When working on complex problems, it’s easy to hide a lack of knowledge or understanding. All you need to do is talk using vague and abstract terms, and avoid specifics.
The true test of someone’s understanding of a subject is their ability to 1) make an assertion, and 2) provide a simple and accurate example.
This applies across any area or discipline.
I’m going to use a facetious example of a lemonade stand to illustrate the point.
Customer research
Bad: Our customers love our lemonade. We’ve got a great reputation in the neighbourhood.
Good: Our customers love our lemonade. We know this because we interviewed 20 recent customers, and 15 of them said they’d recommend us to a friend.
Designing experiences
Bad: We should start a loyalty programme. Everyone loves those.
Good: We should start a loyalty programme. 80% of our customers are weekly buyers, and we could run a buy-5-get-1-free experiment to see if they end up buying more over time.
Disagreeing on ways of working
Bad: Our team is dysfunctional. Even after 2 months of trying different things, we still can’t work well together.
Good: Our team is dysfunctional. 2 months ago, the lemonade makers and lemonade sellers met to identify why we were missing orders. We agreed to implement a checklist system so no orders would be missed, but the lemonade makers haven’t been following the process for the past month.
Reporting financial results.
Bad: Our lemonade stand’s profits increased this week, and we’re doing well on costs.
Good: Our lemonade stand’s profits increased by $10 this week (a 10% improvement on last week), because we renegotiated our lemon supply contract from $0.40 per lemon to $0.30.
Of course, this lemonade stand example is silly, but keep your eyes peeled, and you’ll find examples of this lack of knowledge and understanding all around you.
To truly understand something, and to have greater impact in our work, force yourself to include an example.