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Without data you're just another person with an opinion

An employee is flummoxed by a set of opinions without data about how to proceed on a project

Prints

Data avoids arguments.

So does the willingness to seek out data. If none of us has data to share then we can't help but bring our own personal biases, preferences, and opinions to the table — anyone might be right, but who's to say (often the HiPPO : the Highest Paid Person's Opinion)? It's why I love this quote from W. Edwards Deming :

"Without data you're just another person with an opinion."

Perhaps you've been in a car with several backseat drivers who all seem to know better than the driver. Or maybe you've been part of a review for a new initiative where everyone has their own views of what will make it succeed. Or a discussion on what's driving some unexpected behaviour. We can't know who's right until we bring some data. It's amazing how even a little data can avoid an "I'm right, you're wrong" situation.

And where there isn't data, framing a discussion on how to quickly gather data or experiment to find out which approach may be best so often focuses a team, removing ego and opinions.

After all, as Jim Barksdale, former Netscape CEO said:

"If we have data, let's look at data. If all we have are opinions, let's go with mine."

Published 26 Feb 2023

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The Fundamental Attribution Error illustration: a driver assuming someone is rude when they swerved in front of them rather than considering that they may have been running late and it been an accident - attributing character over context

The Fundamental Attribution Error

The Lake Wobegon Effect

What is Hanlon's razor example explained: never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. Here, it's explained in a cartoon of someone getting mad at dropped litter when it accidentally was dropped out of the bin bag of another person around the corner

Proportionality Bias illustration: a dice has landed on a six and the person who rolled it gave it a really good shake beforehand.

Proportionality bias

Schadenfreude explanation: a double layer of schadenfreude as an onlooker laughing at someone tripping is about to fall into a hole and get their comeuppance

The Oxford Comma illustration: in the acknowledgements at the beginning of a book, the oxford comma, used after the penultimate item in a list, clears up any confusion as to whether God is a parent of the author.

The Oxford comma

The fundamental attribution error is the attribution of the source of behaviour to the character and personality of a person above the consideration of context. It's sometimes described as over-attributing causes to disposition over situation. In a classic example, if a driver swerves in front of you suddenly, it's easy to attribute the cause of the behaviour to the driver being a jerk, i.e. to their character. What we may not see is that the driver is late to pick up their kids, was distracted by a challenging conversation they just had at work, and they're worried they've gone the wrong way and are driving an unfamiliar car. If a colleague is late to meet us, we might infer that the person is lazy or disrespectful when, in fact, they may have been held up by a traffic accident, been on the phone with a sick relative, and have had trouble sleeping lately. If we are late for a meeting, well, then it's probably for all sorts of good reasons outside our control. Like confirmation bias, the fundamental attribution error is a big one that can easily colour our interactions with others without us being aware of it. Some ways to minimise it include: Remember that what we see is just a tiny fraction of any other person's life and that we don't see the complete picture. Minimise judgment, particularly around character and personality. Avoid jumping to conclusions. Where appropriate, ask if anything is bothering others. Build empathy for others as you would for yourself. Reflect on the positive things others do. Also see: Self-serving bias Attribution bias Confirmation bias Hanlon's Razor Muphry's Law…The fundamental attribution error is the attribution of the source of behaviour to the character and personality of a person above the consideration of context. It's sometimes described as over-attributing causes to disposition over situation. In a classic example, if a driver swerves in front of you suddenly, it's easy to attribute the cause of the behaviour to the driver being a jerk, i.e. to their character. What we may not see is that the driver is late to pick up their kids, was distracted by a challenging conversation they just had at work, and they're worried they've gone the wrong way and are driving an unfamiliar car. If a colleague is late to meet us, we might infer that the person is lazy or disrespectful when, in fact, they may have been held up by a traffic accident, been on the phone with a sick relative, and have had trouble sleeping lately. If we are late for a meeting, well, then it's probably for all sorts of good reasons outside our control. Like confirmation bias, the fundamental attribution error is a big one that can easily colour our interactions with others without us being aware of it. Some ways to minimise it include: Remember that what we see is just a tiny fraction of any other person's life and that we don't see the complete picture. Minimise judgment, particularly around character and personality. Avoid jumping to conclusions. Where appropriate, ask if anything is bothering others. Build empathy for others as you would for yourself. Reflect on the positive things others do. Also see: Self-serving bias Attribution bias Confirmation bias Hanlon's Razor Muphry's Law

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