Back to Basics: The Power of “I Don’t Know”
- Donna Ray Berkelhammer, Esq.
- Feb 14, 2022
- 1 min read

Your first two or three years in business are hard. Your learning curve is so steep, and sometimes it feels like you don’t know anything.
Around 12:30 one afternoon, the switchboard put in a call to me. It was a client with a very fact-specific question about a problem at their facility. I immediately understood the question but realized the answer wasn’t simply what the law said. And I also immediately understood I didn’t have enough business perspective and experience to give a good answer.
So, I took a deep breath, repeated the question back to him, and told him “I don’t know, but when the partner comes back from lunch, I will bring this matter to his attention and we will get back to you.”
I was nervous the client would be angry that I didn’t immediately know the answer to his question.
Instead, he was grateful I understood his situation and would get him a competent answer.
You don’t have to know it all; you have to know how to find the answer or refer your customer to the right resource.
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