It was Plato who said “I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.” More or less those were his words. Plato did not know English though. He also appreciated that he did not know how good of a philosopher he was. He knew he didn’t know his relative skills as a teacher. And he certainly didn’t know his life’s teachings would echo through the ages. Because, how could he really know? How could you?

Have you ever wondered how “good” you are? We’re talking professionally here. We know you’re a great person of the utmost character personally. This goes without saying. Let’s be real. But you probably have no idea, right?

Every so often you’ll hear some very successful person regale podcast audiences with stories about their humble beginnings where they were just trying to “do what they loved” or “replace their original salary”. Recently Ben Thompson from Stratechery was interviewed (paywalled link here) around how his newsletter empire started. Turns out he had no idea how good he was either. Most don’t!

Everyone goes through a process of trying to find how they compare in a very competitive, complicated world. When you’re early or young there is not much basis for comparison. Benchmarking doesn’t exist. You’re clueless. Then, achievements are notched and confidence builds. Exposure to industry and company peers help too. Even more so when you’re in the capital of your industry.

Why do a ton of tech startups hail from the San Francisco Bay Area? Financial firms from New York? Oil from Texas? They probably have better ideas of how good they are because they have the comparative advantage of being near the places (physical or digital) where the craft is practiced. There are living benchmarks all around.

But it’s not just about trying to locate the best competition that will help you compare and then improve. Regardless of proximity, one essential ingredient for all the managers out there in getting better is about seeking out challenging projects and experiences. Not titles. Compensation doesn’t solve this either.

You have to go out there and do things that make you uncomfortable. You have to do things you don’t know how to do if you want to learn if you’re any good. You have to take on new challenges that might even be painful.

It’s very likely you won’t learn if you’re the best. But if you try, you’ll learn you’re more than good enough. Just keep exploring and stretching. There is a lot of learning and adventures to be had.