“No one has ever failed to find the facts they are looking for.” I love reading Peter Drucker.

Leadership, in part, is about having an opinion.  It is also requires the strength and desire to seek other opinions.

Management today, supported by management consultants that sell fact gatherers for a living, often depoliticize important decisions by removing opinion and focusing on facts.

But what is a fact without context and relevance?

Every successful turnaround we have seen or led has involved first accumulating a set of clear and actionable opinions (hypotheses).  Then, these are debated and tested to choose a direction.

By contrast, many troubled companies we see religiously undertake comprehensive strategic planning sessions that are primarily focused on data mining – learning and deciding from the facts, without opinion.

HERE is an excellent and very important article on this subject by Stephen Wunker posted on HBR.

Posted by Scott Sinclair, Range Corporate Advisors

Range Corporate Advisors provides multidisciplinary solutions to medium and small business requiring transitional, transactional or management assistance.