What is the “hive mind”, and why..

What is the “hive mind”, and why does it matter? As you might imagine, I have a different opinion than many.

To me, a hive mind is a large collection of opinions gathered in one place—such as a social media site—which makes it easier to understand what many other people are thinking. But I don’t care about what the majority are thinking, and I’m certainly not looking for the few things on which everyone agrees.

I’m literally looking for the bee (or opinion) that is most instructive. It might be someone who spotted a trend before everyone else. It could be a person or group that has done original research that leads me in the right direction.

The hard part is being open-minded enough to sort through lots of opinions that are different from yours, so that you can find the gem that is truly valuable.

At Liquid - We Make It Easier! we love to hire people who embrace this concept, the ones who are not only open-minded enough to sort through many different opinions, but also perceptive enough to find the ones that point us towards the truth.

For example, when we are trying to figure out what is happening inside a factory and how we can help it to operate more efficiently, the voices that often lead us in the right direction may be those that everyone else ignores.

This skill—separating the signal from the noise—will be increasingly valuable in coming years.

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