Are Off Course 98% of the Time?
Did you know that an airplane flying from New York to LA is off course 98% of the time?
Just as a driver is always moving the steering wheel to keep the car pointed in the right direction, the pilot is constantly adjusting based on the information he’s taking in — from the instruments, from the crew, from air traffic control, from every source he recognizes as relevant and valuable.
Wise individuals and great companies do the same thing. We get to our goals by constantly adjusting. Yet, for some reason, we sometimes fool ourselves into thinking that we or the organizations we work with have control over the forces outside and around us. It’s just not so.
We can manage what’s within our power to manage. But more importantly, we can adjust, innovate, and grow if we if we find the relevant and valuable information about the rest.
How Do You Find Relevant and Valuable Information?
Individuals and organizations that are growing are curious and information hungry. We are personally involved in work and business, but we don’t take information personally. We work through an information gathering process again and again in a spiraling, overlapping, scaffolded fashion. We use the latest listening tools, but even more we use our ears, eyes, hearts, and minds to decipher what is relevant and valuable to their goals.
- Listen actively. It’s so powerful to set aside filters that would have us hear only what supports our current world view. Looking for other perspectives, other voices, different, radical, outrageous ideas offers a diverse pool from which to choose and challenges our assumptions.
- Test what you hear. We ask folks who are talking about what they’re saying to confirm that the message we received is clear. Then we ask other folks if that message makes sense in their lives too.
- Adjust and adapt to the new information. We steer. Steering isn’t all controlling. It’s altering our world view to include what we have just learned.
- Share. We make sure that the right folks know. We tell other people. Organizations tell customers, employees, shareholders, prospects, and key stakeholders.
Sounds a little like panning for gold — with each pan we use a finer sifter. With each pan we get closer to what we want to know.
While you’re listening, consider and reconsider what you’re listen for.
How do you find relevant and valuable information?
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
Great point, Liz. When we’re flexible and listening we don’t miss the big opportunities that come our way. Listening also keeps us in touch with reality–not just ingrained in our version of things inside our heads.
Hi Todd,
I’ve been thinking all day about ways to get folks to want to stretch their brains … just like when I was teaching. 🙂
Great post, Liz. So many times people aren’t really listening to what others say. They’re just thinking about what they’ll say in response. I’m guilty of it too. That’s why active listening is great. It helps you stay in the moment.
Liz,
Good thoughts. When you really listen to someone they feel validated. We all like to be heard. Good listening helps us and the other. A frustrated customer that is heard might come back. I think we have to practice attention.
I think of the miners getting messy while they found gold. Seems like there is no easy way to pan for valuable information. Hands dirty and paying close attention…
Hi Liz,
Your pilot example also shows how important having some sort of goal in mind is – the chatter from all around the pilot wouldn’t make sense if there was no destination in the plan. Plus, your point to ‘test what you hear’ is dead on. We often interpret what others say based on what we want to hear, not what they are actually trying to say.
Hi Lovelyn,
When I did the “blogger a day” calls for a year, it quickly impressed on me how grateful we all were just to have a conversation where another person was listening.
We’re all hungry to be heard.
Hi Tim,
When I was reading your comment, I kept thinking how I relax and feel generous whenever I’m really listening. It’s a gift to me too. If we remembered that, maybe we wouldn’t have to practice.
But I do agree about doing the “work.” Can’t be a slacker at listening.
Hi Fred!
I’m a big believer that we have to be sure that the message we send is the one that folks receive. I’ve been in publishing too long to see it any other way.
Every person reads and hears things differently.
You can plan on it. heh heh
Hi Liz
I have a little bit of info overload so trying to segment what I want to read is difficult but one thing that I have just started using is Googles blog search which I find brings up sites with a different news persective than the traditional news aggregators. It is a little gem of a tool and it helps with my thought processes massively.
Howdy Liz! I liked that “panning for gold” analogy so I took it a bit farther…
I know folks who are always “skimming” for big ideas and world-shaking nuggets. They may (or may not) find one, but the fact is, those types of things are actually few and far between.
On the other hand, if they’d just “shift their sights” even a little bit, there’s a whole bunch of smaller chunks, just lyin’ around for the taking. Tune your sight to the finest setting and you’ll find there’s a ton o’ dust down there at the bottom of the barrel. All we gotta do is drill down to it.
I guess what I’m sayin’ is, we should learn to listen to whole conversations, not just search for, and key on, certain “triggers”.
There are riches at every level.
Hi Mark,
I use Blog Search regularly for so many reasons. It’s a fabulous filter. Thanks for mentioning it here — a great tool.
Robert,
Love that you took this further. In our quest to be “efficient” listeners we sure can find ourselves tuning out some of the most valuable information. I think you’re naming a new version of looking only at the numbers and not the events and ideas behind them.
Hi Liz,
Wow you have been busy! lots of new posts!
I like your list! Specially no 2 I have to give more notice!!
Greetings,
Claus D Jensen