Friends reduce failure

All information fits into three categories:

  • Things we know we know
  • Things we know we don’t know
  • Things we don’t know we don’t know

These categories are also called known-knowns, known-unknows, and unknown-unknowns.

Unknown-unknowns are the most significant piece of the pie – for everyone.

Even for areas where we have mastery (known-knowns), there is no guarantee of success.

You may know the right solution to a problem, but you still fail if you cannot convince others of this.

Communication, timing, leadership, emotional intelligence, and countless other factors can render known-knowns useless.

For things we know we don’t know (known unknowns), friends and colleagues provide tremendous value.

“I don’t know how to do that, but I know someone that does.”

Two people with a shared known-unknown also have a higher chance of success than if they acted alone.

There may be ten options available, and you may not know the correct answer, but you know for sure that one of the 10 is wrong. Acting alone, you have a 1 in 9 chance of success.

Now, using your professional network, you seek advice from two others. Neither of them knows the correct answer either, but they can each eliminate 2 of the remaining nine options through knowledge and experience.

Together, the three of you have a 1 in 5 chance of success vs. the 1 in 9 chance of success you had if you had acted alone.

Friends reduce failure.