We’ve been thinking a lot about how companies make decisions, especially after almost ten years of working with data and business intelligence.
And we keep coming back to one simple truth: It’s almost always better to make a wrong decision quickly than to delay making any decision at all. Let us explain.
When we look at how fast-growing companies operate, they all have one thing in common — speed of decisions. They choose, they test, they adjust. Even if the first move turns out to be wrong, they correct it fast and keep moving.
Meanwhile, others are still on the “let’s discuss it one more time” stage. It’s like driving without navigation. You can stop every few minutes to double-check the map, but the car behind you — the one that just picked a route and went for it — will already be halfway across the city.
Business intelligence as a navigation system
That’s what business intelligence really is: a navigation system for decisions. It doesn’t drive for you, but it helps you understand where you are, where you’re going, and how to get there faster. Without it, you waste fuel, time, and energy, maybe even end up in the wrong part of town. With it, even a wrong turn costs less because you notice it sooner.
In our projects, the companies that grow the fastest are the ones that use data as their navigation tool and act immediately. They don’t wait for perfect clarity. They make the call, measure, learn, and adjust.
And yes, in large enterprises, the story is different. There, every decision needs justification and documentation. But for the companies we work with (usually those making between 5 and 50 million in revenue) speed is everything.
The one rule that always works
So if we had to give one rule that always works, it’s this: make the decision, even if it’s not perfect. The cost of waiting is almost always higher than the cost of being wrong.
How do you approach this in your team — do you prefer to decide fast or discuss until it feels “safe”?