## Metadata * URL: [https://benn.substack.com/p/do-data-driven-companies-win](https://benn.substack.com/p/do-data-driven-companies-win) * Published Date: 2022-07-22 * Author: [[Benn stancil|Benn Stancil]] ## Highlights >context, we tend to gloss over statements about the existential importance of data as obvious truisms. We can’t really help it; many of us bet our careers on data being necessary for corporate survival.⁴ >The more interesting question is how much better does data make us? we’d rank a proficiency in data among other potential areas of expertise. Note: A bit of a false dichotomy. You don't need to choose. >For early to mid-stage companies, give me talent and intuition over everything; if not that, I’ll trade away analytical rigor for speed and decisiveness. * The implication here is that when we’re faced with a choice of what to do, with data, we’re wise; without it, we’re foolish. I think this dramatically overstates data’s usefulness. Business problems are extraordinarily complicated, and analytical recommendations are mostly educated guesses. Great data teams likely make somewhat better guesses, but at the end of the day, we’re all still gambling. * Data offers the same promise. Its constant presence in an organization is like knowing the count of the deck. Though it makes us a bit more informed in each decision, the effect is only felt in the aggregate, as the small edge compounds over time. * **Note**: And discipline that builds around it * being data-driven is a long game. It takes time for an advantage to accumulate. * I now believe the biggest determinant in how frequently companies hit home runs is how often they swing, not the type of bat they use when they do. * **Note**: Along the lines of [[Nassim nicholas taleb|Nassim Nicholas Taleb]].