Flashlights, searchlights, and major strategy faux pas

In a world where pennies cost more to produce than they’re worth, raw data and information are also increasingly a commodity. 

But insights from that data – and resulting implications – are the new $1000 bill.  

So how we go about mining information, finding insights, and deriving implications becomes the game-changer – for our projects, companies, and careers.

Stemming from attention theory in mindfulness and meditation, there are two main ways to approach our knowledge-gathering efforts.

🔦 FOCUS (think: "flashlight")

Crisp, clear focus on the specific, targeted information that we’re after / directing our flashlight toward

• Convergent thinking 

• Reactive, responsive

• Success = staying focused, narrowing down, finding an answer 

• Examples include = market sizing, competitor or company profile, concept testing

💡NOTICE (think: "searchlight")

Prioritizes what’s happening at the moment – the current state of all the things versus a specific thing or answer

• Divergent thinking

• Proactive, progressive

• Success = making discoveries, finding opportunities, uncovering new questions

• Examples include = competitive landscape monitoring, needs mapping, trend tracking

But that’s not all!

There are 2 other dynamics at play.

1. Surrounding both of these = broader GOAL or remit

• This could be as high level as our company’s mission or vision, or as tangible as our business strategy. But this “executive control” oversight ensures our efforts, focus, and resources are in alignment with the broader task at hand, and gets us back on track if not. 

2. Connecting both of these = a REDIRECT motion

• In either type of effort, we can discover things which present opportunities, threats, and/or sensitivities. This demands a shift in strategy, whether in our focused efforts or in the broader landscape we’re monitoring.

Each of these motions plays a role in achieving the broader objective, and a healthy dose of both (often at the same time) is non-negotiable for strong, smart strategies.

But each has its risks.

🔦 FOCUS (flashlight)

Risks include:

• Einstellung Effect: Sticking to a familiar approach, even when a better one exists, can limit the scope of analysis and lead to missed opportunities.

• Confirmation Bias: Focusing on information that confirms pre-existing beliefs can skew results toward expected answers.

• Law of the Instrument (Maslow's Hammer): "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail," making us over-rely on familiar tools or methods and limiting innovative problem-solving.

• Reactive Devaluation: Undervaluing or dismissing information simply because it comes from an opposing source can reduce willingness to explore outside perspectives.

• Sunk Cost Fallacy: Continuing to invest in a path even when new evidence suggests a different direction, simply because of prior investments already made.

• (Related) Plan Continuation Bias & Escalation of Commitment: Sticking to an original course of action even when new information suggests a change is needed, simply because of existing momentum.

💡NOTICE (searchlight)

Risks include:

• Information Overload: Taking in too much information can overwhelm decision-making and lead to indecisiveness, poor prioritization, and/or suboptimal choices.

• Availability Heuristic: Prioritizing easily-recalled information or recent events may cause bias in identifying trends or opportunities.

• Shiny Object Syndrome: Chasing novel or exciting discoveries without thoroughly vetting their importance or feasibility can distract, disrupt, and even destroy businesses.

• Salience Bias: Overweighting information that stands out or is more noticeable can skew attention toward flashy, dramatic, even one-off events rather than deeper or subtler insights.

• Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon (Frequency Illusion): Once something is noticed, it suddenly seems to appear everywhere, leading to the false belief that it's becoming more prevalent or important than it actually is.

The good news?

With the right knowledge stack, all of this is very possible to nail, as today’s leading companies are managing to – especially if you can spend your time watching out for these biases vs. drowning in oceans of data.

Happy hunting, farming, and fertilizing! 
Victoria

PS. Whether you’re looking to intensely vet a topic (with a flashlight), consistently monitor it (with a searchlight), or otherwise landscape a space (a mix between the two), Wonder is here to help accelerate your efforts and keep you out of the weeds. 

Grab a time that works for you to kick off a project and/or learn more about how our AI + human experts can help you get faster knowledge – without the cognitive biases 😉!