It's time to start asking better questions
It’s strange how often we ignore the very evidence we ask for.
We commission the research, gather the data, run the analysis and then quietly hope it agrees with what we already believe so that no change needs to take place.
In scientific and technical businesses, logic is meant to lead. Yet, when the numbers tell a story that feels uncomfortable, logic can quickly give way to emotion. You can see it happen in real-time: a frown, a pause, that slightly defensive shuffle in the chair.
The data hasn’t changed, but the mood in the room certainly has.
When the truth feels inconvenient
Recently, I presented a market analysis that did not quite match expectations. Their view of the opportunity was far broader, built on optimism rather than evidence. My role was not to undermine that optimism, but to help give it shape. A realistic baseline from which to grow and base strategic decisions and set the business direction.
The numbers showed that the more realistic target market had additional barriers to entry and was smaller than expected. Not bad, just narrower. A market challenge that required a different approach to enable growth and impact. But much like the conversation about segmentation and differentiation, the conversation hit the pause button. It wasn’t that the data was wrong, but it was not what people wanted to hear.
Now, we often talk about data-driven decision-making, as if the data does all the deciding for us. It doesn’t. People do. Much like we spoke about a few weeks ago, people have pride, politics, egos, and plans that don’t always bend to the will and numbers on a spreadsheet.
Data-driven, data-decorated, or fear dressed as perfection?
Particularly in technical businesses, we like to call ourselves data-driven.
Why? Because it sounds responsible, credible, modern, technical and scientific. However, are we really just wanting to apply a fancy label that we can wear, rather than establish a practice that we actually live?
Being data-driven doesn’t mean waiting until you have every figure in place to justify a decision. It also doesn’t mean cherry-picking numbers that support the story you’ve already decided to tell. Let’s leave that one to the politicians. That is not a strategy, that is merely statistical theatrics.
True data-driven decision-making means letting the data inform, even when it disrupts. It’s about context as much as it is about calculation. Knowing and understanding why the number looks that way, not just what the number says.
In another recent project, the team were hesitant to act because the timelines for analysing results was particularly tight. The fear was that the data wouldn’t be “good enough”, that it would not be fully representative of the full story. Waiting for perfect, though, is another form of avoidance. We need to reposition the question from “is it flawless?” to “is it enough to learn something useful and act upon with purpose?”
From opinion to opportunity
This is a pattern I am beginning to see more clearly in technical organisations.
When we are honest about what data-driven decision-making really means, the true value is not in confirming what you already believe but in asking better questions that help reveal what you don’t know yet.
When a piece of data disrupts a story, that is a discovery.
The very same logic that underpins science. You learn as much from what disproves your hypothesis as from what confirms it.
If you want to uncover the size and shape of your target market and business opportunity, start by asking:
Who exactly are we trying to reach, and who might we be overlooking?
What exactly is the market we serve? Who are we assuming it is? Do we really know who we are speaking to? Consider where those assumptions may be limiting your growth or focus.
What boundaries have we set that could be limiting our view of and visibility in the market?
Are these boundaries being driven by our current capabilities, or by real customer demand? Have the parameters been set either too narrow, or too comfortable?
How do we define success in this context?
Is it market share, revenue, margin, or customer lifetime value? Does everyone agree?
What barriers exist, and which of those have been self-imposed?
Do we have enough information to make an informed next step, or are we waiting for perfect clarity that will never arrive?
The goal is not to gather data for data’s sake, but to generate the right insight. The kind that shapes better commercial choices and helps bring marketing to the strategic table.
Bringing it all together
Data, instinct and leadership will always be competing for attention. The challenge is not choosing one over the other, but in learning how to use them together, productively.
True progress begins when you stop asking what do we already know, and start asking what haven’t we considered yet?
Give yourself and your team the permission to test, to challenge, and to see beyond what is comfortable. That’s where the real growth begins.
The best leaders use data as a compass, not as a shield.
If you want to make smarter decisions, define and uncover clearer opportunities, and build marketing that genuinely connects commercial ambition with customer reality, it begins by being bold enough to ask better questions.
Every breakthrough begins with curiosity.
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