🌍 Navigating the Information Age: Insights for Venture Studios 🚀 The breadth and abundance of data grows exponentially each year. While having more information seems like a silver bullet, sometimes it just creates more opportunities to get misinformed, confused, distracted, or all of the above. The below article introduces a framework to help leaders sift through the noise and make informed decisions. Some things to watch out for: 1️⃣ Not Fact: Always verify statements with solid data. Don't take claims at face value, even if they're appealing. Understand what the data actually measures. 2️⃣ Not Data: Be cautious of anecdotes and cherry-picked examples. They might not represent the broader reality or might omit critical failures that tell a different story. 3️⃣ Not Evidence: Correlation isn't causation. Even large-scale data needs scrutiny to distinguish between causal relationships and coincidences. 4️⃣ Not Proof: Context matters. Evidence that holds true in one setting may not apply universally. What does this mean for venture capital? Most importantly, actually measure the things that matter and bring that data forward into investment decisions: Due diligence: before backing a startup or strategy, ensure claims are backed by robust data, not just compelling stories. Context: recognize that what works in one industry or region may not translate universally. Adapt insights accordingly. Balance: Acknowledge that success stories often hide failures. Seek diverse perspectives to avoid confirmation bias. By adopting these principles, venture builders can enhance their decision-making prowess, preserve capital, and boost returns. #venturebuilding
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Professor at Tuck, Senior Advisor at Innosight, passionate about helping individuals and organizations develop the capacity to thrive in today’s world of never-ending change
How do you make decisions when you lack data? It's an issue that leaders have to frequently confront. And it is the subject of my latest piece at Harvard Business Review. My three pieces of advice: 1. Seek early warning signs of change. Rita McGrath likes the Andy Grove line that snow melts at the edges, so see around corners! 2. Experience tomorrow today. If you have children, spend time with them. Use new technologies with them. If you don't have children, find other ways to get inspiration from youth. They are reliable guides to the future! 3. Practice associative thinking. As Hal Gregersen and Jeff Dyer found, that's a core skill that distinguishes great innovators, and it is one you can get better at with careful practice. The full article is here: https://lnkd.in/efjirsBf That picture ... two roads diverged in a yellow wood ... that's for another day!
When You Have to Make a Strategic Decision Without Much Data
hbr.org
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An article from Harvard Business Review about making strategic decisions when data is limited. It’s interesting how the author, Scott D. Anthony, highlights the value of intuition and strategic thinking in such scenarios. He suggests observing trends, experiencing new technologies, and practicing associative thinking. I believe we can relate to in today’s uncertain times. #HBR #DecisionMaking https://lnkd.in/dzrWgE5V
When You Have to Make a Strategic Decision Without Much Data
hbr.org
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One big challenge that leaders have when figuring out how or where their companies can grow is that a dearth of data about future problems and opportunities. In this article the author offers three techniques that leaders can employ to develop insights.
When You Have to Make a Strategic Decision Without Much Data
hbr.org
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One big challenge that leaders have when figuring out how or where their companies can grow is that a dearth of data about future problems and opportunities. In this article the author offers three techniques that leaders can employ to develop insights.
When You Have to Make a Strategic Decision Without Much Data
hbr.org
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Great thoughts here on the value of properly investing in research. #getOutOfTheBuilding
Scaling research practices is something I encourage. But neither scaling nor research is "simple." Nor can either be done "quickly." 🚧 Shortcuts create a barrier between people on a team and their org. 🚧 Shortcuts create a barrier between teams and the people they are trying to support. All the effort going into scaling research & the research itself is wasted unless it is approached with "accurate" and "valuable" in mind. The amount of time used to create #thinkingstyles and an #opportunityskyline is minuscule in comparison to the number of years & decades they are used to guide teams. An internal campaign to shift mindsets can help. Pick some of these points you can use in your campaign: A. Teams want planning & strategy, not reactive, incremental progress on a product. Roadmaps help, but a foundation of reality space research makes a roadmap more long-lived and actionable. B. Managers want a reliable way to measure value to customers/people. Evaluative work needs to map back to the strategic understanding of cognitive variety. Harm needs to be described in mild, serious, lasting, and systemic categories. Managers want to track this over time, to see where progress is being made. C. Orgs want to grow their market, but first they can grow their understanding of the market. In my experience, a third to half of a market (in thinking styles) can't use the product, or gets worse outcomes than from doing it manually, without the product. Focus on these "cracks" in the market can bring immediate growth. Learn how to resist assumptions & judgment about the people you could serve. D. Innovation myths, especially in the US, feature a single genius coming up with something. Teams can do much better than a single person. Teams with cognitive research do even better, because they can see farther and choose where to experiment with innovation. E. In large orgs, teams know they need to communicate ideas and understanding. They try to communicate, and often the concepts are not picked up across the org. A single skyline diagram (with layers of quant data on top of it that change over time) enables sharing concepts and understanding.
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Making strategic decisions without sufficient data requires a careful and adaptive approach, but it is necessary at times given the "perfect is the enemy of the good" reality... and time-sensitivity required in today's day-and-age. This situation is all-to-common for my fellow CISO peers. At these critical times, leaders should rely on a blend of critical thinking, past experiences, and heuristic methods to fill the gaps where data is scarce and where time is of the essence. It's important to identify core assumptions, evaluate their validity, and consider multiple scenarios to understand potential outcomes. Engaging with a diverse group of stakeholders can provide varied perspectives and insights, enriching the decision-making process. Emphasizing a learning mindset and being prepared to pivot as new data becomes available can further turn these challenging situations into opportunities for growth, innovation, and success. #StrategicDecisionMaking #AdaptiveLeadership #DataDrivenInsights
When You Have to Make a Strategic Decision Without Much Data
hbr.org
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Honing and trusting one's intuition can lead to quicker, more effective decision-making. Here's how to harness the power of listening to your gut to make the best choices.
We Live in a Data-Driven World — Here's a Case For Listening to Your Gut Instead
advisorstream.com
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Honing and trusting one's intuition can lead to quicker, more effective decision-making. Here's how to harness the power of listening to your gut to make the best choices.
We Live in a Data-Driven World — Here's a Case For Listening to Your Gut Instead
advisorstream.com
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Honing and trusting one's intuition can lead to quicker, more effective decision-making. Here's how to harness the power of listening to your gut to make the best choices.
We Live in a Data-Driven World — Here's a Case For Listening to Your Gut Instead
advisorstream.com
