Research – The Dark Side
If you’ve read this author’s posts with any regularity (and for a moment, let’s just humor me, shall we?), you know that I’m a big fan of research. Love it, love it, love it. Research drives insight and strategy. Research informs and illuminates. Research clarifies and coalesces. But research doesn’t replace your gut. I’ve said it many times – Numbers are like people: Torture them enough and they’ll tell you anything you want. For all the good that research does, research can also be limiting. Take a look at the video below. Yeah, laughed my ass off when I first saw it – but holy cow, it was spot-on. How many great ideas have gone into the circular file because the research – focus groups or otherwise – made the decisions for us?
Listen, I understand that in business, you never want to make a decision without having all the information. You not only want to make an informed call, but you want – and often need – to cover your ass in case things go south. But – and this is a salient point – it’s YOUR call. Not the research, not the focus group, not the numbers. YOU. The research is awesome – but its not smarter than you. You need to own the research, not vice-versa. We all need to get all the research we can get our hands on, weigh the pros & cons and ask the advice and opinions of trusted colleagues – but we also need to trust in ourselves and in others.
xoxo
Marc