Jeff Bezos taught me that the best leaders don’t wait to have 100% of the data to make decisions. That either takes too long or is impossible. Data and research don’t deliver decisions—good decisions are the products of good judgment.
Jeff said it is best to make decisions with ~70% of the data needed, otherwise you have waited too long.
What I see in a lot of organizations is that there is a deep craving for a process, research plan, or data analysis method that gives clear direction. Basically, people want the model, the formula, or the single number that gives them the answers to “the test.”
I’m not a psychologist, so I can only speculate as to the root of this behavior, but it could be the need for external validation in order to lower the perceived risk and accountability for the outcomes.
As the company grows, so does the scale and the stakes of decisions, so decision-makers become more cautious.
The result in mature companies is often the false idea that if we deploy a robust enough analysis, process, or the gather the perfect dataset, the answer will reveal itself.
But that’s the thing—it won’t.
As I regularly advise executive leaders, analysis, data and processes are tools for better decision making… they don’t provide answers. Great leaders are great decision makers. They become great through the combination of:
1) Experience
2) Understanding business history
3) Building a great leadership team
4) Operational excellence (e.g. rigorous processes and analysis methods).
No tool, metric, or strategy document will remove the need for judgment and ownership. Models can help us think, but we are the ones who ultimately have to decide.
People want to believe there’s a formula that will make their decisions easy. But leadership is a game of judgment.
Data-based judgment, yes—but judgment nonetheless, and the willingness to take responsibility for the outcome.
Leaders make decisions. They don’t wait for them to become obvious.
What do you think??
