Have you ever heard the old saying, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you”? Not sure why, or who it was in my life at the time would say it, but I remember hearing it a lot when I was a kid. Through the years I’ve found this saying, through personal experience and observation, severely misleading at best. I wonder if the person who originated the phrase had only “current hurt” in mind. For example, I might be unaware that my car has no engine oil and that the engine is going to die exactly a week from today – but today, because I don’t know it, it doesn’t hurt. However, in a week when the car blows up and catches on fire, there is a lot that’s going to hurt. So, what you don’t know, can absolutely hurt you, and often does…it simply may not be immediate.
If you’re a successful business owner, your business may be your biggest asset, and play a key role in whatever represents success for you in the future (i.e., financial, values-based, or legacy goals). You may understand there are things you need to know about how ready you are, and how ready your business is for you to leave on your own terms and conditions. But you’ve chosen not to know, as it will surely result in additional work, time, and/or financial investment…and because “what you don’t know, currently isn’t hurting you.” It may not hurt now, but the hurt that comes later could be devastating when you eventually leave your business if you then learn that your financial, values-based, and legacy goals are not going to be realized.
Take steps now to expose reality and get the knowledge you need then act on it. And get help…because you don't know what you don't know.