About five years ago, when I was CEO of Brush Dance publishing, I wanted to define the values of my company -- how I wanted to work, and to live; my aspirations for what I thought was at the heart of running a business, and being authentic while running a business. Here are the 35 statements I came up with, that I’m now calling the ZBA Manifesto. And, here are a few thoughts on the first statement, and some practices.
HorizonThe practice of not knowing
1. It’s okay not to know. It’s okay to be vulnerable. No one has all the answers. We value and learn from the questions and the asking.
This is a key value, underlying the philosophy and practice of accomplishing more by doing less. It’s okay not to know. In Zen this is called “beginner’s mind” – the mind that is ready, open, and flexible. In business and creativity, there is an expression – “the curse of knowledge” – this is like knowing that people will always want large cars... Or, knowing what business we are in, or knowing what will happen next. Often, knowing gets in the way and causes more effort and less accomplishment.

Here are some practices of not knowing:
-          Experiment by asking yourself –what business am I really in? (What need does your product or service meet?)
-          Ask dumb, or penetrating questions – notice and trust the questions.
-          Pay attention to your discomfort around learning a new skill; just notice, and see if you can become curious – about your discomfort and the process of learning.