The Problem with Data Driven

“I love data!” If I received a nickel each time this confession was shared, I’d be rich. Data is good. It offers valuable information for those hoping to leverage its potential. Without reliable data, we may wander aimlessly. Adrift in an already complicated world. 

The problem is not with data itself. It’s with the authority we confer. 

Too often, data serves as a crutch for leaders. An accomplice to a failure of nerve. Something endlessly mined until there is no other choice but to move forward or the clock simply runs out. Other times, data is pursued vigorously underscored by the notion that harnessing its power will produce great benefit. And in some cases, data misleads. We accept what’s presented at face value when we shouldn’t. Because data can’t tell us which data to listen to.

Mark Twain said “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” How often does the news report that coffee is good for your heart, only for a different report to emerge months later suggesting something very different? Academic research and clinical studies are only as good as their design. Is a study being funded? If so, by whom? The methods and motives guiding research matter.

What about replicability? Headline-grabbing findings arrive ceremoniously. However, they are often determined to be insufficient due to small samples, poor design, or perhaps even ethical flaws by researchers. It can be hard to accept, but even a non-finding is a finding. 

There’s also an appreciable difference between survey data and behavioral data. Care to guess which is more reliable? Declared intentions don’t always match actions. Yet, using surveys to guide decisions happens regularly. Steve Jobs said that people don’t know what they want. He believed it was Apple’s job to show them. Whether you agree with his idea or not, it’s hard to argue with Apple’s successful implementation of that approach. 

A better way forward is data informed. When we blindly allow data to drive decisions, we can easily end up somewhere we never intended. Allowing data to inform decisions gives us the ability to analyze and interpret filtered through a contextual lens. 

It’s that context which makes all the difference. When data informs our decisions, we use it as a tool. Something that can be an asset to our decision-making rather than a context-free decider. We can use data responsibly without giving up the ability to exercise a critical eye. 

So, invite data along for the ride. As a passenger.