The importance of saying "I don't know"

I listen to the informative and entertaining Freakonomics Radio postcast, and the hosts and authors of Freakonomics, Superfreakonomics, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, have been (shamelessly) plugging their new book Think Like a Freak.

In a recent podcast entitled " The Three Most Difficult Words in the English Language," they talk about how people are reluctant to say "I don't know" when asked a question.  This is especially prevalent in the work environment where people are expected to be the experts and when there's a power differential like an employee-boss relationship.  People will fake answers because they want to appear smart and competent and feel a sense of belonging.  Psychological studies have shown that 75% of children fake answers, so the impulse is very strong, and by the time you reach adulthood, about 25% of us make up our responses. 

Levitt and Dubner point out that the failure to say these three seemingly simple words "I don't know" causes some problems, and ultimately prevents people from "thinking like a freak."    Until we admit that we do not know the answer, we cannot work to learn the answer by gathering data and experimenting, which Dubner notes we should "fall in love with."  Faking it, denies us the opportunity to explore other possibilities and compare outcomes. 

What should we do?

• Admit it when we don't know the answer (this is hard)
• Create a culture where "I don't know" is accepted (this is also hard)
• Like Colin Powell practices, as a leader, ask the following of your people:
• What do you know?
• What don't you know?
• What do you think?

This will enable us and our companies to improve in numerous ways and ultimately impact your knowledge, creativity, and bottom line!

For more, see the Freakonomics website or podcast