They ignored your data

You did your job. Delivered amazing data.

Perfectly aligned with what the department leadership needed.

They took your data.

And ignored it.

Even worse, they made a decision in exactly the opposite direction of what the data indicated.

“So much for ‘data-driven decisions’” you mutter in frustration as you kick rocks down the sidewalk.

If this happens enough - and you care enough - it’s easy to get jaded, angry, or cynical about the role of data in your organization.

Hold on. Before you quit…hear this.

There’s a reason why this happens.

Incentives.

Incentives drive all of our decision-making. People make decisions based on what they want. And what they want is controlled by what they are incentivized to do.

They might have ignored your data because they knew:

  • they would get a promotion if they orchestrated a different course of action that would look good to their leadership

  • they would get a bonus this quarter by getting a short-term win.

  • they’ve seen other people get fired for taking a risk outside the norm.

  • they are stressed and overwhelmed in their personal life and don’t have the energy to take on the challenge that they data points toward.

and on and on.

Data-driven decisions are only part of the equation in making good decisions.

The human incentives are often a hidden feature/bug of the system

I’m here,

Sawyer

from ​The Data Shop

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