Tap into Collective Wisdom

Posted By: Dave Opton
Filed Under: execunet, networking, dave opton, collective wisdom, james surowiecki

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“No one in this world, so far as I know, has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people.”
-H. L. Mencken

I am sure that many of us have heard this Mencken quip before and smiled. But I would guess there are also plenty of us who read or heard about James Surowiecki’s book The Wisdom of Crowds which essentially argues that H.L. may have been a very funny guy, but in this case, at least, he was wrong.

If you haven’t read it, the premise as set forth in the subtitle is: Why the many are smarter than the few and how collective wisdom shapes business, economies, societies and nations.

It is a theory that has been around for a while. Some readers may remember the classic exercise on consensus where each person separately has to go through a list of things one might use for survival after a plane crash and prioritize the list. Then the group has to collectively agree on one list. After talking it through, the list that the group comes up with is always better and “more correct” than any individual’s attempt at the same exercise: collective wisdom.

I got to thinking about this the other day after reading an email from one of our members who sat in on an ExecuNet teleconference. Essentially, the comment was that being able to listen to the shared experiences of others on the call was enormously helpful and he felt would save him precious time going forward. Of that I have no doubt.

This small example is one of the reasons why when we put together resources for ExecuNet members that we put such emphasis on providing the ways and means for people to engage with others both on and offline. Peer learning is extremely powerful.

While I am very much aware that people make job changes on their own, my belief, and certainly my own personal experience, has been that far more often change takes place much more rapidly when people acquire and employ knowledge gained from others in a network of collective wisdom than individually.

Has that been your experience as well, and if so, what “learnings” might you share with others that would help them to move ahead more quickly?

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Dave Opton's avatar Dave Opton
Dave Opton founded ExecuNet in 1988 to provide a trusted environment where senior-level executives could build career opportunities by facilitating connections to other executives, experts and key market insights. Dave has drawn upon his 35 years of experience in human resources to develop and grow what has become the leading business and career membership network for executives and senior managers. A widely recognized executive career management expert, Dave is regularly quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Week, Fortune, Fast Company, and other leading business publications. Mr. Opton received his BA from Indiana University. Dave blogs at Six Figure Learnings