TFN#86: 🪜More information means better decisions?

We are living in the times of mores.
More people.
More money.
More technology.
More cars.
.
.
.
And…
More information.

The last bit–the more information part, is true for almost everyone now.
For example, if you’re reading this letter on your phone, can you count the pop-up notifications on the screen informing you of something or the other?
Crazy, right?

Many people have already adapted to this state of affairs and are happy. The internet is full of articles on distractions, deep work, digital detox…and 100 other related things.
But that’s not much of a concern for this letter today.

We are interested in decisions

One of the main reasons we consume information is because “it informs us” and we can make “informed choices or decisions”.
And I understand that.
What’s the point of consuming information if we can’t use it to do something in the real world?
So subconsciously, we create a mental model:
​More info = better decisions

And people bring this mental model to their work

Especially managers, senior partners, database designers, and the like.
In most organizations, whenever people talk about presentations, reports, updates, meetings or dashboards, everyone unconsciously assumes that they need to present more information.
Because if they do not, it can have several interpretations/consequences:
(1) They may seem hiding or hoarding information
(2) They may be interpreted as lazy
(3) They may look under-prepared
(4) They may seem arrogant

This unconscious pledge by everyone to throw more information at people hurts the main objective of any presentation, report, update, meeting or dashboard:
Decisions.

That is also the reason why the world is full of dashboards and information websites such as the image below.
For example, the first information box on the Weather Station has three readings from three different weather stations, showing three different readings. If I opened this page to check the weather, I would feel numb.

“Less is more”: yeah, but how?

We have heard “less is more” so many times that its shine is almost gone. And now there would be “more is less” on the rise as a counter-argument. The chances are low, though.
In any case, the solution is not trimming down every presentation or report by 50%.
That would be idiotic because we will still have to create the 100% useless document first.
The solution is to identify objectives and related decisions beforehand.
We already have different tools to make this happen.

For example, using log frames

​A logical framework (log frame) is a popular tool that can help us what information to focus on whether we are writing a report or developing a dashboard.

Imagine everyone who is working on this project takes up their bit of information in this log frame and talks about it in a report or a meeting. That would open the way for better decisions.

We may need more information if the decisions ask for it. But it doesn’t translate the other way.

If you’re interested in this topic, I came across two interesting articles on the paradox of choice and making better decisions.
​Hit Reply and share how you help decisions in your work.

Reads of the week:

​Link​
I loved this article on visualizing inflation using a 127-year-old product. The Campbell’s Tomato Soup ingredients haven’t changed ever, nor the package size. So, Political Calculations put together the data to visualize the inflation.
Look at the chart: