearer mind? Could we be much more ready for the next stage of learning and growth – with a knowing about our ignorance and our readiness to learn?
    Your analogy of throwing open the windows and admitting fresh air, reminds me of the saying – “get rid of the the cobwebs” by getting outside, taking a walk, clearing our head for whatever comes next. Being in that state of ignorance can give us a fresh energy and enthusiasm for learning and life.
    It’s the first week of Spring here in Australia, and I am heeding to the natural rhythms of my life by having a big clear out of my home office. Could this also be a way of staying open to learning, by clearing out all the old detritus of the past 12 months, and looking forward to new opportunities, new ideas, new ways of seeing the world, through a fresh, clean environment?
    Thanks Adrian!

  6. tim says

    September 6, 2006 at 12:50 pm

    Hi Adrian:
    I love the insight. Ignorance truly does have its place in the journey of the lifelong learner. I often find that I’m so destination minded…that I want to find the answers. But the true joy of the journey is in realizing that there are more questions…and that there will always be more questions.
    Great post,
    tim

  7. Dan Ward says

    September 7, 2006 at 8:08 am

    There was an article in RogueProjectLeader.com a while back titled “Get Smarter – Become Illiterate). It was a brilliant and funny assessment of the negative impact media saturation can have on the intellect, and it resonates quite nicely with your posting.
    http://www.rogueprojectleader.com/3dave.htm

Search Talking Story your way

RSS Current Articles at Managing with Aloha:

  • Do it—Experiment!
  • Hō‘imi to Curate Your Life’s Experience
  • Kaʻana i kāu aloha: Share your Aloha
  • Managing Basics: The Good Receiver
  • What do executives do, anyway? They do values.
  • Managing Basics: On Finishing Well
  • Wellness—the kind that actually works

Search Talking Story by Category

Talking Story Article Archives

  • July 2016 (1)
  • April 2012 (1)
  • March 2012 (6)
  • February 2012 (6)
  • January 2012 (10)
  • December 2011 (1)
  • November 2011 (4)
  • October 2011 (17)
  • September 2011 (8)
  • August 2011 (6)
  • July 2011 (2)
  • June 2011 (2)
  • May 2011 (4)
  • April 2011 (12)
  • March 2011 (16)
  • February 2011 (16)
  • January 2011 (23)
  • December 2010 (4)
  • November 2010 (1)
  • October 2010 (1)
  • September 2010 (4)
  • August 2010 (1)
  • July 2010 (4)
  • June 2010 (13)
  • May 2010 (17)
  • April 2010 (18)
  • March 2010 (13)
  • February 2010 (18)
  • January 2010 (16)
  • December 2009 (12)
  • November 2009 (15)
  • October 2009 (20)
  • September 2009 (20)
  • August 2009 (17)
  • July 2009 (16)
  • June 2009 (13)
  • May 2009 (3)
  • April 2009 (19)
  • March 2009 (18)
  • February 2009 (21)
  • January 2009 (26)
  • December 2008 (31)
  • November 2008 (19)
  • October 2008 (8)
  • September 2008 (11)
  • August 2008 (11)
  • July 2008 (10)
  • June 2008 (16)
  • May 2008 (1)
  • March 2008 (17)
  • February 2008 (24)
  • January 2008 (13)
  • December 2007 (10)
  • November 2007 (6)
  • July 2007 (27)
  • June 2007 (23)
  • May 2007 (13)
  • April 2007 (19)
  • March 2007 (17)
  • February 2007 (14)
  • January 2007 (15)
  • December 2006 (14)
  • November 2006 (16)
  • October 2006 (13)
  • September 2006 (29)
  • August 2006 (14)
  • July 2006 (19)
  • June 2006 (19)
  • May 2006 (12)
  • April 2006 (11)
  • March 2006 (14)
  • February 2006 (14)
  • January 2006 (7)
  • December 2005 (15)
  • November 2005 (27)
  • October 2005 (22)
  • September 2005 (38)
  • August 2005 (31)
  • July 2005 (34)
  • June 2005 (32)
  • May 2005 (27)
  • April 2005 (28)
  • March 2005 (36)
  • February 2005 (33)
  • January 2005 (35)
  • December 2004 (13)
  • November 2004 (24)
  • October 2004 (22)
  • September 2004 (28)
  • August 2004 (8)

Copyright © 2021 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in