Data is a tool, not a strategy

Having a fact does not equal having an idea, or a plan, or a strategy. Data + brains (often but not always) = valuable insights.

Lindsay's Data Stack: Being data-driven is not a product strategy, 24-Mar-13 by Lindsay M. Pettingill

Saying you’re data-driven is an excuse for having no point of view.

Your strategy shouldn’t be driven by data. Your product direction shouldn’t be driven by data. Your data definitely shouldn’t be driven by data.

To be clear, this does not mean that data doesn’t matter. Data matters for all sorts of applications and problems. But if you’re looking for data to tell you what to build, you’re doing it wrong. The answer isn’t in the data....

I like experimentation because it a) forces rigor around hypothesis formation and b) helps test (measure) those hypotheses. It is not a solution in itself!

If your business is already doing great, experimentation is a fantastic tool to measure incremental gains. But you cannot experiment your way to greatness.

Avoiding the Purity Spiral

People will emphasize and sometimes exaggerate their beliefs to get attention. Don't play that game, but remind people of which values you have in common.

Digital Tonto:If you're serious about change you need to be explicit and focus on shared values, 2024-Mar-10 by Greg Satell

Never underestimate the primordial need to signal identity. We want to show that we are not only a full-fledged member of our tribe, but a star player on the team. That’s why we engage in the type of moral outbidding that results in a purity spiral. Before you know it, we are voicing opinions and taking actions that are not only out of the mainstream, but that actually turn away those who might support our objectives.

That’s why #Occupy protesters slept in parks and shouted obscenities, why women wore pussy hats after the election of Donald Trump, why DEI activists claim that anyone who doesn’t agree with them is racist, why a Cornell professor said he was exhilarated by the murder of innocents, and why America’s far-right activists identify with murderous dictators. It feels good to show that we are different, that we have status.

Yet while these efforts may make their point, they fail to make a difference. #Occupy protesters soon went home and achieved nothing. The World Economy Forum has found that #MeToo has undermined women in the workplace. DEI programs across the country are being crushed, Hamas has lost legitimacy, even with Palestinians and hundreds of January 6th insurrectionists have gone to jail.

The challenge and discipline for leading change is to focus on shared values, so even people who don’t agree with you can identify with your motives. The truth is that success doesn’t depend on how radical or how moderate your vision, but how well you can appeal to common goals. Or, as Nelson Mandela himself put it, “to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”