When my son was younger I had a bee in my bonnet about teaching him “life skills.” You can never start too early right? He was out of diapers by 2 years 2 months. (But who’s counting?) Next on my list was for David and me to teach him how to fix the stove, do laundry, re-wire a lamp, and tame lions.
Even though I never learned how to set the table as a child*, things were going to be different with this generation. So, one evening when he was four years old, I asked him to help me set the table for dinner.
As I was simultaneously putting the finishing touches on the meal and fantasizing about my cover shoot for Parents Magazine, he came to the kitchen and said, “Mummy, wheh are da testicles?”
“Huh?" I responded articulately.
“Da testicles,” he said sweetly. “Wheh are deh?”
On the outside, I smiled lovingly at him. But on the inside, I was all,
Oh my God. It is HAPPENING. It’s time for The Talk. Dammit! I didn’t do that research I was planning on!! Don’t be too detailed, but don’t candy coat it either! Use the correct terminology to name all the parts! None of this hoo-hoo and pee-pee talk!
….And for the love of Pete, where is David right now?!
I gathered myself, took a deep breath, and attempted to recall the pages of the seminal book What’s Happening to Me?**.
“Well sweetheart, while people’s bodies are mostly the same, boys' and girls' bodies have some differences. Boys have something called a pe…."
The more I talked, the more he looked like this.
Finally, he’d had enough of my chatter. His arms started waving angrily. His feet stomped on the floor. “Mama! You not wissen-ing to me! TESTICLES!! Wheh are da testicles?!” Then, he resorted to charades, moving his hand up and down to his mouth. He spoke really slowly, "To….Eat….Wit!”
Oh! Utensils! (Whew.)
You see, in that split second exchange with my son, I was only listening to what he said. Not what he meant. And especially not the context of what he was saying.
This episode reminded me of an important business lesson: That not all data is the same.
For me, it’s a lot like the difference between big data (analyzing large swaths of numeric information, quantitive studies, the big numbers, the algorithms) and what we call thick data (the rich data that cannot be quantified, but that is pregnant with meaning, context, and symbolism).
Because here’s the thing. Not all data is the same. And the same data can’t serve all the same purposes.
When it comes to insights, as in life, context is everything. As Tricia Wang says in this TEDx talk “Not everything valuable is measurable.”
And I agree. When it comes to business, if you’re not looking at thick data AND big data, there’s serious context loss. And serious competitive-advantage loss. And then you’re not getting the full picture to support your business decision making and planning.
Are you collecting thick data…. or just focusing on your big data and quant numbers? If you’re not gathering the rich, messy, wondrously human qualitative data… if you’re not getting to the layers of meaning behind what people are saying and doing, then you should be.
And if the inspiration hits you, let’s talk about how you can do that in 2019. Reach out and let me know if you want to chat.***
Thanks,
Emelia “diction matters” Rallapalli
*I still don’t know the proper way to set a table. But no matter. Internet for the win!
**Props to my mom who, when I was a young kid in the ’70s, bought me that book. As she handed me the paper bag it was wrapped in she said “I don’t mind if you read this book. It’s informative. But let’s not tell your friends you have it. Some of their parents won’t approve.”
***And I promise I won’t discuss private parts.