"I know everything"

My friend Wayne says the day we know everything is the same day we can pack it in and accept death. Life will be but a bore after that day, so dying is the best option.

I introduced myself to a pizza shop owner recently who professed to know everything. I was blown away. He literally told me he knew everything and there was nothing I could help him with.

He was right about one thing - I cannot help him. He's closed his mind to anything new. I am not interested in hammering nails into cement blocks.

Pretty sure he's wrong about the first part though.

His passion and confidence was magnetic and retractive at the same time.  Observing him talk while waving his hands and moving his head was theatre. All kinds of drama and I left with a sense of awe.

A reasonable person would not openly admit"I  to knowing everything.
But how many of us think we know a lot about something.

Keep this in mind:
"Do you have 20 years experience or one year's experience repeated 20 times?"

My experience has brought me to where I am. And your experience has brought you to where you are. Two people can have similar experiences and arrive at a different location.

We're people. Not computers. Our experience gets interpreted differently by our perspective.

If you're hiring someone and looking for experience. What are you really looking for?

Experience doesn't necessarily mean the candidate can do the job.

Hire for attitude. Train for experience.

But you already know that. It's just a quicker fix to hire for experience and deal with the consequences of the potential poor hire later.

Let's defer the staff problem to some later date.

My best employee and worst hire was the same person. I hired him for experience. He made me money. But he killed my team spirit. He ruined the emotional capital I had worked hard to build with the employees and suppliers. I traded him the day I was forced to make a choice between my team and my captain.