“There must be a whale out there,” I thought, observing dozens of people between my perch by the pool and the waterline of the beach gathering to look at the mist of breaching whales on the horizon.
To my left, though, was a more urgent gathering of maybe ten people moving quickly toward the shoreline, like you might see when a crowd moves in to observe a lifesaving rescue. I could see the dark shadow of what could have been a small reef or rock formation in the very clear water. Moments later, a whale that was easily 40’ long surfaced 20 yards off the beach in what was no more than 20 feet of water. It was an amazing sight, yet only a fraction of the people at the resort beach and pool area were focused on this magnificence. Most were unaware, and others were looking at a far-off blow of a whale.
Hundreds with the same opportunity, yet only 10 or 20 people saw the up-close event right before them.
This phenomenon is known as inattentional blindness and it’s affecting your news consumption, and your business as well.
You used to have to tune in for your news, arriving at a specific channel at a specific time. You could be reasonably assured that journalistic standards guaranteed the facts were verified and that this was the news of the day.
The challenge today isn’t just finding and consuming news and information but in filtering it. Like the whale watchers looking in the wrong direction, we must ask ourselves: are we paying attention to what’s truly happening, or just what’s being pointed out to us?
We all now know the word algorithm in a different way. “The algorithm knows me,” or “How does the algorithm know so much about me?” Social media algorithms work like a brain, piecing together insights about you and your habits faster than you can yourself. Using artificial intelligence in this way is meant to curate an experience for you that keeps you engaged and generates enough dopamine triggers that you can’t look away.
In recent posts I’ve talked about focus, and I’ve talked about AI. Both are important but in different ways. AI can integrate many things that appear disparate much faster than a human, but AI is still learning how to discern. There’s a difference. Today human discernment is a differentiator.
Doing something faster doesn’t always make it better or particularly insightful. Doing the wrong things faster and faster is just madness. Journalism and communications are at once required to balance speed and accuracy.
One of my favorite Captains once counseled not to confuse RPMs for torque.
In government today, we’re being distracted. We’re looking at the whale but confusing activity for action. They are not the same. Executive orders feel good as the executive signs off on them; however, they are often easily paused, halted, or overturned when they reach beyond the authority of the executive.
In the United States, we are learning a lesson that even Congress is slow to acknowledge… Congress has the authority to define the limits of the executive.
The best insights don’t always come from the loudest voices or the fastest updates. As you read this, it may appear that who controls the message controls the outcome.
Sometimes the facts are right in front of us—we just need to look in the right direction. In this case, direction equates to the quality of the information.
How discerning are you?
Top 3 Ways to Improve Focus and Stop Missing Opportunities:
- Prioritize Deep Work – Set aside dedicated time for focused, uninterrupted thinking, free from notifications and distractions. Even 20 minutes per day will yield a noticeable return on the investment.
- Verify Before Reacting – Before forming opinions or making decisions, take the time to verify sources and ensure you have accurate information. Simply asking where the information comes from can be enough.
- Stay Present – Engage fully in the moment rather than being overly concerned with what’s next or what others are saying. Dial in.
