How the media is screwing you up...
An interesting story I heard a few years ago was of an interview with the owner of a picture frame company. He was being interviewed regarding the impact the recession was having on his business. The owner remarked that business was pretty slow, but the week it did pick up was when the Jonathan Ross/Russell Brand scandal was all over the news, instead of the recession.
I was reminded of this when I was walking past a shop window and a newspaper headline caught my eye 'Record Flu numbers set to grip UK this winter'. When you think about it, a newspaper would not write a front page headline if it did not think an audience would react to it.
The problem with this is if you have multiple domains of media with the same objective, it is very easy to see how a constant media flow can influence an individual's decisions. You only have to look at how unpredictable the stock market is at the moment to gauge how reactionary people are being.
Think about it now, how influential on a scale of 1-10 would you consider the media is on the decisions you make in your business?
In 'four hour work week' Tim Ferriss talks about adopting a low information diet which includes bypassing watching or reading the news. Whilst some may say that is burying your head in the sand 'to what's really going on', it is certainly true that people can also find themselves in a paralysis position, reacting to the forecasting that appears on the news. This can ultimately create a self-fulfilling prophesy if a mass of businesses follow suit and react as well.
When you feed the body rubbish, it will withstand it for a period of time. However if you continue to feed it rubbish there will be a time when your body begins to show evidence of damage (excessive fat, clogged arteries etc.). Do you think the mind is any different?
In order to think creatively and to come up with ideas and systems that can separate you from your competitors, it requires you to have a mindset that is geared towards allowing your mind the space to come up with ideas. It is very hard to be in this mindset when it is gripped with fear and hesitancy.
Whenever I find myself caught up in a news story that I think is going to affect my business, I stop myself and ask "Is this real? What is real here"? If the news story is a forecast of what could (or the equally popular 'opinion dressed up as fact') happen, I bring myself back to what is real right now? If I want to forecast, I make sure I am looking at the things that affect my business, rather than the generalised forecast portrayed in the media. Then I remind myself what is and what is not in my control and then work from there.
A final word on forecasting; An American psychologist named Phillip Tetlock in 1984 selected 285 experts who made a living giving advice on politics and economic trends. 20 years later Tetlock looked back to see the accuracies of the forecasting of the experts. After reviewing the data, Tetlock summarised the accuracy of their predictions were 'no better than a dart throwing chimpanzee'.
How much do you think the media influences you?
Aaron Morton
aaronmorton.co.uk
I was reminded of this when I was walking past a shop window and a newspaper headline caught my eye 'Record Flu numbers set to grip UK this winter'. When you think about it, a newspaper would not write a front page headline if it did not think an audience would react to it.
The problem with this is if you have multiple domains of media with the same objective, it is very easy to see how a constant media flow can influence an individual's decisions. You only have to look at how unpredictable the stock market is at the moment to gauge how reactionary people are being.
Think about it now, how influential on a scale of 1-10 would you consider the media is on the decisions you make in your business?
In 'four hour work week' Tim Ferriss talks about adopting a low information diet which includes bypassing watching or reading the news. Whilst some may say that is burying your head in the sand 'to what's really going on', it is certainly true that people can also find themselves in a paralysis position, reacting to the forecasting that appears on the news. This can ultimately create a self-fulfilling prophesy if a mass of businesses follow suit and react as well.
When you feed the body rubbish, it will withstand it for a period of time. However if you continue to feed it rubbish there will be a time when your body begins to show evidence of damage (excessive fat, clogged arteries etc.). Do you think the mind is any different?
In order to think creatively and to come up with ideas and systems that can separate you from your competitors, it requires you to have a mindset that is geared towards allowing your mind the space to come up with ideas. It is very hard to be in this mindset when it is gripped with fear and hesitancy.
Whenever I find myself caught up in a news story that I think is going to affect my business, I stop myself and ask "Is this real? What is real here"? If the news story is a forecast of what could (or the equally popular 'opinion dressed up as fact') happen, I bring myself back to what is real right now? If I want to forecast, I make sure I am looking at the things that affect my business, rather than the generalised forecast portrayed in the media. Then I remind myself what is and what is not in my control and then work from there.
A final word on forecasting; An American psychologist named Phillip Tetlock in 1984 selected 285 experts who made a living giving advice on politics and economic trends. 20 years later Tetlock looked back to see the accuracies of the forecasting of the experts. After reviewing the data, Tetlock summarised the accuracy of their predictions were 'no better than a dart throwing chimpanzee'.
How much do you think the media influences you?
Aaron Morton
aaronmorton.co.uk