Where Numbers Matter

"When you have the numbers, you can tell people why it matters, how it matters and to whom it matters."

I read this quote of a climate change evangelist, Dr Fredi [Friederike] Otto.

It's got a deceptively good ring, too. After all, think on the ol' aphorism, "you're entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts".

Wherever on the spectrum you sit on this issue of our times - from catastrophising to 'we are fixing this' - one thing feels clear. We are squeezing towards being forced to pick our pole.

Around the same time as hearing the above, I read [peerless business strategist] Roger L Martin's view on 'the myth of objectivity'.

Part of his argument being that the "science" is strangely not irrefutable. We've lost the acceptance, let alone balance for, subjective judgement. A sample line;

"If your quantitative customer research contradicts what your salespeople believe about customers, don’t assume the salespeople are wrong because they aren’t ‘objective.’ Recognize that your quantitative customer research only contains a sliver of objectivity."

Added to with another, for when prospects are hung up on their spreadsheet crystal ball gazing;

"... there is no data about the future, which is the era in which the [purchase] in question will operate".

At one end, we have 'data is truth'. The other, 'all data is fake'.

We encounter similar.

For instance, business case or hunch?

A solution perennial. The conundrum being, they might need the numbers, but they gotta feel the emotional pull too.

Where's the comparison at with your prospects right now?

What weighting do they place on either pan of the scales?

Where does their 'go' beam balance?

Do they even care?

Best you find out.