Turning information into ideas is a natural and important process of problem solving, both strategically and creatively. It’s a relatively linear and simple path, where each step builds upon the previous one, helping to transform static random data into potential ideas. Because the individual aspects must link together, I’ve always called it the Information Chain.
Now, to be fair, the “I’ve” part of the previous sentence is important, but this connecting mental process is a sort-of kind-of well-known scientific process called the DIKW Pyramid. In my arrogance, I think that process is missing a few key aspects so I gave it a different name. But, if I may, let me come back to why I think the differences are a big deal in a few paragraphs.
Regardless of mine vs theirs, the general notion is that ideas don’t come out of the blue. To be both strategic and creative, a person must do through a defined process of six general steps.
- Goal
- Data
- Information
- Knowledge
- Insights
- Ideas
The Information Chain in Six Steps
If you’re going to create ideas, here’s what happens in your noggin.
1. Goal
Like virtually every aspect of good business, you start with a goal. What are you trying to do, and why?
A goal will give you a direction for your curiosity, an essential element of all purposeful creativity. The goal sets the context for every step to come, but more about that in a second.
Once you know what you need to do, you need information. But to get gather information by diving into the vast world of …
2. Data
This is a loose term to describe every single iota of intelligence in the world. As I tell the daughter of a friend, it is every single piece of information on Google’s 10 gazillion pages, and more so.
(Also, be careful of the word intellingence. It doesn’t have anything to do with being intelligent.)
This infinite data is too unwieldy. The majority of this data you are not familiar and will never know in its entirety. You don’t even know what to know. You don’t have the time to go through it all, and much of it you wouldn’t want to. (Just because someone put it on the Internet doesn’t mean it’s true, and that includes everything on this and every other website.)
But you have to start somewhere, right? So, you jump in. You click a page … and maybe a couple more. If you’re really curious, you’ll move beyond just the first page or two of your browser. You find things. Text. Charts. Definitions. Stories. Facts. Emotions. Pictures. Heaps of STUFF. Some of it is incredibly interesting; others not so much. Some will be interesting today, but you may look at it tomorrow, and you’ll ask yourself: Gee, was a high yesterday? This doesn’t even make sense today!
To keep moving, you select things that are interesting. You may have chosen it because you thought it will help you make a decision, or at least move forward. Hopefully, you select pieces of random data becasue you hope it will help you achieve your goal.
By selecting specific data, you turn it into …
3. Information
At this stage, you don’t know if your chosen information is good or bad, not yet. You’ve simply narrowed data down to a “manageable amount” of stuff. (The opposite of a manageable amount of stuff is what Alvin Toffler defined for us in Future Shock: you get information overload.)
To understand if any information is useful, you need to analyse it. You compare and contrast it with other information. (See .)
Analysing and critiquing information means you also put it into context.
(Information without context is useless, to paraphrase Walter Shewhart.)
Sometimes, you sleep on it. You ask other people for their point-of-view. This analysis means you are absorbing it, so you can decide what to do with it.
By thinking about it, you turn information into …
4. Knowledge
In other words, you learn. And by learning, you get an understanding of what is true. (Oof, there’s a dodgy problem right there!)
Technically, knowledge is practical or theoretical information or skills that you acquire through learning, as well as judging it through your lens of experience and perceptions. There are many different kinds of knowledge. (Go here for an excellent list by Dr. Chris Drew.)
The important part at this stage is applying your ability to think, analyse and critique. The purpose is to extract from this information one of the most valuable steps of the Information Chain.
You create an …
5. Insight
An insight is a core truth of the information. An insight is the essential understanding of a topic, issue or opportunity. In everyday talk, you decide:
- What does this information mean?
- What does it tell us we should do?
- What does it tell we should NOT do?
Some people call an insight wisdom, and I think that’s true.
As an example, a senior leader at MasterCard often said to me: Don’t tell me what the number is. Tell me what the number means. To me, that’s the simplest way to understand an insight. It’s one of the most important things you should teach and inspire your staff and colleagues to do. It’s an incredibly complex cognitive task, to articulate an insight from your knowledge … and then tell someone else.
