Garbage in, garbage out. This is a notorious aphorism in the data science and analytics domain. But, its application could be widespread. A few places that it hits our radar; in voice to text transcription, decision-making, and, of course, writing.
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At Storied, two individuals influence our ideas for unearthing input treasure; David Perell and Julian Shapiro.
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‍David Perell's technique is to continuously upgrade his information diet by curating the sources of information he consumes. He looks for sources that are off the beaten path, and avoids the never-ending now of ephemeral content consumption that keeps us focused on the present moment. He suggests prioritizing the wisdom of humanity over the trending topics of the day.
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‍Julian Shapiro's technique is to approach the creative process with the mindset of the Creativity Faucet. The idea is that first bad ideas must be emptied from the pipe in order for the clear water of good ideas to begin to flow. He recommends allowing yourself to generate bad ideas without judgment and to constrain the scope of the project in order to avoid getting overwhelmed. He also encourages embracing the badness, as the greats are only remembered for a few of the many works they produce.
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Our team considers a third technique, or perhaps it's a compliment to David and Julian's recommendations; the good question framework. A good question will generate an element of surprise, focus the mind, and nail the right level of context for the respondent's level of knowledge. Many parts of work are about finding the right answers, but creative challenges involve building awareness and framing a problem in a productive way. The goal of our question process is to help you rapidly get to the treasure of good input.