The former Medtronic CEO Bill George argues that the root cause of the economic crisis was not subprime mortgages but subprime leadership. No leadership without Self leadership. And no Self leadership without Self Knowledge.

The greatest problem in the world of management today is the lack of balance between what we will call here “outer knowledge” such as skills (technological or otherwise), experience or access to relevant data etc and Self Knowledge.

Outer knowledge will only lead to sustainable results as much as it is balanced with Self Knowledge.

Everyone knows how to obtain “outer knowledge”. Very few know how to obtain Self Knowledge. The reason is that Self Knowledge can not be known in the same way as we know knowing.

One night Nasruddin was seen as he was furiousely looking for something under the lantern on the street in front of his house. “Nasruddin, what are you looking for” asked the passer by. “I am looking for the key to my house.” Nasruddin replied. “Let me help you” the passer by replied “tell me where about did you loose the key”? “I lost it somewhere on the other side of the house”. The passer by completely startled: “if you lost the key on the other side of the house, why on earth are looking for it this side”? “Because” Nasruddin replied “there is light on this side and it’s pitch dark on the other side”.

This story illustrates how we are conditioned by the acquisition of outer knowledge. We know how to obtain that. That is were it is light. To even consider a totally different kind of knowledge and a totally different way of dealing with it is, for most of us, practically unthinkable.