Depending on who you talk to, the information age has been upon us for 50-70 years. Regardless of how you want to define it, we know that we have more information available, and it is more easily accessible than it has ever been. Rarely today do we need more information. What we need is more wisdom.
Have you ever felt like you or your team was drowning in information?
When you have that feeling, are you at your best and able to make the best decisions, or do you find yourself stuck or immobilized in the sea of information?
Drowning seems like an apt metaphor to me.
If you were ever actually drowning, what you would need more than anything, is someone or something to help you keep your head above water. What can your lifeline be when you are drowning in data and information rather than deep treacherous water?
Wisdom is your lifeline.
Information vs Wisdom
Information is the data we have available to us – it is knowledge that provides a foundation but lacks insight on its own.
Wisdom, on the other hand, is the ability to apply that information insightfully and discerningly based on the context being faced.
Information exists. And the more of it we have, the more confusing it can sometimes become.
Wisdom must be cultivated. It comes from using information and combining it with experience, understanding, and judgment to make decisions and guide actions effectively.
Creating Wisdom
I will write more about this in a couple of weeks – but I can’t just say that wisdom is the lifeline. Stopping here is like tossing someone a life ring or buoy without an attached rope. Floating saves us in the short term, but safety comes when we can get out of the water.
So how can we sort and sift through the data we are drowning in - the information overload we are facing?
Here is a very tactical set of steps you can try:
- Keep the big picture in sight. The information overload is more daunting when you can’t see the destination. The big picture will guide you and inform you if you let it.
- Look for your biases in the information. Are you (and/or the team) using the information to confirm an opinion? If so, expediency might be your result rather than wisdom.
- Look for various interpretations, not just more data. Ask everyone to review and think about the data you have, asking for their perspectives on what it tells them.
- Look for connections to other situations. Ask what the situation and the data remind us of from other experiences. What do those experiences teach us about this situation?
- Play out the decision. Actions don’t stand alone – everything interacts with everything else in the system. Once you have landed on your likely decision, look at the consequences – both intended and unintended that will follow. Adjust as necessary from there.
If we were literally drowning, we would likely be in a panic, searching for any option to solve our problem. When we are drowning in a sea of information overload, we must be careful not to fall into that same panic mode. Making a snap decision might be ok – but the excellence that comes from focusing on a wise decision may take longer but gets us better results.
These steps apply organizationally or for a team – not just for individuals. As a leader, asking these questions is a tactical way to create a wiser organization. It will lead to better strategy, better decisions and likely, significant competitive advantage.
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