CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
The Cost Of Ignorance
In Business
By Dr. Lucy Kiruthu
W
e often do not pay much
attention to ignorance or its
costs. Yet, we see ignorance on
display everywhere. Ignorance or simply
the lack of knowledge and information is
alive amongst us every day.
Here are a few examples of how we display
our ignorance: we choose ignorance and
spread fake news before confirming; we
fail to get the facts right before making
key decisions; we miss opportunities to
use readily available information to guide
our actions. As a result, we suffer the
consequences of our own ignorance and
that of others. Ignorance becomes costly!
In the world of business, a similar narrative
is evident. Most of us have witnessed
ignorance in everyday interactions with
numerous businesses. Many businesses
lack the knowledge of what being in
business really means. Such ignorance
makes businesses unaware of who they are,
and why they exist.
Other businesses are unaware of best
practices in managing business operations;
they leave the running of businesses to
sheer chance. Some lack the knowhow
of the difference between focusing on
the short-term and the long-term. Such
ignorance makes many businesses short-
sighted or without a compelling vision.
Ignorance also makes businesses proud
and ungrateful to their employees and
to customers alike. It is not easy to put a
price tag on the cost of such ignorance.
However, ignorance in business is
certainly detrimental. It not only has the
potential to negatively affect the day-to-
day running of a business but can also
affect long-term business success.
Over the last two decades, I have worked
closely with hundreds of businesses and
interacted with many more. Here are
ways in which I believe businesses suffer
because of ignorance and what they can
do about it.
We choose ignorance and spread fake
news before confirming; we fail to get the
facts right before making key decisions;
we miss opportunities to use readily avail-
able information to guide our actions. As
a result, we suffer the consequences of
our own ignorance and that of others.
Ignorance becomes costly!
30 MAL35/20 ISSUE
Blame Games
When we entertain ignorance, we make
avoidable mistakes and are ready to shift
the blame. Most mistakes are because of
lack of understanding. When we do not
have a clear understanding, we fail to
take responsibility for our decisions and
actions. Instead of making decisions based
on facts, important decisions are made
based on hearsay. Thereafter, we blame
each other and blame ourselves for actions
taken with little or no information. Blame
games lead to widespread confusion in our
businesses.
To avoid ignorance, we must make
information available and easily accessible.
We must encourage all to seek and to
share relevant information and hold them
to account for doing so. Let us not blame
each other for lack of knowledge, instead,
let us fight for what is crucial.
Unprofessionalism
When I think of the massive doses of
unprofessionalism that we experience
daily, I think of the level of ignorance in
our society as a whole and in businesses
in particular. When we do not know what
we need to do, we find out. When we do
not know what best practice looks like, we
search for answers.
Unfortunately, when we choose ignorance
we thrive in not knowing and do not
bother to find out. When we do not know
what we need to know, we are unlikely to
perform our jobs to the highest level of
professionalism.