801: How to Make Better Decisions With Data, with Sebastian Wernicke

Sebastian Wernicke: Data Inspired

For over 20 years, Sebastian Wernicke has guided organizations around the world to harness the power of data and AI to achieve breakthrough transformation. His three acclaimed TED Talks have reached over 5 million viewers. He is the author of Data Inspired: Building an Organizational Culture of Inquiry for Lasting Transformation (Amazon, Bookshop)*.

We all have more access to data than ever. That means we should be making better decisions than we ever have before, yes? If only it were that simple. In this conversation, Sebastian and I explore how you can actually use all that data to make better decisions.

Key Points

• Data initiatives don’t necessarily fail, but often do something worse: make your organization stay the same.
• Better data does not automatically result in better decisions. An organization also needs the cultural maturity to be swayed by the data.
• Nobody makes decisions that look like the logical decision-making processes we see in books. In addition, the emotions we put into decisions are actually critically helpful.
• During uncertainty, more data tends to make us more uncertain. Once we’ve decided something, we tend to discount contrary data.
• Decisions are rarely made entirely by one person and heavily influenced by the team or organization’s culture.
• Leaders can help integrate helpful data by saying things like, “I’m looking for data to tell me where I am wrong.”
• Bringing in structure such as written notes or memos before or at the start of meetings can help data be considered before we discount it.

Resources Mentioned

• Data Inspired: Building an Organizational Culture of Inquiry for Lasting Transformation (Amazon, Bookshop)*

Interview Notes

Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).

Related Episodes

• How to Involve Stakeholders in Decisions, with Eric Pliner (episode 586)
• How to Change People’s Minds, with Michael McQueen (episode 676) – contradictory data not swaying people
• How to Lead Engaging Meetings, with Jess Britt (episode 721)

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