The Decision Intelligence Handbook

Chapter 1. Introduction

“Decision-makers only use 22% of the jumble of data-driven insights they receive,” Erik Larson writes in Forbes. What’s going on? This is an especially important question when we think about senior leaders, whose choices are critical to the success of their organizations, and sometimes, the world.

It’s sad to think that this powerful technology is having such limited impact. Technologies define an age: the printing press brought about the Renaissance, the steam engine was core to the Industrial Revolution, and computers created the “Information Age.” We thought that analytics and data would have a similar impact for the better. But, as this book goes to press, the jury is still out.

There was a widespread belief for a while that “more data = better decisions,” but, sadly, we’re not seeing organizations—public or private—that we think are doing better than ever. Some would say things are worse.

What’s going on? Part of the answer is that many organizations are facing unprecedented complexity and volatility from external factors. Globalization means that the corner store has given way to the big-box store, the pandemic has changed how we work and collaborate, and changes in media and climate mean that we’re all getting used to a “new normal.”

In response, many leaders and data scientists have embarked on a digital transformation journey, going from paper-based records to digitized information, then using that information to drive business intelligence (BI) ...