Executive Summary:
The raw data gathering process can be very arduous and time-consuming. Confidential sources are invaluable in the process. They can shear 50% of the time off of the data gathering load.
Never expose sources; if you do, you have to defend their integrity. You should process and verify the raw data independently.
Never forget:
- Sources are unreliable
- Sources are not professional data gatherers
- Sources provide 80% normative data and 20% empirical data
- The best sources are as bad or worse than your target
- Sources almost always have a hidden agenda
- Sources obfuscate their culpability
- Sources exaggerate
The ONLY WAY TO USE A SOURCE is to take everything, and I mean everything that they offer. Then squeeze more, go granular. Thank them, sing their praises to them, and move away. Take copious notes. Immediately after, categorize and record all of the critical points of raw data; who, what, where, why, when. Do it while the moment is fresh in your mind. Make notes from your recollection of their inflection, when, about what. Note the exact wording of their normative statements of “fact.” Parse out the empirical data.
Supportive Detail:
Example: “I know Joe did it, I don’t know why, but he did. He is a bad guy. He got that supervisor job instead of Lenny because he is a snake. I saw him going out the door in the rear corner of the building. It is hidden behind the large racks, in a poorly lit area. When I was in that area to help find a sign that flew away, I saw several crushed boxes of those new micro camcorders that we lost a few weeks ago. I was so mad, I never liked Joe he is really arrogant and always hanging out and flirting with that girl in the shipping area. I saw a few of those camcorders in a pile on the opposite end of the warehouse the other day near the trucker’s lounge, and those stock guys are so lazy…… “
In the example, there is a plethora of raw data. It is mostly normative.
Normative Data (Subjective/Not Supported by Tangible Proof)
- Joe did it
- Joe is a bad guy – Source is “mad” at Joe and never liked him
- The source is not happy that Joe is the supervisor
- Lenny may have an ax to grind with Joe over job advancement
- The source may have familial ties to Lenny
- Source says that the stock guys are lazy
Empirical Data (Objective, Verifiable, Reproducible)
- Source says Joe went out obscured rear door
- Joe hangs out and flirts with a girl in the shipping area
- Source says she saw a few of the missing camcorders in a pile near the trucker’s lounge
The empirical data is still raw, untested, unverified. The next step is to verify the raw data. That can be done by reviewing video surveillance, interviewing other personnel working in the same area, etc. Once the data is verified by more than one other independent source, it becomes more useful. It may be looked upon as base knowledge for use later in understanding more complex activities and decision making.
While the normative data may help you divine out motivations and connections between actors, it has no useful value in factual data. It is unscientific, subjective, and most commonly corrupted by emotional “feelings.”
The source’s data may provide varying levels of usefulness. Each additional data point can move you closer to the truth by turning your attention to things that you would not necessarily have known about or considered. As a skilled gatherer, you must hone your skills to parse the normative from the empirical. You must rapidly test and validate the empirical data, and discard any that fails the test.
Executive Conclusion:
Every day you intake loads of raw data in the form of news stories, twitter, Facebook, etc. feeds. You must strive to apply the approach of ignoring the source. Instead, make copious notes of the data points provided. Then identify, based upon the words chosen and the context, whether the data is normative or subjective. The more that you practice the skill, the more efficient and accurate that you will become. In no time, you will become much better at developing more reliable, validated assessments of complex matters.
I warn you though, as you master the skill, you will find that it will change how you look at the world, the people who you have known for years, and even those closest to you. It will pull back the veil on the world, which has always been right in front of you that you never knew existed. It can be quite shocking and end what you thought were friendships. I would simply say, you will be so much better off being able to protect yourself from the misdirection and obfuscation. I will also give you a new powerful tool to help you make better decisions and avoid those things that “just always happen to you.”
