Finding outliers

By Mark Jones

Watch the outliers: Why it pays to focus on strange things that don’t belong

I once read about a CEO who spends each day looking for the outliers.

Driving to work, she’d think through the day’s events, what meetings she would attend, people she’d see and what events might unfold.

Then, as the day progressed, she’d pay attention. She was always on the lookout for the outliers.

Unexpected situations, surprising comments or curious data that challenged expectations.

It sounded like a great idea so I started following her lead, and it’s now a daily habit.

I scan through my calendar and to-do list every morning to anticipate what’s in store. And here’s what I’ve discovered over time – in the main, things go largely as I expect. Meetings go well, the team is curious and productive, and my to-do list keeps growing!

If that sounds a little boring, well, that’s because it is. There are very few ‘new’ things in our daily lives (unless you’re hiking through Nepal or another exotic location). And that’s as it should be. Too much change, too rapidly, can be shocking. We rely on routine, predictability and stable environments to get things done.

That’s why our lived experience in this context is so valuable. Lots of predictable, ‘normal’ activities help you quickly spot the outliers. Something that doesn’t sit right or a moment that was completely unexpected.

Why is that so important? Think about a gold panner who must sift their way through lots of dirt, rocks and mud to find a few tiny flecks. They’re on the hunt for tiny specks of gold, valuable outliers in an unending stream of water.

Likewise at work, you’ll become a better leader and a more productive person when your eye is trained to spot the outliers. The outliers are where we find literal and metaphorical gold.

A few examples

Sales conversations are always interesting. Most of the time you won’t make progress unless you’ve taken time to understand what a person really needs. People don’t want to be ‘sold to’ and will quickly put up barriers.

What you’re looking for in these conversations are little cues, the outliers, which suggest they have a problem you could help solve. It might not happen in the first conversation but over time it’s not too difficult to spot non-verbal cues or words that suggest they’d like to learn more.

Another context is scanning your news feeds. This is where we subconsciously map each news story or social post against our understanding of how different narratives are unfolding.

Scanning news about global issues like US politics, wars and environmental conversations are relatively easy here. We’re all susceptible to confirmation bias and invariably gravitate towards stories that entrench our worldview or expectations of that narrative should unfold.

But if you want to learn something new or be open to thinking differently about any news in global, national or industry-focussed media, the trick is spotting the outliers.

It’s healthy to keep asking, “What if my default opinion is wrong?” Apple News to that end I fill that feed with publications and articles from different sides of the political perspective and it’s not hard to find the outliers.

Your real job? Connecting the dots

I’ve spent much of my career connecting the dots. A former journalist, I’m trained to link multiple events together and find the common thread. I’ve also had lots of experience spotting outliers.

For example, in an interview or press conference a company spokesperson might use a word or phrase that stands out. They might not normally speak that way. It’s a strange bit of jargon. Might be an outlier.

So you ask a question. You go digging to find out what’s new.

The good news is you don’t have to be a journalist to have this skill. You’re already doing this every day in normal life.

I think about our brains always being on ‘record’. We take mental snapshots of our experience all the time, subconsciously collecting data on all the regular events that fill our waking hours: catching the bus or train, turning up for work, cooking meals.

Pick on scenario. You’re at the bus stop and suddenly one day your normal blue bus is red. “What? That’s odd,” you think. It’s an outlier you could ignore, or not. It’s still the same route number so you might want to ask the bus driver why it’s red. You might even scan his ID card to make sure something is not off.

A quick guide

So, here’s how you can take this idea and start putting it into practice:

1. Don’t ignore the outlier

It’s easy to brush off an outlier. Don’t do that. Instead, ask yourself if this outlier is worth your attention now, or later?

2. Ask questions

It might sound obvious but intentionality matters when you ask questions. Ask yourself or others, “What’s really going on here? Is it a one-off? Or is this the first domino in a new trend?” This is where your experience, insight and curiosity are superpowers.

3. Find the lesson

Outliers are valuable because they reveal something interesting about you, your organisation, or other people. Make sure you keep digging to really clarify what’s going on. There’s always a nugget to be found. Maybe customers really are changing the way they think about your brand, for example.

Why it matters: Everyone is a storyteller

At the heart of it is my work as a storyteller. Connecting the dots and finding outliers is one of the ways we gather and analyse information to shape our sense of self. The stories we tell ourselves today shape tomorrow.

I’ve been busy in the background writing a book about this topic of the stories we tell ourselves. Some people default to optimistic, encouraging stories that affirm a positive self-image. Many others get stuck in a cycle of leaning into negative, discouraging internal narratives. They’re stuck in the land of negative confirmation bias and can easily miss the good bits.

And that’s a big problem in life and at work.

So here’s to paying more attention to the outliers. Not every outlier is worthwhile, but I’ve found the more intentionally you look, the more gold you find.

Ready to spot the story others miss?

If you’d like to learn more, let’s chat. Or join me at one of our upcoming coaching sessions to rewrite your story, and your future.

Onwards!

Mark

Hey, you got to the end! Nice work.

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