Rethinking How We Use Data: Balancing the Past with Future Insights
We’ve all heard it before: make data-driven decisions. It’s become a guiding principle in business, research, and life. For good reason—data gives us clarity, prevents us from making avoidable mistakes, and shows us what has worked in the past. But is being data-driven really the end-all-be-all?
For much of my career, I believed it was. Data-driven decisions are the gold standard in academia and education, a way to ground choices in facts rather than guesswork. Then, I heard Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist, say something that changed my perspective: “We don’t need to be data-driven; we need to be data-informed.”
At first, I struggled with this idea. After all, the data doesn’t lie, right? But what Grant meant was that while data is invaluable, it’s not everything. If we rely only on past patterns or trends, we’re always a step behind. It can make us reactive rather than proactive, as though we’re driving forward, but only looking in the rearview mirror.
For example, if your data shows that a particular marketing strategy has consistently driven sales, it makes sense to use it again. However, relying solely on past data can create a trap. The more we focus on what worked before, the less we may notice shifts in trends, new opportunities, or evolving needs. In a rapidly changing world, being data-informed becomes crucial.
Think of Blockbuster. For years, the company dominated the world of movie rentals. The company assumed that because the data showed continued success in physical video rentals, it didn’t need to adapt to the rise of digital streaming. Meanwhile, Netflix was data-informed—they took into account past trends but also saw where the market was heading and adapted accordingly.
The lesson here is that while data is essential, it shouldn’t be the only factor guiding decisions. In other words, data-driven decisions provide a starting point, but they shouldn’t be the ending. The key is to use the data as a foundation while staying open to forward-thinking insights, new trends, emerging technologies, and changes in the marketplace.
Striking the right balance between being data-driven and data-informed requires a thoughtful approach. Here are a few key steps to help guide you:
1. Start with Data: Always start with the data. It gives you a proven foundation, saving you from making avoidable mistakes. But don’t stop there.
2. Use Data as a Guide, Not a Dictator: Data should inform your decisions, but it shouldn’t dictate them. Ask yourself: What does the data show me about the past? How might future circumstances differ?
3. Challenge the Patterns: Don’t take past success as a guarantee of future success. Question the assumptions from past patterns and consider how they might evolve in different contexts.
4. Stay Flexible: Being data-driven helps you start strong but being data-informed allows you to stay adaptable. The more rapidly the world changes, the more you need to be willing to pivot when necessary.
Being data-driven is crucial because it gives us a strong foundation, showing what has worked before and preventing us from wasting time reinventing the wheel. However, being data-informed takes it further. It pushes us to look beyond the past, adapt to new circumstances, and ensure we’re not stuck following outdated patterns.
For this week’s challenge, choose one decision you’re facing—whether it’s at work, in your business, or in your personal life—and begin with the data. But before finalizing your choice, ask yourself: Is this data simply guiding me toward what worked before, or is it helping me prepare for what’s next? By using the data as a starting point and then applying it to forward-thinking decisions, you’ll stay ahead of the curve rather than just keeping up with it.
I encourage you to approach your decision-making with this balance in mind. In business, research, or life, begin with the data, but don’t let it have the final say. How you use that data to move forward is what will ultimately define your success.
Best wishes,
Lauren
P.s. If you’re looking for a fresh perspective on how to use your data more effectively, I’d be happy to explore it with you. Sometimes, an outside view can reveal new opportunities. Feel free to connect if you’d like to dig deeper into your data and strategy.