What You Don't Know You Know
Our Hidden Motives in Life, Business, and Everything Else
Ken Eisold
- The
- unconscious
- sprang
- to
- the
- attention
- of
- the
- West
- a
- hundred
- years
- ago,
- and
- we
- are
- still
- struggling
- to
- absorb
- its
- full
- impact.
- It
- was
- one
- thing
- to
- understand
- the
- concept,
- to
- see
- it
- and
- believe
- it,
- but
- another
- to
- live
- with
- it,
- to
- take
- in
- fully
- its
- challenge
- to
- our
- deepest
- cultural
- assumptions.
- Today,
- as
- we
- expand
- our
- understanding
- of
- its
- reach,
- we
- are
- still
- coming
- to
- grips
- with
- what
- it
- means.
- This
- “new
- unconscious”
- is
- driven
- by
- the
- identities
- we
- assume,
- the
- groups
- we
- belong
- to,
- the
- ideas
- we
- inherit,
- the
- languages
- we
- use–all
- the
- elements
- that
- provide
- meaning
- and
- structure
- to
- our
- world.What
- You
- Don’t
- Know
- You
- Know
- is
- about
- this
- emergent
- understanding,
- and
- how
- it
- forces
- us
- to
- rethink
- our
- relationships
- with
- each
- other
- as
- well
- as
- our
- beliefs
- about
- what
- it
- means
- to
- be
- a
- person,
- to
- have
- a
- self.
- It
- is
- for
- all
- those
- who
- want
- a
- better
- understanding
- of
- the
- complexity
- of
- human
- motivation,
- whether
- as
- an
- executive
- faced
- with
- employees
- resisting
- change,
- an
- elected
- official
- trying
- to
- forge
- agreements
- among
- competing
- interests,
- a
- consultant
- brought
- in
- to
- restructure
- an
- ailing
- corporation,
- or
- individuals
- struggling
- to
- understand
- their
- relationships
- and
- why
- they
- do
- the
- things
- they
- do.
- All
- too
- often,
- our
- actions
- do
- not
- conform
- to
- our
- explicit
- intentions
- or
- to
- common
- sense.
- We
- are
- more
- constricted
- than
- we
- think,
- but
- sometimes
we
- are
- also smarter.
