It Ain’t the Data. It Ain’t the Analytics. It’s the People!

Think about it, the world is awash in data. And, there are plenty of analytics. Yet companies continue to have high project and product failure rates. Gets down to decision making; decisions are made by people. Even with great analytics, things go awry, without good judgment and — yes — intuition seasoned by decades of experience.

People make decisions. Analytics help people make decisions; hopefully good ones. The difference is often the decision process; specifically how to bring people together to improve the quality of their decision making. A good process will successfully address six characteristics of quality decision-making:  Appropriate frame; Creative, doable alternatives; Meaningful, reliable information; Clear values and trade-offs; Logically correct reasoning; and Commitment to action.*

The quality of your decision making can be assessed by visualizing the six characteristics on a “spider diagram.”

* Reference: The Smart Organization: Creating Value through Strategic R&D, Matheson and Matheson, Harvard Business School Press [link to Amazon]