Oracle of the Obvious.
A receptionist looks up from her desk to see a couple removing wet coats and hats. She says, “Is it still raining?” — more in an effort to be engaging than to solicit current weather conditions. The couple looks at her as though she were from another planet. No matter why she asked the question the answer should have been obvious to anyone. However, what may appear to be obvious can be obscured by familiarity and habit.

Sigma Theta Tau might appear to be a college fraternity rather than a highly respected international nursing society. The society is 80 years old, with more than 120,000 members around the world. The focus of the organization is to create a global community of nurses who use scholarship, knowledge and technology to improve the health of the world’s people.

Unfortunately, none of that is evident in the organization’s Greek name. Instead, some hotel reservationists have been reluctant to reserve several hundred guest rooms and the Grand Ballroom for what may appear to be a group ready to party.

Again, the obvious answer might have been to change the name of Sigma Theta Tau International to reflect the nature and character of the group’s goals and aspirations. But this kind of a change would waste the brand equity that has taken many years of thoughtful and consistent application, and replace it with, at best, a starting-over position. We suggested the obvious — to us.

Don’t change the name; reposition the tagline. Instead of Sigma Theta Tau International, Honor Society of Nursing, Essex Two recommended that the organization present itself as the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. In this way, it could retain the familiarity and goodwill of a loyal membership, and at the same time introduce itself to potential members as an energized organization with an illustrious past.

By questioning the familiar, the answer became obvious.

“Information is not the same as intelligence.”
This was the first sentence of a speech by Charles Eames at the International Design Conference in Aspen in the late 1970s. Eames was a man of strong feelings and stronger ideas. His life was spent in partnership with his wife Ray, working on and succeeding in bridging the gaps between concepts and communication, between art and application, between work and life.

They understood an important tenet about communication: the common denominator is always people. Technology may be the tool, and in some cases it is also the messenger, but it is never the message. It may be the best tool ever invented, but it is still just the means to an end.

The act of communicating requires a personal understanding of how human beings first acknowledge and then accept information. Identifying, preparing and presenting information in ways that promote ownership by individuals delivers intelligence. Making deliberate choices, and then communicating those decisions consistently over time and across all media, will ensure understanding. Individuals and audiences then will apply what they know to what they do.

Dispensing information without that consistency is like turning on a faucet without having a glass. There is plenty of water, but no way to contain it or use it. By selecting and shaping the information available, you can give it purpose and value to those who need it. You can provide intelligence to information.

The young man knows the rules. The old man knows the exceptions.
Oliver Wendell Holmes

Picasso had almost photographic drafting skills but chose to reproduce the essence of a subject rather than its reflection.

Starbucks revolutionized the business of coffee by focusing on a quality product delivered by employees that were supported, even cherished by management.

Sony Electronics was built on the premise of refinement as a form of innovation, making the next version of someone else’s technology better and more affordable.

By continuously examining our real goals, both personal and professional, what we want can be obtained, not just what we once wanted.