Let’s take a moment to appreciate our Gastro Intestinal track . It’s a beautifully constructed
set of organs working to breakdown complex substances into something useful.
Back at the dawn of man, this system was digesting breakfast.
But, at the dawn of man when we were hunter gatherers, food was scarce and obesity impossible.
Those days are gone forever.
Information Is Like Food!
When it was scarce we hungered for it. But now, in the Information Age, there’s a glut - and
without a proper digestive system, we're in danger of eating ourselves sick.
Consider this:
The data in a Sunday New York Times is more than Thomas Jefferson saw in his life.
The power of the computer brain (microchip) doubles every 18 months, but the last time the human brain got an upgrade was 40,000 years ago.
You only remember about 6% of the facts and figures that are spoken or read from a screen, but most business presentations are jammed with facts and figures.
Data Driven Around The Bend
Wrapped in the virtuous banner of being “data driven”, lots of organizations are actually suffering from
info-besity and don’t even recognize it. My friend “Rocket Man” walked right into it. He and many like him
are seeing more overworked individuals, a reluctance to take risks and slower decision cycles.
So what's the difference between using data or being abused by it? On the surface, it seems like there are
several factors involved in data being misused: lack of meeting, writing or speaking skills, EGO, leadership, creativity etc.
Yes these things are drivers, but these drivers are nothing compared to the core issue: philosophy.
The principles of nutrition were discovered when abundance overwhelmed need. Information now needs the same attention.
If you agree with this premise, ask yourself the following questions:
Do you recognize that your business is over eating and over serving information?
Are you willing to get sensible and avoid fad solutions?
Is this where I tell you there are no simple answers? No this is where I tell you there are simple answers.
Simple like a perfect golf swing, a pirouette or a 60ft fly cast. Still interested? Read on.
When we teach people a new set of beliefs about information; Wow, the stuff we run into.
Yet, after the intellectual and emotional dust settles, here’s what we consistently see:
Presentations that are 1/2 as long and 2X as powerful.
Preparation time for writing and speaking that is cut by 50%.
Emails that actually get read and responded to.
Meetings that move along, or aren’t even called. Can you imagine?
Decisions actually take place.
It isn’t the purpose of this written conversation to teach you how to do this. I don’t want to over-promise and
under-deliver. But here’s a simple thing you can do for yourself that may help. A vocabulary check. The next
time you start to write an email or create a presentation, do this; Ask your self what you want your audience
to do. Then watch out for the following words:
Buy-in, Alignment, Support, Commitment, Understand
These aren't actions, they're info-besity traps!
Specific Action Equals Info-Fit
When you hear those words in your head, add this phrase; If they were Bought In,
Aligned, Supportive, Committed and Understanding:
What specifically would they do?
When would they do it?
How much would it cost them in resources (time, money etc.)?
Try this a few times then call us. We’ll help you get info-slim.
| If you started with this essay, please read the Rocketman and Fading Cow story by clicking here.
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