Every Republican I have known during my entire lifetime had the exact same flaw

[SharonAnn]

20. That is actually a legitimate management analysis tool. Here it is:

Part of good management planning includes the situations listed below. They are important!

There are:

Known knowns: Things that are real and that we know (are aware) that are real. For example, the sun rises in the East (reality) and I know (am aware) that it does. Therefore, I can build this in my plans.

Known unkowns: Things that are real but that we are aware that we don't know. For example, it is known the Hollandaise sauce is mixture of ingredients that are emulsified, but I don't know how to make it, nor what the ingredients are. Therefore, I know that I need to find a knowledgeable person to make Hollandaise sauce when I need that as part of my plans. Or, I or a team member need to learn how to make it.

Unknown knowns: Things that are real but that I don't know (or am not aware of). For example, one of the critical team members on my project is terminally ill. He knows it, but I (as Project Manager) don't know it. Therefore, there is knowledge in the group but I don't know it so I cannot consider it in my plans. Perhaps I need to build in a backup position to reduce the project risk but I don't do it because I don't know that I need to.

Unknown unknowns: These can be absolutely most dangerous of all. There is something that is not known and none of us know that we don't know it. We may think we have covered all contingencies, but we haven't. This is what can bring down a project, a system, a company, a government, etc. For example, we're going to have fishing tournament as the major fund-raiser of an important charity. We don't know that there is a company upstream that could, on purpose or accidentally, discharge toxic chemicals into the river/lake in sufficient quantities to kill all the fish within hours. If that doesn't happen, then we may think that our planning covers all possible contingencies for future events. But it doesn't!

In military planning and operations, all of these are important but the last one is the most dangerous and can be life or death to the participants on both sides.