Superpower #2: Courage

When Not All the Answers Exist, Someone Has to Act

In the first article of this series, I wrote about curiosity.

About the importance of continuing to ask questions in a world where answers are becoming abundant.

But there is a problem.

We can ask extraordinary questions.

We can keep learning.

We can have access to the best information, the best tools, and artificial intelligence capable of analyzing thousands of possibilities.

And still do nothing.

Because there is a gap between knowing and doing.

And crossing that gap requires another superpower:

Courage.

Courage Is Not the Absence of Fear

Perhaps this is one of the most common misunderstandings about courage.

Courage does not mean feeling no fear.

Nor does it mean taking unnecessary risks, ignoring consequences, or making impulsive decisions.

Courage means recognizing that there is risk, discomfort, or uncertainty and still being able to move forward when there is a reason to do so.

It means saying:

“I still do not have all the answers. But I have enough information to take the next step.”

That applies to a child.

To a student.

To a professional.

To an entrepreneur.

And to an executive making a decision that may affect thousands of people.

We Were Trained to Look for the Right Answer

Much of our education takes place in environments where there is a correct answer.

On the test, it exists.

In the book, it exists.

In the answer key, it exists.

For years, we learn that we should study until we find that answer.

But professional life works differently.

The most important problems rarely come with an answer key.

Should we launch this product?

Should we change our strategy?

Should we hire this person?

Should we invest in this technology?

Should we abandon something that worked for years?

Should we start a company?

Should we change careers?

There is no page at the end of the book with the answers.

There is information.

There are probabilities.

There is experience.

There are risks.

And there comes a moment when we need to decide.

AI May Make This Paradox Even Greater

Artificial Intelligence is dramatically increasing our ability to analyze alternatives.

We can ask:

“Analyze five strategies.”

“Compare twenty competitors.”

“Identify the risks.”

“Simulate three scenarios.”

“Find the counterarguments.”

“Research what other companies have done.”

And receive all of that in minutes.

That is extraordinary.

But there is an interesting side effect.

The more we are able to analyze, the greater the temptation may be to keep analyzing.

One more research task.

One more simulation.

One more scenario.

One more opinion.

One more question for AI.

Until what initially looked like prudence turns into paralysis.

Technology can reduce uncertainty.

But it will probably never eliminate it.

At some point, someone has to say:

“Let’s go.”

Courage Means Accepting That Some Answers Only Appear After the First Step

There is an idea I consider especially important for future generations:

not all knowledge comes before action.

Some things can only be learned by doing.

You can study entrepreneurship for years.

But there is a kind of knowledge that only appears when the first customer says “no.”

You can study leadership.

But some things about leadership only become clear when you need to make a difficult decision involving people.

You can study programming.

But an important part of learning appears when something simply does not work.

You can research an idea for months.

But some answers only emerge when someone finally builds the first prototype.

Sometimes:

Action → Feedback → Learning → New Action

And not:

Complete Learning → Perfect Action

Making Mistakes Also Needs to Become Acceptable Again

There is another problem.

We often educate our children — and build our organizations — to avoid mistakes.

Mistakes lower grades.

Mistakes can create embarrassment.

Mistakes can hurt an evaluation.

Mistakes can affect a career.

Naturally, there are situations in which mistakes have serious consequences and must be avoided.

But there are many others in which experimentation is exactly the fastest way to learn.

We need to teach a fundamental distinction:

an error caused by negligence is not the same as an error caused by experimentation.

An organization that punishes every attempt that does not work creates a predictable consequence:

people stop trying.

And a generation afraid of making mistakes may have access to the most powerful tools in history and still produce far less than it could.

Intellectual Courage Matters Too

There is another form of courage that I consider fundamental.

The courage to say:

“I don’t know.”

The courage to change your mind when better evidence appears.

The courage to ask an apparently simple question in a room full of experts.

The courage to disagree respectfully.

The courage to acknowledge a mistake.

The courage to abandon an idea in which we have invested significant time once we realize it does not work.

Perhaps, paradoxically, the more knowledge we have available, the more important this form of intellectual humility becomes.

The Combination Is Starting to Become Powerful

In the first article, we talked about Curiosity.

Now we add Courage.

And something interesting begins to happen.

Curiosity without courage can produce knowledge without action.

Courage without curiosity can produce action without understanding.

But:

Curiosity + Courage = Discovery + Experimentation

One makes us ask:

“What if?”

The other allows us to answer:

“Let’s find out.”

Many discoveries, companies, inventions, career changes, and transformations emerge from this combination.

Perhaps We Should Teach Less Fear of Not Knowing

When I think about future generations, I do not believe we can prepare them by teaching everything they will need to know.

We do not know which professions will exist.

We do not know which technologies will dominate the market.

We do not know which technical capabilities will be essential fifteen years from now.

But we can help them develop capabilities that will remain useful regardless of those changes.

One of them is curiosity.

Another is courage.

Courage to start.

Courage to experiment.

Courage to ask.

Courage to change.

Courage to admit not knowing.

Courage to fail and try again.

And, above all, courage to act when not all the answers exist.

Because perhaps the future will not belong only to people who can quickly understand what is happening.

Perhaps it will also belong to those who, in the face of uncertainty, are able to take the next step.

Courage

Artificial Intelligence can show us hundreds of paths.

But we are still the ones who have to decide to walk.