There’s more data — from more sources — than ever before, and artificial intelligence is making it easier for us to search for it and analyse it. Image: bix- tech.com.
Amanda Setili urges us to embrace artificial intelligence that can help us master the explosion of data to better understand clients, colleagues and the industries in which we work.
You’ve probably heard the joke about a man who loses his wallet and then searches outside for it. A woman comes by and asks: “Where did you drop it? The man replies: ”Over there in the alley.” The woman asks: “Then why are you looking here on the street corner?” He replies: “Because the light is better here.”
You don’t have to be clueless to do this. Last week, we were swimming in a lake when someone dropped a nice new pair of expensive sunglasses, which promptly sank.
It was about six metres deep in the area where we thought the glasses were. We tried to find them by diving down repeatedly with snorkel gear, but of course we could only search a very small area before coming up for air.
Over time, we found ourselves naturally gravitating towards shallower waters, not because we had factual evidence suggesting that was a better place to look, but because it was easier to search there.
We didn’t find the sunglasses, and your organisation probably won’t find the answers it needs by searching where it’s easiest to look.
The world is changing quickly, and so is your ability to talk to clients with whom you’ve never spoken in depth, to hear the voices of employees who have never before spoken up, to speak with remote-based colleagues who are outside of your normal space.
There’s more data — from more sources — than ever before, and artificial intelligence is making it easier to search for it and analyse it.
Consider new sources of data that you might be able to combine with the data you already have, and additional questions you could ask, given a more expansive view of the possibilities.
Also, look at the outliers, who are often the harbingers of things to come. You’d be surprised how often we all do the equivalent of looking where the light is good.
Amanda Setili helps successful leaders and their teams agree on what needs to change and how to make it happen. She is the author of Fearless Growth: The New Rules to Stay Competitive, Foster Innovation, and Dominate Your Markets. Amanda can be contacted at www.setili.com. This article first appeared on Amanda’s website.
