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Ever feel like your brain's about to short circuit? Like there's just too much information coming at you from every direction. Oh, yeah, I know that feeling. Trying to make a decision. Uh. But there's like mountains of data. Yeah. Opinions, articles. Yeah. Everything. Yeah. It's like we're drowning in it. It's information overload. We were just talking about this the other day. Yeah. About Joe's book on B2B thought leadership. Right. And how to cut through all that noise. This deep dive isn't specifically about Joe's book. Right. Right. Right. But it got us thinking about a really interesting concept. Okay. The power of collective wisdom. Especially in this world where we're just constantly bombarded with information. Yeah, exactly right. Yeah. So today, we're gonna dive into a fascinating example that might just surprise you. Sounds good. Yeah. We often think more information is a good thing, right? Yeah, of course. But sometimes it feels like the more we know Yeah. The harder it is to actually make a decision. It's a total paradox. Yeah. Yeah. That's where this idea of collective wisdom comes in. Right. There's that great quote by Kenneth H. Blanchard. Okay. None of us is as smart as all of us. I like that. Right. It's the idea that when you bring together different perspectives, you know, experiences and knowledge. Uh huh. We can actually come up with solutions that are way more powerful than anything we could do on our own. Like exponentially more powerful. Yeah, definitely. Okay, so let's get to that surprising example I was talking about. Okay. Back in 2006, IBM held this massive event. They called it an innovation jam. Interesting. So picture this. Okay. You've got an IBM engineer. Okay. Posts a pretty simple idea online about using blockchain to track products. Like in a supply chain. Seems pretty straightforward. Yeah. But what happened next is what's really fascinating. Yeah, so within 48 hours, this simple idea Wow. Explodes into a full blown concept. Really? All thanks to this, like, global wave of collaboration. That's amazing! How many people were involved in this thing? We're talking massive scale here. 150, 000 people from 104 countries. Right. And 67 companies were all chiming in. 150, 000 people, that's like Yeah, it's mind boggling. It's the size of a small city. Really is. And they were all building on each other's ideas. Yeah, and refining that original concept. So what were the results? Well, the results speak for themselves. Okay. This innovation jam led to the launch of 10 new IBM businesses. Wow. 100 million in seed funding and ended up generating billions in revenue. That's incredible. It is. That's the power of collective wisdom in action. Right. You know, we were talking about how even though we have all this information, it can still feel harder to make decisions. Absolutely. So how do we reconcile those two things? Well, we're living in what some people call the age of overwhelm and there's some pretty alarming statistics to back that up. Oh yeah. Yeah, 74 percent of B2B buyers are saying that the amount of research needed to make purchasing decisions has just absolutely skyrocketed. It's not just buyers though, is it? No, it's not. I feel this way too. A huge number. Yeah. 65 percent of B2B decision makers admit that they're completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information they have to go through every single day. So much information. Oh, so And then, here's the kicker. What's that? Only 5 percent of companies. Wow. I feel like they've actually mastered how to extract useful insights. from all of that data. So, we're drowning in data. It's true. But most of us have no idea how to swim. I like that analogy. Yeah, it's like we have all the ingredients for an amazing meal, but we don't have the recipe. We're just stuck with ingredients. We get to some piles of ingredients. It makes you wonder though, right? How do we actually move forward Yeah. when the information itself is the obstacle? It's like we're standing at this crazy Crossroads. Uh huh. On one hand, we have this amazing potential with collective wisdom. Right. Like the IBM gem. Exactly. Yeah. But on the other hand. Yeah. The sheer volume of information just makes it so hard to access that wisdom. It reminds me of this analogy. Imagine a honeybee, just one, trying to find the best flower patch in this massive field. It would take forever. That poor bee. Yeah. Buzzing around, probably getting nowhere, lost and confused, but now imagine a whole hive of bees Working together they can communicate You know, they share information about the best flowers and they can zero in on those really promising spots So they're like creating a map based on the knowledge of the entire hive. Exactly. That's the beauty of collective wisdom It's not just about having more bees. It's about the collective intelligence, right? It's not about the quantity It's about leveraging the intelligence. So how does that apply to, like, us humans in the business world? Well, we can be like those individual bees struggling to make sense of all the information. Right. Or we can tap into that hive mind. So is there actually, like, evidence that this hive mind approach really works? Oh, absolutely. There's compelling research that shows groups are 22 times more likely to solve complex problems compared to just individuals working on their own. 22 times. That's amazing. That's amazing. What makes them so much more effective? Well, you've got diversity of thought. Uh huh. You can challenge assumptions. Right. Build on each other's ideas. Right. Plus, when you aggregate a lot of different opinions, you end up with predictions that are 15 to 20 percent more accurate. Really? Than even experts working in isolation. So it's not just about getting a lot of people in a room. Right. It's about the right mix of people. Precisely. And this can lead to some pretty amazing results. Like what? Yeah. Companies that leverage collective intelligence are 2. 