Glass Half Something…

TL;DR:

Our perceptions of organizations, companies, and individuals very rarely have to do with actual data that can be quantified using the scientific method in the purest of terms. As Dan Ariely writes in his book Predictably Irrational, we have a tendency to dramatically overestimate the role of rational, calculated thinking, and dramatically underestimate the role of emotions, influences, and heuristics in shaping the ways in which we act, prioritize, think, and feel about the world and the people around us. 

Perception is Perspective

What causes us to wholeheartedly support some organizations while completely writing off others?

The answer, most assuredly, is the perceptions we hold through the data we accumulate in split seconds but also through years of experience. To illustrate how our perceptions can influence our actions explicitly, imagine a young girl walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean.

She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!”. Despite his negative perception, she continued to save the starfish, one by one. Sensing him still watching, she looked up at the man and replied, “Well, I made a difference for that one.”

Our perceptions direct us, moment to moment, towards love or hate, trust or distrust, the known or unknown. To be able to explore the inner workings of our perceptions, we must first start by exploring the types of data we use to form our perceptions. This exploration will allow us to answer the question, how do you challenge, enforce, or abandon your perceptions using data?

By The Numbers

We can classify organizations, companies, and individuals quite simply using what core metrics we subscribe to. These metrics can be quantified using an actual common data model and come from questions such as the following. Do they give to those who do not have? Do they support the same causes we do?

Within these questions there are simple, concrete answers. Data points that we can gather and store away form the full picture of the entity we are analyzing. In the above questions, there are binary, monetary, and comparative data points. While forming perceptions about organizations and companies, we commonly will use business analytics to form these perceptions, lending to creative ways to show impact.  

While this type of data is quantifiable and solid, it generally has little effect on how we perceive organizations, companies, and individuals in our lives because of the way our subconscious influences our perceptions. These inner workings of the subconscious can be broken down, in a simple manner, into trust and distrust, love and hate. 

The Unquantifiable Quantified

Scholars, poets, and musicians alike have aimed to quantify love, trust, and hate, and describe this trifecta in a meaningful way for thousands of years. This short blog post by no means will attempt to replicate that, but we can certainly aim to reach a base understanding. What causes that moment of movement towards love, trust, or hate in a relationship, whether it be with an organization, company, or individual? 

The answers to this are nebulous and wide ranging but there certainly are elements that can be described from a binary nature when describing the unquantifiable. 

For the perceptions you are generating, the following questions will inevitably play a role. Do you perceive there to be patience? Do you perceive there to be kindness? Do you perceive the other entity to have a good heart? These are all questions that can be answered, and if answered in the affirmative, will form the basis on which perceptions can be created and built upon. And, most importantly, through answering these questions we can begin to quantify the unquantifiable. 

Full Circle

Now back to our original question, how do you challenge, enforce, or abandon your perceptions using data? 

You combine the quantifiable and unquantifiable to move forward in the most meaningful and impactful way you possibly can. You keep what is growing and beautiful and dismiss the toxic and destructive. You measure organizations, companies, and individuals through your perceptions which are created and molded on a constant basis.