Rumsfeld Matrix

Rumsfeld Matrix

When we're dealing with a lot of newness: a new role, a new boss, new child, our minds tend to focus on what we don't know. That's because they've learned to associate uncertainty with danger.

We need to override our brains and tap into our "knowns", so we dig deeper on our "unknowns" with a better perspective and less fear.

The Rumsfeld Matrix helps us do just that.

🤓 “I know what I know.”

Let’s pretend that you’ve been asked to be a product manager for an important project.

This is where you’d start by listing all the things you know about being a product manager. Grab that pen and paper and list it out.

Maybe you know that PMs need to have handover meetings and standup meetings to best facilitate the process.

You’re already off to a great start!

🤔“I don’t know what I know.”

There’s tons of information floating around our brains that we aren’t tapping into.

To access it, have someone on your team interview you about the role of a PM. You can even map out the steps of a project that’s already happened.

The process of "talking it out" will help you uncover what you knew, but forgot about.

🕵️ “I know what I don’t know”

It’s now time to poke holes in your knowledge and find the gaps.

Make a list of questions you have, or things you’ve signaled you want to learn more about.

Maybe you know that product management tools are necessary, but you don’t know which ones to use. Dig into these items with some actionable next steps.

Finally, we come to the most overwhelming bit of all.

🤷 “I don’t know what I don’t know.”

It’s unlikely you’ll let yourself stay in ignorance for long, so how do you reveal those gaps you aren’t even aware of?

You’ve got two good options:

1. Ask someone who does know! Reach out to a PM in your network to show them your list.

*2. Just dive in. Sometimes you need to fumble your way through for the best learnings and adapt along the way.

The exciting unknown

There will always be things you don’t know. It’s what keeps life interesting.

As you start to reveal things to yourself, you’ll watch those pieces of information travel from “I don’t know what I don’t know” into “I know what I know.”

It’s this learning flow that will help you grow into a leader that thrives in ambiguity.