Research is fascinating stuff for me and one of my joys is discovering that research NextStage has done either points to research done elsewhere or that research done elsewhere points to research Nextstage has done. It's kind of a joyous serendipity type of thing. Case in point, my posts about Voluntary Simplification, Email Bankruptcy and Happiness. These posts all deal with how people adapt to the amount of information coming at them in their lives.
It turns out -- and many sources point to this -- that the adage "Think Globally, Act Locally", meaning "The more information you have the better you're able to deal with a given situation" isn't accurate at all. The more information people have about something the less they are able to act upon that information, it seems.
Knowing a lot about what's going on is sometimes called "Situational Awareness" and that is something NextStage has researched greatly, specifically how to get the right amount of information to a decision maker formatted in the most easily digestible yet unbiased way so that the decision maker can quickly make an optimal decision. It's not necessarily that there's too much information, it's often that the information isn't formatted so that the individual can quickly determine its relevance. This is something my dad use to say as "When someone's hanging onto a cliff by their fingernails, don't ask them to play football."
One strategy for dealing with information that I find fascinating is to move it from action to opinion. Let me give you an example.
Action based information is something like instructions for making my chicken soup. Opinion based information is what I think of my soup. I'm probably going to have a high opinion of my soup and a lesser opinion of your soup unless there's non-action based reasons for me to favor your soup. Maybe you have something I want (your soup recipe, your business, your friendship, your children), maybe I'm afraid of you and don't want to incur your wrath, maybe you're a friend and I don't want to offend you or hurt your feelings.In all cases, opinion based information's value is more political and social than it is actionable and doable. Opinion based information is one of the ways we recognize who is "like" us and who is "different" from us, as in Friend or Foe. Actionable and doable are the province of action based information.
Action based information can exist by itself. The instructions for making chicken soup are the instructions for making chicken soup. It doesn't matter if you like chicken soup or not, the recipe is the recipe is the recipe.
Opinion based information, however, has trouble existing by itself. An opinion without a follow up action doesn't serve the general good very well at all. It's great to learn what someone thinks about something because it can serve as a whetstone for your own thoughts and beliefs...and actions. That's the key. Opinion based information is "I think such and so" and is fine until someone asks, "What are you going to do about it?" That's where opinion based information breaks down. Business meetings that don't end in take-aways and action plans and ownership items don't move businesses forward at all.
The strategy of moving information from action to opinion as a throttle on information overload is very simple; Opinion doesn't require you to act. In fact, it's quite easy to ignore. People may talk about opinion based information ("Did you hear what he said?" "Did you see what she was wearing?" "Did you see that tv show last night?") and that's pretty much all they can do.
But act upon it? There's a world of difference between "I think such and so" and "I think such and so and am going to do this about it."
The latter is something all Americans are familiar with as I write this. We're in the middle of presidential campaigns. All we hear is what the candidates think about something and what they're going to do about it. Doesn't mean they can or will, only that they're indicating they will. Why is this so important? Because now doing something is their responsibility, not ours. Our responsibility ends with voting. Once we vote we are again safe, only having to offer opinions and not having to act upon anything other than to nod or shake our heads when others share their opinions with us. Until our situations become so untenable we elect to vote with our feet, perhaps the ultimate in action based information exchange.
So here's to that incredible strategy that helps people buffer themselves against the onslaught of information in their lives; All hail The Opinion.
And do let me know when you're ready to get something done.
Please contact NextStage for information regarding presentations and trainings on this and other topics.
Upcoming Trainings:
- Know How Someone's Thinking in 10 Seconds or Less Half-day training at Toronto Emetrics Marketing Optimzation Summit, 3 April 08
- Know How Someone Is Thinking in 10 Seconds or Less Half-day training at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, 13 June 08
- Toronto Emetrics Marketing Optimzation Summit, 31 March - 2 April 08
- New Communications Forum 2008, 22-25 April 08 at The Vineyard Creek Inn & Spa, Sonoma County CA
- San Francisco Emetrics Marketing Optimzation Summit, 4-7 May 08
- SUNY Marketing Professionals Conference at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, 11-13 June 08
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