Are you struggling with information overload?
I wouldn’t be surprised: Bombarded with more information than they can effectively process, I often see leaders miss things that are “hidden in plain sight”. Information overload causes important facts to be overlooked. Leaders commonly bemoan how something so obvious wasn’t caught. In the fallout, outsiders critique these oversights and question leaders’ abilities.
During the mortgage lending frenzy of the mid-2000s, for example, financial institutions and regulatory agencies were drowning in their efforts to track interest rates, loan traffic, the housing boom and profits. Lost in this ocean was the higher percentage of risky loans being made to fuel the euphoria. Telltale data were completely available, revealing the risk of loan defaults. No one thought to investigate this critical aspect of the lending environment.
In The Power of Noticing: What the Best Leaders See (Simon & Schuster, 2015), Max H. Bazerman, PhD, and a New York University colleague coined the term “bounded awareness” to describe how we consistently miss readily available stimuli. Our desired goal becomes our overwhelming mission, despite realities that can upend the best-laid plans. When leaders are so caught up in one situational aspect, they fail to observe another, leading to dire problems. Think of the manufacturer who’s so obsessed with delivery deadlines that he overlooks reports of quality problems.
Leaders can overcome bounded awareness by broadening their perspectives and thinking beyond their typical frame of reference. Careful consideration of issues always trumps a cursory glance. Bringing in a more diverse, cross-functional team is paramount.
Identify Critical Data
Leaders make better decisions when their teams answer critical questions:
- What type of information is appropriate, and which should be discarded?
- Do we have all the data we need?
- If not, where do we access more information?
- How accurate are the data we have?
- Have we examined all the issues at play?
- Is there anything we haven’t considered?
What do you think? How do you manage information overload and identify critical data? I’d love to hear from you. You can call me at 561-582-6060, let’s talk. And as always, I can be reached here, or on LinkedIn.
