More Information Won't Make You Brave
Why we keep asking for more data and what we're really avoiding
It was early in my career. I was in a new role, staring down my first big decision. I was gathering information. I kept asking for more information. More data from the vendor. More analysis. More context. More everything. And pretty soon, I was buried in reports and presentation packs, with meeting after meeting after meeting. I was in a spiral of busyness and dragging on, making a decision.
It was my wise and kind leader at the time who stopped my spiraling. He asked me,
How will more information help you here?
At first, my response was defensive, but then as I kept talking, I realized I wasn’t suffering from a lack of information. I was struggling with a lack of courage. I was scared. Scared of getting it wrong. Scared of being the person who made the call that didn’t work out. The information requests weren’t due diligence. They were stall tactics.
The One Truth
We tell ourselves we need more information. More time. More something or another. What we actually need is the courage to decide. This might feel harsh, but it is the truth about how we operate. We dress up fear as thoroughness, strategic, due diligence. We schedule more meetings, tweak another presentation, request another report, and we call it progress.
This isn’t progress. It’s analysis paralysis wearing a very convincing disguise.
In the BANI world, with its Brittleness, Anxiety, Nonlinearity, and Incomprehensibility, where the world feels more uncontrollable, our desire for certainty before we decide will only increase. As the world starts to feel more uncertain, our need for certainty and control will also increase, leading us to seek more data, more information, more reports, and more presentations. AI will make this worse because it can provide us so much information and data faster than we can read and absorb it.
The One Insight
Our brain wiring works against us here. Our brains are wired to believe that more information is always better. It gives us the illusion of control. Our brains also want to save us the pain of loss, and being wrong is painful, so avoiding doing something that saves us pain or potential pain is a strong incentive. Our brains also don’t cope well with ambiguity, so we keep seeking more and more information, trying to find certainty. These biases create the perfect conditions for analysis paralysis.
In the external world, in organizations, this shows up as endless meetings, presentations built and rebuilt. And a decision that never gets made. Everyone is busy, but nothing is moving forward. This is Stuckifyed.
That indecision isn’t free. It has a cost. Every meeting that ends without a decision has a cost. Every “let’s get more information” has a cost. The time you and your teams spend on these activities costs money.
Insight into Action
Once I realized I wasn’t lacking information, I was lacking courage. I asked my leader, how do I know, I know enough. He shared with me something he learned from Colin Powell, the American army general, diplomat, and statesman. He called it the 40-70 rule. When facing a decision, we need between 40% and 70% of the available information to make it. With less than 40%, we are guessing. Waiting to have more than 70% wastes time, and we risk losing the opportunity. That missing 30% is where your experience and expertise need to come into play.
The next time you feel the pull to ask for more information, pause and ask yourself:
Where am I on the 40-70 scale?
If you have between 40% and 70%, you have enough. This isn’t about being reckless. It’s about being pragmatic. More information won’t make the fear go away. Making decisions and moving forward will.
The other thing that will help with the fear is experimentation. When we have 40% of information, we don’t have to leap. We can take small steps and test our ideas and assumptions. So, the next question you can ask yourself is
What’s the smallest first step I can take with the information I already have?
Small steps help us build proof points, reduce risk, and build our confidence.
Getting Unstuckifyed
Making decisions is scary. The fear of getting it wrong is real, and we shouldn’t pretend otherwise. We also need to stop pretending that indecision is free; it’s not. Stalling won’t make you brave; deciding will. We don’t have to leap; we can start with small steps. So, the next time you are facing a big decision, ask yourself, " Where am I on the 40% - 70% scale? If you are in between that space, get started.
Till Next Time,
In the BANI world, chasing perfect information is a fool’s errand. If you had perfect information, then why would your organizations ned your skills, experience, and expertise?
Thanks for getting Unstuckifyed with me.
Dr Dani