We met with a prospect who had an
interesting offer, a real need, and a cheerful outlook. That is rare.
Only later when we were parsing what we
had been told, we realized it couldn’t possibly be true. There were
some order of magnitude inconsistencies between the inputs and the
outputs. Oops.
There are people who are uncomfortable
with their data, so they verbally adjust it. The problem is that by
adjusting it, they aren’t fixing anything.
Data is neither good nor bad, shameful
or ennobling. Data is a model of reality, and when you intentionally
disable your model, the real results don’t get better.
A carpenter once told me, “It’s
okay to talk to yersel’, Just don’t tell you any lies.”
Check out Tips
4 The Big Chair – Knowledge is Power.
I think this is a great example of the human tendency to prefer what our guts tell us rather than the data. There’s more and more science that shows we don’t make decisions based on data and instead use our emotions, especially so if the data is either unpleasant or unexpected. Recall the story of the emergency crew who responded to alarms at the Sl-1 military research reactor. Since there had been alarm problems before, they expected it to once again be a false alarm. When their radiation meters pegged as they entered the building, they basically said “Nah, that can’t be right” and went in anyway. Oops! People aren’t good with data.
ReplyDeleteThere's a difference between 'chit-chat' and discussion.
ReplyDeleteTwo business colleagues asking and answering 'How's business?' 'Busy as can be!' is similar to greeting someone with 'How are you?' - a detailed account is NOT expected.
However when engaged in a discussion, questions are asked to get information and clarity, and the answers require accuracy to be of use to both parties.
If the information given is the way it should but presented as the way it is, the discussion is derailed and can't arrive at a useful conclusion.
As that wise carpenter said - don't tell yourself any lies!