I just bought a Garmin Nuvi 350 GPS. Actually, it’s a GPS Navigator. This is an important difference.
A GPS collects data (from satellites), compiles it, summarizes it, and produces a fact – your current location. It leaves it to you to figure out what to do with that information.
A navigator combines those facts with other facts to provide direction (literally). A navigator doesn’t just tell you where you are, it tells you how to get where you are going. When you get too far off course, it recalculates your route. It either gets you back on track or finds a new route to reach your destination. Higher end navigators even take into account traffic conditions or construction. In other words, they use your goals, the current context, and additional “understanding” (e.g., maps, points of interest, etc.) to add meaning to the data
Good leaders do the same thing. They don’t just report facts. They apply context to those facts to create meaning and provide direction.
How are you using data? Are you a simple GPS or you a navigator? Look at your last presentation. If you just reported sales, satisfaction, costs you are a GPS. If you added context and meaning to those numbers to provide direction, you are a navigator.
Brad,
This is so odd. I just started a blog on Leadership and just posted on lessons my GPS taught me about Character (post is at http://www.davecrainonline.com/what-my-gps-taught-me-about-character.html).
AND – my GPS is also a Nuvi.
Good post and I look forward to reading more.
Chief: I have been thinking about your provocative post today. Among other things, it made wonder what you are advocating. Are you arguing that we all should aspire to be navigators? Should we?
Also, if you’re in GPS mode, are you really NOT navigating? WHen you describe something, aren’t you making choices about what you emphasize (the order you list information and the words you choose to describe facts, for example)? Isn’t there a case to be made for NOT operating as bald-faced navigator in an organization?
Moreover, doesn’t being a navigator involve risks that we should vigilant about? For example, the act of “apply(ing) context to those facts to create meaning and provide direction” can involve acts of navigation themselves, no? The information you choose to include in order to add meaning will be based on the meaning you want to emphasize, right? So, how do you know if your destination is the best place to terminate your journey?
Okay, sorry if I’m asking too many questions. My internal navigator needs a new chip!
I am advocating that we try to be navigators. It’s true that even when just providing facts we throw in a little “navigation” based on what and how we present them although one should probably be upfront (if they are aware) about of how they are biasing the presentation of those facts.
I agree that there is an inherent risk in applying context. However, that in my mind, it is a leader’s responsibility to take such risks. The leader should have the overall vision in his or her mind. Also by virtue of his or her role, a leader will tend to have more information than other people. Therefore, it is important that the leader play this role.
Of course, just with the Navigator, a good leader is open to push back. The other day my navigator told me to take one route and I disagreed and went another way. The navigator eventually recalculated its directions based on my new route. That’s a good metaphor as well…when someone goes down a new path, providing them the directions for the old path isn’t going to get them very far.