\n\tToday, many organizations find themselves confronting alarming situations like the one Sully faced. In a world where disruptive technologies disrupt existing industries in the blink of an eye and competitive shifts can render advantage obsolete, companies find themselves drowning in an ever-increasing deluge of data, seemingly devoid of wisdom on how to take decisive action because, unlike Sully, they have not learned how to operate at the Insight level of the Wisdom Hierarchy (see graphic below).<\/p>\n
\n\t![\"\"](\"\/sites\/default\/files\/learningmatterswisdom_hierarchy.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n\tAt the bottom of this hierarchy lies an ever-expanding amount of observable data. This vast expanse of data is virtually meaningless until it is put into a specific context that allows people to make sense of it. A spreadsheet with no column or row headers is nearly impossible to interpret. Once the data is rendered in a specific context, it becomes \u201cinformation.\u201d Importantly, the inferences one individual draws from the same set of information can vary significantly from another\u2019s based on their unique knowledge and experience.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe variety of insights generated by individuals drawing different inferences from a given set of information represent the secret to survival for the enterprise. It is only by collaborative engagement and agency around shared insights that organizations can see and seize opportunities for survival and growth in increasingly complex and connected business contexts. The higher you migrate up the pyramid, the more focused and wise your decision-making becomes and the more your attention can be focused on a smaller set of more important things.<\/p>\n
\n\tUnfortunately, as the tyranny of urgency takes hold, those charged with making critical business decisions often plunge back down into the information and data layers of the hierarchy to find evidence to advocate for their own perspective. That breaks the creative tension of multiple different perspectives too soon.<\/p>\n
\n\tSo the next time you find yourself faced with an alarmingly complex situation, channel your inner Sully and try to hold the tensions of diverse perspectives on your team long enough for a breakthrough insight to emerge. Doing so might just lead to your very own miracle!<\/p>\n
\n\tTony O\u2019Driscoll is a professor at Duke University\u2019s Fuqua School of Business and a research fellow at Duke Corporate Education. He studies how organizations build the leadership system capabilities required to survive and thrive in an increasingly complex world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\n\tWorking at the level of collective insight requires letting go of one\u2019s own biases and embracing the wisdom of others in an open and additive way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[41],"class_list":{"0":"post-11083","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-magazine","7":"tag-training-matters","8":"magazine_issues-july-2018"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n