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Most Executives Still Rely On Subjective, Gut-Level Decisions
We've been lying to ourselves for the last 10–15 years that we live in such a “data-driven age.” We have more data, yes, and that should inform decision-making. At some companies, notably places like Amazon 10 years ago or so, it does. But what we fail to realize in this discussion is the psychology and personalities of the (mostly) men who come to run companies. These guys are often very ego-driven and very confident in their abilities, because they scaled a company to x-amount of dollars, which only a small percentage of men on the Earth will ever do. (This is also why there’s so much divorce and child abandonment in those ranks — they don’t need to focus on core relationships, because they get their kicks from pawning rivals and how “the Street” looks at them.)
I’ve talked about this before, and I don’t think “data” will ever win a 12-round fight with “I trust my gut:”
Now look at this new article from Wall Street Journal:
