Small Data Beats Big Data More Often Than You'd Think

The instinct when a decision is hard is to gather more data. Often the better move is to look harder at what is already on the table.

The comfort of collecting

Collecting data feels like progress. It postpones the uncomfortable moment of having to decide. But a spreadsheet with a million rows and no clear question is just expensive noise.

Start with the question

A single well-chosen number, tied to a real decision, beats a dashboard of forty metrics nobody acts on. Ask what you would do differently depending on the answer. If the answer is “nothing,” you do not need the data.

Small, sharp, and honest

The best analyses I have seen were small. They fit on one page. And crucially, they were honest about what they did not show.