Stats & Stories: Using Both for Maximum Impact

It’s been said that facts are your friends. This is true in business, relationships, education and faith. Even though facing facts can sometimes be hurtful, truth needs to be exposed and embraced to make headway in all areas of life.

To make any wise decision, it’s important to have the right information. But you need more than information to get results. You also need motivation. Information and motivation are two key elements in getting things done.

But not all data is important. And not all data is interesting. Yet combining important and interesting data can compel people towards action. I call these two types of data, Hard Data and Soft Data. Let’s take a closer look at both.

Hard Data
Hard data are statistics. And statistics engage the mind. If you like charts, graphs, numbers and Excel spreadsheets, you love hard data. Stats give us needed information by which we can judge situations, develop ideas and solve problems. They are a foundational building block to any problem that has ever been solved. Some people can just look at statistics, figure out the problem and pose a solution. While it’s seldom that simple, that’s the general idea. Continue reading