Decisions Over Decimals

CHAPTER 11The Future of Data‐Driven Decision‐Making

Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.

— Marcus Aurelius

Staying ahead in the increasingly complex domain of data‐driven decision‐making requires leaders to make nimble and informed decisions at an ever‐increasing rate. At the beginning of the Big Data era, the discussion centered on the “3Vs” of volume, velocity, and variety. Two additional “Vs”—volatility (i.e., is the data consistently available) and verity or truth (i.e., data integrity)—have been added. Leaders with data literacy are now expected to absorb, consider, and pass judgment on a massive flow of signals broadly described by the 5Vs that are simply too much for a single mind to interpret in real time.

Fortunately, as discussed in the previous chapters, decision‐making is a team sport and an increasing array of tools and techniques coming from industry leaders and academia will aid decision‐making over the next decade. As the speed of computation increases and the sophistication of artificial intelligence (AI) methods advances, new extensions to decision capabilities will help business leaders address the increasing complexity of the decision‐making environment. Automation tools are being developed to replace repetitive decision‐making such as interpretation of medical imaging, stock trading, or pricing decisions, and serve as decision‐support tools to complement ...