Sharing Insights Is The New Value-Added Currency For Business Relationships

With the increased availability of information on-line, you can find out just about anything without depending on face-to-face interaction with other humans.

At first blush, this appears to be a positive development: You can get the information you need instantly, any time of night or day, without depending on other people’s schedules or whether or not they’re even disposed to help you at all.

But it turns out that over the years since we’ve been weened from asking questions of other people to find answers there’s been some collateral damage to interpersonal relationships.

In times past, people would meet and get to know each other through the exchange of information: You have a need for some information about X. You’ve heard Adam has a lot of knowledge about X, so you approach him and ask your questions. He responds and in the process you get to know each other. Maybe you share with him some things he wants to know. A relationship is formed as a result of the exchange of information as a currency of bonding.

So, if info sharing no longer serves that purpose, what’s taking its place?

It’s called sharing insights.

With the going-in assumption that it’s no big deal to bring a basic level of knowledge to the table, there’s been a ratcheting-up in what it takes to be considered a person worth inviting.. You’re expected to bring answers to a host of questions begged by that info:

• What’s the applicability of the info to the particular situation?
• How can the info be used to define and refine the problem under consideration?
• Is there some countervailing argument supported by other available info?
• What other info would be helpful to the solution of the problem and where can we find it?

Today’s problem solvers are presumed to have done some homework — some critical thinking and analysis about the problem — and prepared with some insights to share with others.

USE IT NOW: Think of a problem you’re facing and imagine you’re going to meet with some peers to brainstorm solutions. Instead of bringing pure knowledge and experience to the discussion, plan to present helpful insights in the form of alternative solutions along with benefits and consequences and pros and cons of each.