You might believe that data-driven decision-making is transforming how companies operate. Well, not really. With an overwhelming amount of data, metrics, and analysis, businesses often struggle to make effective decisions.
To gain insight, I reached out to Nick Graham, a renowned expert in the field, and asked him how to move beyond excessive data analysis and utilize data more effectively.
Takeaways from Nick on Data-Driven-Decision Making
The Insight Myth
A common misconception among executives is that data itself equates to insight. Simply having data does not make a company consumer-centric. Organizations need to transform their data through a structured process and clear decision-making frameworks to generate meaningful insights about consumers, market categories, or business operations that can be acted upon.
Staring at Charts
Corporate teams spend excessive time on status reporting rather than decision-making. Many business review meetings involve “nodding at charts” for hours without making any decisions.
This stems from a corporate culture focused on risk management rather than opportunity realization, with teams seeking perfect answers instead of making probability-based decisions.
The Role of the Analyst
Nick mentioned (to my delight) that the analyst job doesn’t end with a report; they must follow through on actions to ensure the insight is activated.
How AI is changing research and insights
AI fundamentally transforms the work of insights by handling the middle phase (data processing and analysis). Future analysts will focus more on briefing and prompting at the front end, and interpretation and business activation at the back end. This shift requires developing new skills in prompting, bias detection, and business consulting rather than traditional data manipulation.
Actionable Recommendations
The most immediate step professionals can take is to audit their current work by asking: “What decision is this helping us drive?”.
Every dashboard, report, and analysis should be evaluated based on its contribution to decision-making, identifying time sinks and energy waste. Teams should also ensure insights professionals follow through until decisions are implemented, not just until reports are delivered.
Get to know Nick and his Work Better
https://vertemis.pt
