Data-driven decision-making

 

Analytics and data-driven decision making have become focal areas in business. Leaders are asking for more data and better analytics. Despite this increased attention to big data, decisions don’t always improve. It’s not the data, it’s the way leaders approach it. Using data is critical to making good decisions.  However, being data-driven does not mean that you have to fill your presentations with numbers. In fact, the more data that you look at or provide at one time, the less effective you will be. There are three simple reasons for changing the way that you use data:

  • People can’t handle a lot of data – Research in both neuroscience and psychology has overwhelmingly proven that the conscious mind is pretty limited in the amount of data it can process at one time.
  • People don’t really use data to make decisions –  Despite what we may believe (or even tell others) data are often the least influential part of the process. You still need data to prove that what you are saying is true.  However, if your entire argument is simply about the numbers, you won’t be successful.
  • People don’t actually want data – People want the story of their business and the decisions, recommendations, and actions necessary to make that story work out positively. Don’t make them work for it.

Good leaders understand their business and the story that is unfolding within it. They combine that understanding with data to create a more complete picture.

Avail’s Ten Rules of Thinking Data change the game in terms of how you use data.  Through our workshops and our consulting services, we will make you into a more effective consumer of data.

Contact us today if you or your team need to become better consumers of data and information.

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