Insights are typically truths you didn’t know. They’re surprising or unexpected. They might remind you of what is important.
Insights are not something you’d say: ‘Oh, I knew that already.’
People often say information is power, but information is useless until you decide if there’s an insight, and even an insight is useless until you transform it into an …
6. Idea
This is the most powerful and valuable stage of the Information Chain. From gathering “stuff,” you chose, sorted, analysed, extracted and developed a potential solution.
Now you have potential action. Here is what we might do.
Remember too, it’s just one idea. And, to determine the right solution.
I’m going to add here three good “definitions” of from Richard Feynman.
The Missing Elements of DIKW Pryamid
Let’s go back for a second to the DIKW Pyramid – which as an acronym, stands for Data, Information, Knoweldge and Wisdom (aka Insight). There’s much online to read about it – both for and against, even some people protesting it shouldn’t be a pyramid, oh well.
In my experience as a creative director, and later as a business instructor, I’ve found that DIKW is lacking in the first element (the Goal) and last element (the Idea).
Without the goal, you gather far more information because you don’t have focus or direction.
More so, if you don’t turn your insights into action, what’s the point? By their very nature, ideas address the problem and help you achieve whatever goal you set out at the beginning.
It's Simple! And So Many Things Can Go Wrong!
Here’s where the Information Chain gets murky, messy and maddening. Below are some common issues, in no order. And yes, it was therapeutic to get these off my chest.
Goals
- Ever start a project and the goals weren’t ?
- Who says it’s the right goal? Just because they’re senior doesn’t mean they’re right … or even smart.
- Ever have a boss incapable of giving you a true goal? Or, the goal was nothing more than a personal agenda, not an objective?
- How many times has your goal changed mid-way through the project? (Or the budget? Or the staff? Or the timing?) Did you adjust your research accordingly? Or (if possible) fight back and suggest cutting budget in other ways?
Data
- Ever work with people who have zero curiosity, much less any sense of conscientiousness?
- If it’s not on the front page of Google, does it even exist?
- I knew one co-worker whose entire research was focused on gathering information that wouldn’t get her into trouble. I found out later she just didn’t want to work that hard.
- I’m always surprised by the lack of time devoted to gathering information. Or when a senior person gives the task to someone junior (fine), but then doesn’t question what they get in return.
- I think, perhaps worst of all, are the people who ignore the research altogether and start with their assumptions and go from there.
Information
- I admit I’ve done this (yikes): only looking for research which proves myself correct, never to prove myself wrong. (Hello Bias!)
- As the phrase goes, don’t compare apples to oranges.
- Two words: analysis paralysis. Albert Schweitzer said: “As we acquire more knowledge, things do not become more comprehensible, but more mysterious.” At some point, you must stop and ask yourself what you’ve learnt so far: not just keep adding information to the pile.
Knowledge
- First, you have to know what you don’t know. And, you must think of that ‘non-knowledge’ as a strength, not a weakness.
- You have to know how you prefer learn. Look up VAK or VARK as examples. If you don’t know your preference, you won’t know it’s your bias.
- Allowing a negative devil’s advocate to rip apart your research.
- Isn’t this the truth? Somedays it’s hard to think, much less learn.
Insights
- I would argue this is one of the most difficult things to do in business. To be able to look at or read something, and be able to extract what it means. (It’s generally called ‘abductive thinking.’) It’s even worse when you have people with different, destructive points-of-view. Or have an agenda. Or are lazy. Or don’t like being challenged. Or won’t stand behind what they think.
Add Finally, Ideas
The majority of this website is devoted to creative thinking and brainstorming, particularly with the problems in brainstorming, often specific to negativity.
I’ve written many times about the topic of negativity as it keeps cropping up in both ideation sessions I run for my own clients, as well as in conversations in my workshops and training.
If you’re interested in reading more, I’d suggest you start with the leading article: The Differences between Negativity and Criticism in Brainstorming. From there, I added three additional articles on specific areas of negativity.
How Negativity Affects Creativity
Can You Switch Off Your Negativity?
Finally, there’s a similar article in this same vein of The Information Chain if you’re interested: How to Harness Your Subconscious
What else do you do to turn information into ideas? Please add your comments below.
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