The Knowing - Doing Gap

Knowing what do to and why we should do it is often not the problem.

Lack of information and a deficit of good ideas is usually not the issue we have to deal with.

We have knowledge in abundance. Information abounds in ways as never before. And our access to information is at an all time high.

I think one of our "gaps," and one of Grand Canyon proportion is the gap between what we know and what we do (or how we live).

If you are a regular reader of this blogsite, this is nothing new. In fact, it is a frequent theme. I was pleasantly surprised to read a review of a business book on his exact topic by the title:

The Knowing - Doing Gap.

One of the questions raised in the book was simply - why does this gap exist? Authors Pfeffer and Sutton give several reasons for the gap. Here are a few of their answers to this question.

(1)  Pointless communication! By this they mean we give out information poorly. We give out too much information. We give it out in boring, non-memorable and non-useful ways. We have lengthy planning documents that no one cares about. 

(2)  History and tradition about how we have done things in the past can easily offset new ideas from being implemented and with our follow-through efforts. The old ways overwhelm the new information and it is aborted and not birthed into reality. Especially in the area of past success does this happen.

(3)  Naysayers. These are the critics, the complainers, the fault-finders, the doom-proclaimers, the prophets of woe (you get the picture) and their loud voices dissuade us from following through with a good idea. 

(4)  Fear of the future, fear of looking bad, fear of failure, fear of other consequences can immobilize us. So we sit with the information, paralyzed, unable to act on the knowledge.

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I would add one more.

(5)  It is easier to hear than to do. It is easier to know than to act. This has always been true and it was addressed by Jesus and by James.

To act, to change, to live differently, to perform in new ways is a greater task than to simply receive new information. It is easy for me to learn something new. I do this every day. But to implement it in my life so it becomes a part of who I am - now that is a very different and difficult matter.  

Brian Rice

Leadership ConneXtions International