Reports don’t tell us the truth. They tell us a story. And stories are always written by someone, for someone.
Stories have always shaped human culture: they pass on norms, set direction, and frame meaning. Organisations are no different.
Reports and statistics are simply modern stories. They tell us what happened - or what someone wants us to believe happened.
They frame futures through charts, dashboards, and projections. And as the saying goes:
History is written by the victors. In organisations, the “victors” are often whoever controls the reporting.
The stories we tell depend on:
- what we include
- what we omit
- how we present the facts
So ask yourself: When you read a report, how often do you question its origin, its framing, or its intent?
Even when data sources are known, the truth lies less in the numbers and more in the narrative built around them.
As the old line says: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Stories as Strategy
In resource-constrained environments - and every organisation is one - stories become weapons of influence.
Reports, dashboards, and presentations influence:
- priorities
- funding
- resistance to change
The narrative becomes the tool for securing scarce resources.
In principle, this should work. But it rarely does.
Why?
Because we’re not working from the same deck of cards:
- data sources differ
- definitions vary
- timelines don’t align
- some data is inferred
- some is simply made up
Fact-checking and data lineage were supposed to fix this: publish sources, trace origins, cross-check.
Instead, they’ve just given us a bigger pool of material to weave stories from.
Credible Knowledge vs Accurate Data
What we actually need isn’t total precision or perfect lineage.
We need credible knowledge - information we trust enough to act on.
Credibility isn’t the same as accuracy. It’s sufficiency.
Knowledge has a half-life. Even the most accurate data expires. Precision blinds us to this truth:
Knowledge only matters while it’s still valid. Its credibility always has an expiry date.
So the real question is: How long do we polish the numbers before they no longer matter?
Knowledge, Power, and Faith
“Knowledge is power” isn’t quite right.
Power comes from the credibility others grant the knowledge.
Repeat a claim often enough and credibility gets replaced by faith.
But:
- Faith isn’t trust
- Faith isn’t credibility
And when allocating scarce resources or prioritising Service outcomes, faith isn’t enough.
Repeat a fact too many times and it stops being knowledge - it becomes dogma.
For Services to deliver people-centred outcomes, the knowledge we use must establish its own credibility.
It should be:
- credible enough not to trigger doubt
- credible enough not to require fact-checking
- credible enough to act on confidently
That’s what gives knowledge the right kind of power - not repetition, not ritual, but trustworthiness.
OSM and the Service Information Base (SIB)
Every system promises more precision, more tracking, more detail. No wonder we’re drowning.
More data doesn’t mean more clarity.
OSM approaches this differently.
At its core is the Service Information Base (SIB): a central view of what’s credible now.
Not everything. Not certainty. Just enough to act with confidence.
The SIB is:
- living
- dynamic
- transparent
- context-aware
It integrates what matters most at this moment:
- near-real-time signals
- long-lived representations
- overlays
- containers
- what-ifs
- assumptions
- sightlines
It adapts as Services evolve.
Crucially, it is:
- not a golden record
- not perfect
- not an encyclopedia
It’s something more useful:
A living, federated, time-aware view - credible enough to act on.
The Point
Knowledge isn’t a story.
Dashboards, headlines, presentations - those are stories we tell with knowledge. And stories can mislead.
But credible knowledge is what lets us act. It’s what moves Services forward.
If we want Services that matter, we must stop confusing stories with knowledge.
One entertains. The other delivers.
Closing
If you enjoyed this post, follow along for more thinking on:
- Organisational Service Management
- Service Flow
- Human-centred transformation
And if it sparked something - I’d love to hear it.