7 times more likely to be innovation leaders in their industries. That makes a lot of sense, like a secret weapon. It is, and you know, if we think back to the IBM Innovation Jam, we can actually see a blueprint for how to do this effectively. Okay, so they got those mind blowing results. Right. What were the key ingredients to their success? Well, first of all, they had massive scale. Yeah, 150, 000 people. Exactly, that kind of reach ensures you've got a range of perspectives. Right, like casting a wide net. Exactly, but it wasn't just about throwing everyone in a room and hoping for the best. So structure is important. They organized the jam around specific themes. Okay. But there was still room for new ideas. So a balance between guiding the process and letting creativity flow. Right, and another crucial element was cross pollination. Okay. Encourage ideas to flow across departments. Breaking down silos? Yeah. Fostering that collaboration. That's when the magic happens. Absolutely. And they didn't stop there. What else did they do? They used AI. Okay. AI enhanced synthesis. Interesting. They employed advanced analytics to identify patterns and promising concepts. So the AI was augmenting human intelligence. Exactly. It was about using technology to help make sense of all the information. Interesting. Interesting. Cool. And then what? Real investment. Okay. They put their money where their mouth is. Showed commitment. Exactly. And sent a clear message that they were serious about this. And remember that IBM Jam didn't just aggregate knowledge. Right. It created new knowledge that didn't exist before. So the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And this brings us to why all of this matters now. Okay. We're entering this era of AGI. Artificial general intelligence. Right. Advancing so fast. A lot of tasks that once required human expertise are being automated. So what does that mean for us? Are we becoming obsolete? Not at all. It just means the skills we need are changing. As AGI commoditizes individual expertise, collective wisdom becomes even more valuable. So AGI is actually pushing us to become more human? Exactly. To focus on the things that make us unique. And you've seen this firsthand. Yeah. In my own experience working with companies, the organizations that embrace collective wisdom, they just have a competitive edge. They do. Make better decisions, innovate faster, and they adapt more quickly. It's essential in this rapidly changing world. So what's the big takeaway for our listeners here? What should they be thinking about after listening to this? You know, it's funny because collective wisdom isn't just some fluffy concept. Yeah. It's a powerful tool for navigating this complex world that we live in. Especially with all this information overload we were talking about. Yeah, and the rapid technological advancements. It's really changing things. It is. So it sounds like we need to shift our mindset. Yeah. From I to we. I like that. Like moving away from just. Focusing on individual expertise and really embracing this collective intelligence precisely because None of us have all the answers. Nope. But by working together, we can find better solutions. For sure. Make better decisions. Right. Create a future that's more innovative, more adaptable. And more resilient. I was just thinking about this. Yeah. Collective wisdom isn't just about, you know, making better decisions in business. Right. It's about tackling some of the biggest challenges we face. Absolutely. Like as a society. Think about climate change. Right. Global pandemics, social inequality. These are all huge issues. They are. And they require, you know, a collective effort. Sharing knowledge and working together. Exactly. Feeling like collective wisdom is essential at this point. I think so. For survival even. I agree. And for progress. Yeah, it's time to move beyond just issues. individual thinking. Right. We have to embrace that power of the collective. So I have a question for you. Okay. And for all of our listeners out there. Hi. Think about your work, the challenges you face, the goals you're striving for. Where could tapping into this collective wisdom. Yeah. Make the biggest difference for you? That's such a great question. Whether it's brainstorming new ideas or, you know, Solving problems, making strategic decisions. Or even just trying to navigate that overwhelming flow of information. It really feels like collective wisdom offers that path forward. I think so. We talked about how IBM used it for innovation, but there are tons of other examples out there. And we'll explore more about the how. Oh yeah. In a future deep dive. Awesome. We'll talk about, you know, the practical strategies and tools. Perfect. That you can use to actually cultivate this within your own teams and organizations. So stay tuned for that. Yes. But in the meantime, start thinking about how the can take you further than the man. I love that. Thanks for joining us today. It's been a pleasure. On this deep dive into the power of collective wisdom.