I Don't Know Everything

I have come to the conclusion there are basically two sets of people: those of us who don’t know everything and those who don’t know that they don’t know everything. I recently came to this conclusion by several events that transpired on Thanksgiving Day.   One of which happened as I was taking my grandson home; he asked a question I simply didn’t know.  Without hesitation he said, “Let’s google it”. Now, I knew my cellphone had a password protection on it and immediately thought he will need my password as I smiled and handed it to him.  However, what “I didn’t know” was apparently my smart phone password is overridden with the simple placement of my thumb on the home button.  I apparently didn’t know as much as I thought I did.

The second was when I received a message through social media from a non-customer concerning a mishap at our ATM.  Unfortunately, his financial institution was closed, as was ours, for the holiday.  This mishap had caused him to be out $500 and with no way to contact his bank he was given my name and told I might be able to help.  This young man had no “knowledge” of how “banking” rules work, he only knew that he needed his money and someone needed to help.

Through both situations, I learned we can’t possibly know everything. The truth is we are not wired to know it all; we just need to surround ourselves with people that are willing to share their knowledge.

In the case of my grandson, I am so glad I have him in my life; he keeps me technologically up to speed. In the case of the “potential” customer, he truly didn’t know what to do, but he realized he needed to contact someone at the bank.   On a side note, I found out that by listening we learn, and by showing empathy and putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes we too learn.  I wasn’t able to get the $500 immediately, but it did get me a thank you for listening and a really nice bag of fresh picked tangerines.