In the modern world, we are
inundated with a flood of data and information. Traditional editing systems designed
to help us sort through this clutter--like newspapers--are endangered and may not
survive. But the increased flow of information makes it more important than
ever that we learn how to convert the myriad data streams that surround us into
useful knowledge and insights we can act on. I would even go so far as to say
that we are seeking wisdom out of all
those facts and numbers.
How can we accomplish this? The
wise use of data depends on our ability to link it to real life, to real people
and their experiences, to human transactions and interactions. History is
littered with examples of companies that went awry because they did not
understand the context and realities associated with the data they were
supposedly analyzing. In other cases, leaders did not "ask deeply" enough. They
knew what, how much, and where their customers were buying, but they didn't ask
the right questions to ascertain why
their customers bought what they did or what those people were really looking
for. Often, what we sell is not what the customer is buying (something Peter
Drucker points out in Innovation and
Entrepreneurship).
