Introduction: Another disruptive influence is the introduction of inaccurate information into the system. Inaccurate information can come from people taking information at face value and not investigating or evaluating it.
Whether it comes from gathering unvalidated information from the web, assuming that if something’s in print it must be right, or simply letting one’s own bias or personal agendas color perceptions, inaccurate information creates errors and misperceptions.
Whether it’s intentional or not is irrelevant. Inaccurate information skews the data provided for analysis and ultimately for problem solving. Too many companies don’t take the time to deal with little inaccuracies, mistakes or small misperceptions, even when they occur over and over.
Do you recognize them in your company? What do you do about them? How do you improve the accuracy of your information? Who demands a disciplined approach be used?
People need to be held accountable for their preparation. It takes concentration, focus and commitment on the parts of everyone to cut perception errors. The boss alone can’t do it.
There are too many sets of eyes and ears and too little boss to go around. It is critical that the organization appreciates the importance of accurate, unbiased information and then holds everyone accountable for it.
What Does Inaccurate Information Look Like? There are several ways in which inaccurate information gets blended into the mix. Someone can deliberately misstate the facts, usually for personal advantage.
People report that they make sales calls that they don’t make, or they might pretend that they know how to do things that they don’t know how to do. This is unusual in most businesses and in most instances.
Inaccurate information occurs more commonly by people who tell half-truths; generally they omit part of the story. Sometimes they do it deliberately. Often, this occurs because people misread or perceive elements of situations.
People are also thrown off-kilter by their biases, prejudices and blind spots. Our own comfortable, familiar way of looking at things tends to predispose us to experience ordinary events in predictable ways. This can make it difficult for people to spot subtle changes or shifts in momentum.
The most common cause of inaccurate information getting fed into the system, however, comes from a lack of rigorous thinking, whether on the part of an individual or the organization as a whole. A lack of rigor applied to how the organization thinks creates problems in a number of ways:
- Information is naively trusted, taken at face value and not questioned or challenged
- Information is considered from within a limited point of view, leading to only a partial consideration of the implications of a set of facts or an idea
- People fail to recognize their assumptions, or if they recognize them, fail to check their validity
- The organization lets stronger personalities override or talk down someone who is right
- The organization develops an acceptance of people talking off-the-cuff, coming to meetings unprepared, or arguing to win their point rather than find the best solution.
So What? Here, the old Information Technology adage of “garbage in, garbage out,” holds true---if you introduce (or allow) error into the system you’ll be off course long before you get to the destination.
Remedying Inaccurate Information – Action Steps
Steps to take:
- Hold people accountable for the quality of their preparation
- If the thinking of your group is sloppy – make sure that they get training to improve. It isn’t a question of being smart. It is a question of being a rigorous thinker
- Use some time in staff meetings to focus on developing thinking skills
- Use Edward de Bono’s books on thinking skills as a source of ideas (see reference section).
- Discuss the importance of accurate information to the point where people give it more than lip service
- Establish a process of after action reviews.