“We should always bear in mind that numbers represent a simplification of reality.”
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Kenneth E. Boulding
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So.
This is the partner piece to “Numbers are losing their Mojo.”
It is the partner piece because, while numbers are losing their mojo, more and more people in business are substituting data for traditional numbers and want data to make their decision for them.
Yes. I could point to the overwhelming amount of data <numbers> now being cranked out as the reason why this issue is reaching a business crisis level but I will not. The truth is that all big data does is amplify the situation – more and more business people suck at making decisions, suck at assuming personal responsibility for decisions and suck at thinking thru the true meaning of the numbers available to them <as a version of what I said yesterday — suck at seeing the real shadows of the numbers>.
Just as the fact we need to get our shit together with regard to telling the stories that numbers truly tell us <rather than do shit guided by ‘instinct’ and ‘what we feel’> we need to get our shit together with regard to how we use numbers & data to INFORM decisions and not MAKE decisions.
(note: this argument used to be “research should be used to INFORM decisions and not MAKE decisions”)
This discussion gains importance because in today’s world it isn’t just ‘big data’ but it is analyzing research, spreadsheets, hell, just the sheer # of everyday numbers that overwhelm you in the everyday standard operating procedures in business.
We need to be teaching that not all 2’s are created equal <not all numbers are created equal> and that even though a number may be big, or even small, just counting it doesn’t mean it counts. We need to be teaching young business people that what counts is what the numbers say … as in ‘what do they express’.
Here is the truth about numbers.
Numbers, data & research more often than not, are simply directional signs toward truth … but rarely do they tell the truth in their simplicity. Okay. They rarely tell the whole truth. And they never are a substitute for judgement.
I sometimes fear on occasion we are crafting a generation of business people who view numbers as the answer for everything.
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“I notice increasing reluctance on the part of marketing executives to use judgment; they are coming to rely too much on research, and they use it as a drunkard uses a lamp post for support, rather than for illumination.”
David Ogilvy
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To be fair, this is not the younger generation’s problem, it is more a leadership & management issue.
We absolutely have reached a point in business, in particular within organizations of any critical size, where risk is a swear word. And even if you take the risk you are putting your job on the line. With all that hanging over heads you do grab onto a lamp post whenever you can spot one.
And, let’s face it; numbers are strewn throughout whatever street you decide to walk upon so, if needed, one is always available to show to explain your decision.
It is up to older managers to teach the nuances and how to use numbers to inform the final judgements.
But it is quite possible we could live with this if this is all that was happening.
The other thing that should strike fear into the hearts of businesses is how older managers, overwhelmed with all the ‘big data’ available and younger people who easily rummage through all the data available combine to, with mostly good intentions, seek numbers to find out what to do next.
They do not translate what the numbers mean but use actual numbers as directional signs on where to go next.
This is dangerous.
Now. Someone will say “no, it is not dangerous, as long as you know the objective.” ”Wrong” is what I would say back. For them to be right they have to assume that the best path toward the objective is the straightest line possible.
Well.
If I am a commodity product or service or maybe even the lowest price product or service <and, remember, there can only be one lowest price in any category> this could possibly be true, however, if “value” enters into any discussion with regard to what you are doing or what you are selling … the straightest path may not be what you want … or need.
To be clear. What I just typed … what I just shared … rarely is discussed in today’s business world. Why? Well … first … anything that suggests “not fast” or “not optimal speed” suggests ‘less than efficient’ which in today’s world is “bad.”
<or “sad”>
Second … to discuss value in this way sounds … uhm … complex or complicated … and if there are two words that could be construed as swear words in today’s business world it would be those two. simplicity, at the expense of anything and everything else, is the go-to place for a shitload of business people and , in particular, business people who would like numbers to tell them what to do.
Anyway. Once I suggested numbers are losing their mojo. Today I am suggesting business people may not be using numbers & data in the most effective way <to maximize the benefit of the organization, product or service>.
And tomorrow I will not be writing about numbers but I can tell ya that numbers will still be misused and misdiscussed.
And we better figure that out soon or businesses are gonna get screwed.
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Originally published February 2016
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