Now We Know Why Consultant Reports Are Long, Wordy, and Just So-So

July 26, 2022

I noted the research findings (allegedly spot on and reproducible) in “Experts Don’t Always Give Better Advice—They Just Give More.”

Here’s the killer statement:

Top performers didn’t write more helpful advice, but they did write more of it, and people in our experiments mistook quantity for quality…

Several observations:

  1. What is “helpful”? Maybe helpful means that the person listening was sufficiently intelligent to pick out the important bits?
  2. Why more output? Maybe more reflects what the individual thinks he she it knows?
  3. Why fiddle with experts in the first place? Maybe when one needs brain surgery, the doctor should have a bit of a track record whether he she it can talk coherently or not?

How about a simple crowd sourced test? Ask a question on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube. Pick a short answer. Apply it. Let me know how that works out for [a] tattoo removal, [b] investing in NFTs about psychologists, [c] where to purchase contraband via a Telegram group, or [d] working for a dinobaby who wants a person who thinks, is reliable, and has a good attitude.

Not appealing? Okay, just guess like many MBAs working in high-tech market sectors or blue-chip consulting firms.

Stephen E Arnold, July 26, 2022

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