Let me start off by stating this: I have never met anyone, anywhere, at any point in time that had true knowledge of anything, at any time, ever.
That being stated, we can discuss Knowing vs. Not Knowing. There are people out there that go into projects with the customer insisting that they have a deep knowledge of any subject/process/project that they encounter or are immersed in. This, in my experience is sincerely misleading.
Do you really want to know who knows about your process? They are the ones who eat/sleep/breathe/dream/live with the process every working day of their lives. The one's who, even though they are off for the weekend, it's in their heads... they are thinking about it even on their family time. They have knowledge. Anyone else that comes in and claims that they know your process better is suspect.
When I am brought into a process, there are two paths to choose from. 1) I know everything about anything. 2) I have no knowledge of this, but I'm eager to learn from your best.
I choose not to have knowledge, but I'm eager to learn. Why? It's absolutely insulting to walk into a room with a "Deity-Complex" and telling everyone in the room that you know it all and they don't. It's just flat-out wrong. There are people in the room that have been living with this process and all of its "fleas" likely for many years. This option actually (although it doesn't sound like it), gives me the advantage. Now that I have established trust, I can ask the "Stupid" questions. I can probe. I can needle. I can "Poke them in the Eye". All with respect and eagerness to truly understand and to make life better for them of course.
Once they are of the understanding that you are not there to ram something down their throats, that you thoroughly understand that they are the experts, and that you are not there to create an adversarial relationship with them, the trust is enhanced, you are learning from them, and you become part of the team. The team. The friendships that develop along with that are usually life-long friendships... and are certainly cherished.
Along with the team's knowledge... I can develop what I am actually there for. Understanding. With the team's knowledge, my understanding, my background, the team can create a superior quality process that will last them for many years to come. Of course, I can still ask them the "Stupid" questions and "guide" them on the Team's Future-State Process Design.
Now, does it always work out this way? No. Sometimes you have to design the process in a vacuum, but there are tricks to doing that as well.
Overall, "Understanding" is much better than "Knowing"...
-Next Level Lean Six Sigma
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