THE DATA/INSIGHT GAP

IBM says that 90 percent of all the data in history was created in the past two years. Are we really learning that fast?

Well, things are picking up but there is a secret behind that fact.

The vast majority of our prolific data is not exactly an explosion of human brilliance. It’s postings of everybody’s vacation pics, darling children, pet videos, retweeting political rants, and teenagers endlessly messaging about each other’s shoes.

Everything is data.

But if you want it to tell you something valuable, you have to start with good, relevant questions.

You have to listen and challenge the outcomes.

You have to know that data is a guide, not the answer itself. You have to look for surprises, evaluate and synthesize. And whatever conclusions you draw, need to be tested.

If Henry Ford had acted purely on the available data, he would have made a better horse-drawn carriage instead of a car.

Data is wonderful. But, especially in the business of influence—getting people to buy or give or do anything else you want them to—you need human insights applied to data. Of course, the better data you have, the more insight possibilities you foster. This is a good spot to start focusing on the incredible tool that IS behavioral economics. Here’s a video on the Science of Persuasion that has inspired us many times. Take a look.