“I do not know how you eat all that food and keep your body in such good shape”. What? I was taken aback by this statement because I am abstemious and the speaker was not a close friend. He could not have known a thing about my eating habit. As I probed further, the culprit finally emerged. My bright red lunch bag. This bag was a gift and I have enjoyed carrying my big bright red lunch bag for a few months now.
The data (how much food) did not matter, but the signal (big red lunch bag) mattered. I know the statement was uttered as a complement, to make me feel good about my hyperactive metabolism. However what was even more noteworthy was the jump from data collection (I see a big red bag) to inference (he eats a lot) that I was a heavy eater sans fact check and then going ahead to make a judgement and a pronouncement on that fact. We all do this all the time.
If the unit price per share of a firm is high it must be doing well, probably a great place to work.
A candidate that interviews well will be a great manager who gets things done.
Many times what a person perceives trounces the real data, and major decisions are made based on the perceived data. A fact that smart product designers have exploited for years. In the days of personal branding you are your product manager and more than ever before the signals you send out, online or off matter greatly. Shouldn’t you be more conscious about these?
For me I will keep carrying my big red bag, as a matter of fact, I like being classified as a gym rat even though I am not one.