Take action...
"The greatest wisdom not applied to action and behavior is meaningless data." - Peter Drucker
This is my favorite quote about data. As I always tell my clients, "Don't collect data you're not going to use." And by "use," I really mean "take action on." Putting the data into a report and saying "Isn't that interesting?" is not really using it.
So I was pleased to see this quote come across my transom:
"Life rewards action, not intelligence." - James Clear
This is a great rephrase of Drucker. You can be super-smart (i.e., have all the data) but if you don't take action, there is no reward.
So whether it's the data in your association database or the data of your life, are you acting on it? Or are you just "collecting interesting information"?
Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives
Documenting Process is Critical
When it comes to managing data successfully, process is critical. For example, a client of […]
Motion vs. Action
In James Clear’s book Atomic Habits (I recommend it!), he discusses the concept of motion vs. action. […]
Are You Answering Your Calls?
I’ve written about this before, but apparently I have to keep repeating it. If you’ve […]
Who do you trust?
Who Do You Trust I was reading an article recently about Warren Buffet’s “rules” for […]
Set benchmarks to measure progress
It’s impossible to measure progress if you don’t know your starting point. This sounds axiomatic, […]
You’ll make incorrect decisions. Acknowledge them and fix it.
A client of mine recently wrote the following to me: “It’s so hard to set […]
"Experience is unobservable to everyone except the person who it happens to."
In Dan Gilbert’s book Stumbling on Happiness, he writes: “Experience is unobservable to everyone except […]
Know Your Audience Before You Speak
This one may seem obvious, but when you’re speaking to anyone, whether it’s one person, […]
"Behavior is a function of the person in their environment."
Lewin’s equation says “behavior is a function of the person in their environment.” (He was […]
Signal-to-noise ratio
Signal-to-noise ratio Signal-to-noise ratio, formally used, applies to electricity and engineering, and refers to how […]