You Cannot Manage What You Don’t Know About

How many sensors do you think an airplane has?

Sensors for airspeed. For engine temp. Lavatory functionality. Sensors to indicate air-pressure density changes and fuel consumption shifts. 

I can't list them all because there are (on the 2-story A380 at least) up to 25,000 sensors!

A single flight generates enough data to fill an average laptop to capacity—every single flight. 

Why?

So passengers are safe and comfortable. After all, airplanes are pressurized metal cylinders with wings moving at 800mph, 35km above the earth. 

Here's the truth: you cannot manage what you don't know about. 

How are your people doing?

What's impacting your financial projections for the year?

How many leads are you generating from your marketing efforts?

You cannot manage what you don't know about.

A friend of mine was horrified to find over $400k missing from her organization. She'd placed high trust in a bookkeeper—who turned out to be a book cooker—fudging the numbers for personal gain.

Another friend felt dismayed learning his staff paid lip service to a new organizational change effort while simultaneously investing time and energy into an outdated (albeit extremely comfortable) system and operating model.

You cannot manage what you don't know about.

So what helps you to know what you don't know?

Without endless surveys, suspicion, back-channel communications, and most definitely without a culture of distrust—what helps you learn what is happening in your organization or team?

Who are you speaking to?

What questions are you asking of yourself, your team, and your organization?

What uncomfortable ideas are you avoiding exploring (potentially putting your head in the sand—like an ostrich—so you don't have to know)?

How is feedback a part of your culture? And how does your culture respond to feedback?

What don’t you know, that you need to know, so you can manage it well?