Incompetence and Expectations

In his book, "The Effective Executive", and while discussing typical managerial development books and studies, Peter Drucker states the following on page eighteen:

What seems to be wanted is universal genius, and universal genius has always been in short supply. The experience of the human race indicates strongly that the only person in abundant supply is the universal incompetent.

When I first read this, I laughed out loud, even though I was reading while eating alone in a restaurant. However, in the past ten days or so since reading that passage, I've thought about it quite a few times. You see, I think I'm pretty good at stuff in general. When I try my hand at things, I tend to do an acceptable job at it, even if it's something to which I've had no previous exposure. But when I really thought about it more completely, there's really a huge amount of stuff at which I'm not only not exposed to, but wouldn't be able to perform at even if I tried. We all shield ourselves from our worst failures by avoiding the situations where we know we can't succeed.

Will I ever run a four-minute mile? It seems very unlikely. Will I develop cures for previously devistating diseases? I don't think so. Will my artwork become treasured and fetch millions at auctions? It doesn't seem to be in my stars.

Notice, though, that I'm very much the optimist. Even though the real answers to the above questions are probably "no," I'm reluctant to rule them out. My recently acquired affirmation to "live as long as I want" plays a factor in that as well. (See my previous post on Kurzweil's estimates on how longevity improvements through technology suggest we may have the opportunity to live forever in our lifetimes to see why this is at least 50% believable to me.) However, even with enormous lifespan, there will be vast knowledge, including knowledge still not yet realized by others that is discovered even as I learn, that I will never acquire. My optimism halts (for now) at ever knowing all things but not at knowing any given thing.
But optimism and longevity aside, when looking at it honestly, I know I am basically incompetent within the scope of my potential as a human being. Fortunately, everyone around me is the same way. Drucker's point is that we are all, however, possible of great strength in at least one area and that focusing on that area and building on that strength is how we become effective. Working at the right task, a man with the right skills, talents, and experiences becomes a superhuman, undefeatable.

I saw a connection between this and another book I read quite some time ago. I don't recall the name of the book or the author, but it was a book that discussed the application of Sun Tzu's "Art of War" to business and management. A primary focus there was a limiting, or perhaps complete removal, of expectations. The obvious first conclusion is that by having no expectations, you can never be disappointed. I've tried to apply that, but it's very hard to do. Also, it may seem demotivating - if you truly have no expectations (of success, for example) why would you even both to try to do something? However, on closer examination it says to me that by having no expectations you are then also free to pursue unlimited success.

Think about jumping across a hole. If the hole is three feet across, you'll jump three feet, plus an inch or two. If it's four feet across, you'll jump just over four feet. That's true up until the point you just can't make it (and either don't jump or fall.) If you don't have any expectation of how far across you really have to jump but jump anyway, you'll jump the farthest you possibly can. Your expectations are irrelevant, so you don't limit yourself to what you expect. So expectations can be both an encouragement (you must jump this far) and a discouragement (you needn't jump any farther than this.) Removing them removes the limit and the disappointments at failure.

In fact, it occurs to me that expectations are why people almost fall when they go to step up at the top of a flight of stairs and step one too high. I hate that. It feels so awkward!

So combining these two arguably disparate thoughts, you end with eliminating your expectations and accepting your own general incompetence lets you focus on your strengths to experience wild success. That's a valuable insight.

I'm very happy to be reading Peter Drucker's book, and I've already picked up "The Essential Drucker," following Trevor's lead. If my first valuable insight from a Drucker book is on page 18 of 175, I could have eight or ten more by the time I'm done with the book. Now them's good readin'.