Cookies help us display personalized product recommendations and ensure you have great shopping experience.

By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    sales and data analytics
    How Data Analytics Improves Lead Management and Sales Results
    9 Min Read
    data analytics and truck accident claims
    How Data Analytics Reduces Truck Accidents and Speeds Up Claims
    7 Min Read
    predictive analytics for interior designers
    Interior Designers Boost Profits with Predictive Analytics
    8 Min Read
    image fx (67)
    Improving LinkedIn Ad Strategies with Data Analytics
    9 Min Read
    big data and remote work
    Data Helps Speech-Language Pathologists Deliver Better Results
    6 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Kahneman and Data Management: A Critique of ‘Thinking Fast and Slow’
Share
Notification
Font ResizerAa
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > Data Management > Best Practices > Kahneman and Data Management: A Critique of ‘Thinking Fast and Slow’
AnalyticsBest PracticesCommentaryCulture/Leadership

Kahneman and Data Management: A Critique of ‘Thinking Fast and Slow’

MIKE20
MIKE20
5 Min Read
SHARE

Let’s try a test.

Contents
False CausalitySimon SaysFeedback

Organization ABC has deployed top-tier enterprise software. It has hired an army of expensive consultants who advise that people should follow specific business practices designed to maximize data quality.

Contrast ABC with organization XYZ. The latter’s management never upgraded its mainframe, bought “modern” apps and, to be frank, some of its business processes are antiquated.

Based on this information, which organization manages its data better?

More Read

talent Analytics
Data-Driven Organizations Must Use Talent Analytics Wisely
The CIO of 2020
Another way decision management and process interact
Trusting in Big Data – Can Society Do it?
Dharmendra Modha describes IBM’s research in Whole Brain…

Let’s try a test.

Organization ABC has deployed top-tier enterprise software. It has hired an army of expensive consultants who advise that people should follow specific business practices designed to maximize data quality.

Contrast ABC with organization XYZ. The latter’s management never upgraded its mainframe, bought “modern” apps and, to be frank, some of its business processes are antiquated.

Based on this information, which organization manages its data better?

You’d probably guess ABC, right? Why? The answer can be found in Daniel Kahneman’s new book Thinking, Fast and Slow (affiliate link). He writes about how the human brain is broken into two systems. From the book’s Amazon page:

System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. Kahneman exposes the extraordinary capabilities—and also the faults and biases—of fast thinking, and reveals the pervasive influence of intuitive impressions on our thoughts and behavior. The impact of loss aversion and overconfidence on corporate strategies, the difficulties of predicting what will make us happy in the future, the challenges of properly framing risks at work and at home, the profound effect of cognitive biases on everything from playing the stock market to planning the next vacation—each of these can be understood only by knowing how the two systems work together to shape our judgments and decisions.

When you read the start of this post, you were invoking System 1.

Kahneman has taken some flak from academics because he has ostensibly simplified years of research. Pay them no heed. Few people are going to read books written like dense theses rife with citations.

This notion of two systems is essential in understanding how we interpret–or fail to interpret data. In Chapter 19 of the book, he writes about how intelligence on 9/11 gathered a few months before that awful day was not reported directly to George W. Bush. Rather, that information went to Condoleeza Rice, then National Security Advisor.

Of course, hindsight is 20/20. It’s easy to point fingers because we know now what we didn’t know then. But how often is that the case?

False Causality

Systems 1 dominates most of the time, fueled by our need to understand the world as quickly as possible. Case in point: We like simple stories with tactical, repeatable instructions. If I only do these ten things, then my company will be the next Wal-Mart or Apple. Books like The Halo Effect point out the facile nature of most management texts.

(Side note: I am not being hypocritical here. One of the things of which I am most proud in my most recent book, The Age of the Platform: How Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google Have Redefined Business, is that I don’t provide a ten-point plan on how to be the next Google. I’m just not that smart. In fact, if launched today, I’d argue that these four companies wouldn’t be the companies they are right now. Luck and timing are huge.)

Are companies successful because their CEO practices certain management techniques? Or is the chain reversed? Ultimately, this is impossible to tell absent some experiment.

Simon Says

Many organizations mistakenly follow a me-too approach to data management. That is, they model their data, buy applications, and/or follow “best practices” like they were scripture because “successful” companies are doing the same. But successful data management is more art than science; there are only necessary conditions. Those looking for recipes are probably going to be disappointed with the results.

Feedback

What say you?

Share This Article
Facebook Pinterest LinkedIn
Share

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

sales and data analytics
How Data Analytics Improves Lead Management and Sales Results
Analytics Big Data Exclusive
ai in marketing
How AI and Smart Platforms Improve Email Marketing
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive Marketing
AI Document Verification for Legal Firms: Importance & Top Tools
AI Document Verification for Legal Firms: Importance & Top Tools
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive
AI supply chain
AI Tools Are Strengthening Global Supply Chains
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive

Stay Connected

1.2kFollowersLike
33.7kFollowersFollow
222FollowersPin

You Might also Like

Singapore
Best PracticesBig DataCollaborative DataCommentaryData VisualizationLocationModelingPredictive AnalyticsSentiment AnalyticsSocial Data

Keeping Singapore Green with Data and Design

5 Min Read
Social Voice
AnalyticsBig DataMarketingSentiment AnalyticsSocial DataSocial Media Analytics

Solving the Riddle of Measuring Social Voice

5 Min Read
data analytics tools for business
Analytics

Benefits Of Using Reporting and Analytics Tools in Small Businesses

7 Min Read

Data Design Matters

3 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

ai is improving the safety of cars
From Bolts to Bots: How AI Is Fortifying the Automotive Industry
Artificial Intelligence
ai in ecommerce
Artificial Intelligence for eCommerce: A Closer Look
Artificial Intelligence

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?