We’ve all seen the LinkedIn profiles and professional bios of self-proclaimed experts, geniuses and visionaries.
How grand for them. It must be nice to be at the absolute pinnacle of your career, having reached your fullest potential.
Believing your own press (especially when you write it) is not only dangerous and counterproductive, it’s also self-limiting.
It makes you sound like you know everything there is to possibly know about your field, your discipline, your specialty.
It makes you sound like a know-it-all.
Satya Nadella, since taking over as CEO of Microsoft just three years ago, has used a combination of refreshingly frank leadership and smart business moves to return the company to a position of relevance, and even dominance, in some areas.
Nadella credits Carol Dweck’s best-selling book on cultivating a growth mindset, “Mindset,” as his inspiration for the culture he wants to instill at Microsoft.
Nadella says it’s all about becoming a learn-it-all.
The switch can be liberating. Instead of limiting yourself or becoming overly concerned about what others think of you, your primary concern is one of growth and learning.
And that influences your entire approach to work and life.
Here’s how he thinks about it at Microsoft:
“Some people call it rapid experimentation, but we call it ‘hypothesis testing.’ Instead of saying ‘I have an idea,’ what if you said ‘I have a new hypothesis, let’s go test it, see if it’s valid, ask how quickly can we validate it.’ And if it’s not valid, move on to the next one.”
It keeps people and teams striving for new ideas. Most importantly, it keeps them learning.
So, whether you’re a parent, child, experienced entrepreneur or startup newbie, try it out.
Test new hypotheses and expect failures. But look forward to the brilliant breakthroughs.
Don’t be a know-it-all. Be a learn-it-all.
Have a great week.
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