The Power of Knowledge

Outside Insights

Group brainstorming sessions are usually the birthplace of a spark of an idea that turns into something big. Whether you’re discussing the next roll out with colleagues or deciding what to name the new family puppy while trying not to shut down the name “cupcake”.

While brainstorming, the first wave of responses are often narrow and incomplete. It takes time, and the group needs complete context and information to really engage and get creative. You have to work at it, and you have to go deep. You have to immerse yourself in the topic and gather all of the existing “knowledge” that you can on the topic. The real gems come when enough time is spent observing and thinking then is spent talking.

For this week’s podcast, I sat down with Outside Insights regular, Alan Burkhard to discuss the power of knowledge. The key to making good decisions in any aspect of life is having all of the facts. That might seem obvious at first run, but the truth is so many people are tied up with reaching “the next big thing” that they make decisions without truly understanding the topic. They don’t take the time to gather all of the knowledge that they need.

I know the clocks are ticking, we are junkies for action, and we feel pressed to get things done and make any decision. The next challenge in life is always building up and many of us just don’t think we have the time to really think on something.

In this podcast, you’ll learn about See, Think, Act and the steps that you should take before most decisions. We’ll also discuss the pitfalls of See, Act, Think – a common pattern for many of us in this fast-paced world. Here are the topics we’ll touch on:

• Understand the importance of gathering the right information
• Learn how to assess that information and decide if you have enough knowledge
• Understand that only then can you leverage what you know to create a solution or problem solve
• Know when and how to take action.

Speaking of taking action, let me know what your takeaways are for today's podcast. I often think that the simplest concepts can have the greatest game changing impacts on our lives. We often spend time working on and taking action on the wrong things – what if you could change all of that? I think you can, we just have to change old habits. Start with See, Think, Act.

Until next time,

Chris