I’ve been asked why young people don’t seem to look past the first three pages of an internet search. It’s human nature to take the easy way out and menu-driven technology seems to imply that we should do that all the time. The consequence of all of this is that we tend to be guided or forced into making decisions that are not necessarily in our best interest.
With all the tasks most of us perform everyday, it’s easy to think, “Who’s got the time? If I don’t get this done now, I’ll fall behind and the boss will get on my case.”
But what does all this do to the depth of our thinking? If your people accept a world of forced choices, they’re surrendering to whatever other people choose for them. Until someone calls them on it, that becomes their nature. Fast forward a few years and their tendency is to do the same thing with the projects and research they’re producing for you.
Want to get them past this? Here are a couple of strategies:
One, show your people what good work looks like. Sure, that young person you just hired graduated from college. She’s used to punching out papers according to specification. But chances are your work requires more perspective. Does she understand the context of what’s she’s doing? Have you shown her what goes into the process? Have you defined the standards she’s expected meet? Yes, she’s graduated from college, but that does automatically mean she can produce the work you expect.
Two, teach your people to act with deliberation. Teach them to ask, “Does this information really answer the question? Is there something more specific? Can I take it up a notch? We all feel pressured to punch work out to get on to the next task. But if all we do is cobble information together for the sake of getting on to the next task, what’s the point?
It is human nature to take the easy way out, but over time, we become more and more shallow in our thoughts and decisions. Successful organizations foster a culture of patient and reflective decision making. As the saying goes, haste makes waste.