Sometimes humans are more important than the data ??

To my dear data experts,

I know, I know—you’re already not a fan of the subject line.

But let me explain.

I have this client who is a product manager at a big tech firm. She LOVES gathering data.

She loves it so much, in fact, that she feels like she can’t move forward on a project or a task until she has analyzed and digested alllllllllllllllllllllllll the information she can get her hands on.

Most of you know I’m a big fan of data too. It can be really powerful and useful.

But the thing is, sometimes you can get really bogged down in the data, when what would actually serve you (and your project) best is talking to a real, live human.

Now…this approach does make my client uncomfortable. She would much rather immerse herself in documentation, research, and trainings, focusing on becoming a genuine expert on all things related to her product.

In her view, that’s the best way for her to excel at her job (and because there are reorgs happening around her, which is undeniably stressful, being an expert feels even more critical.)

Of course, she’s not wrong. Developing expertise IS important. And gathering data through research will definitely deepen her understanding of the product she manages.

But she can develop expertise by gathering data through her network, too.

As her coach, that’s exactly what I challenged her to do.

In my view, it’s killing two birds with one stone: It’s deepening the knowledge she needs for her role, and it’s developing relationships and expanding her network at work.

Getting away from the guardrails of how you usually and most comfortably do your job can be hard at first. With my client, I encouraged her to start small and meet up with people she’s already friendly with for virtual coffee dates (since she works from home).

We talked about how the goal of these coffees isn’t to get all her questions about her product answered. It’s not about collecting a ton of data. It’s just about getting to know the person.

Because once you get to know someone and you have a relationship, you can ask them whatever you want in a DM, on Slack or Gchat, or in person. This first meeting is just about creating the channel.

If you’re a data-loving introvert and you’re thinking, “Okay, phew, this doesn’t apply to me, my situation is totally different,” I encourage you to really think about it.

Sure, maybe your job IS super data heavy, but there are very few situations where there is truly 0% collaboration or networking required.

Here are some other examples of situations where people can be just as useful as data:

• Customer support complaints or client testimonials. There’s probably a ton of data, but start talking to the team about what they’ve experienced and observed too!
• Marketing analytics. You need context around these analytics to make sense of them.
• HR complaints and issues. If you’re having an issue at work, you can read up on policies and laws, but you often need an HR person (or lawyer) to make sense of them.?
• Employee satisfaction surveys. It’s great to have the data, but if you’re not talking to your team and your leaders, you’re not getting the full story about people’s experiences.?

What other situations have you encountered where feedback from people is just as important as analyzing the data? I’m so curious to hear your experiences.