Article by: Mike York, COO

We have never had better data.

More dashboards. More real-time feeds. More “signals.” More confidence that someone, somewhere is tracking this.

And yet, decisions feel slower, heavier, and more exhausting than ever.

If this feels familiar, welcome to the chat. You’re not bad at decision-making. You’re living in the Golden Age of Information and the Dark Age of Clarity.

The Lie We All Believed

At some point, we collectively agreed on this idea: “If we just had better data, decisions would get easier.”

This felt logical. It felt responsible. It felt like something you could put on a roadmap.

What we forgot to account for is that data doesn’t remove complexity. It reveals it. Loudly.

More Data Didn’t Reduce Risk. It Made Risk Visible.

Decisions used to feel easier because:

• we knew less
• we saw less
• and plausible deniability was alive and well

Now?

Every decision comes with:

• three contradicting metrics
• a segment that hates it
• and a Slack thread waiting to happen

You’re not overthinking. You’re seeing the whole picture, and the whole picture is stressful.

Data Didn’t Make Decisions Clearer. It Made Them Defensible.

This is the quiet shift no one talks about.

Decisions today aren’t optimized for being right. They’re optimized for surviving scrutiny.

Modern decision-making often asks:

• “Will this hold up in a post-mortem?”
• “Can I explain this if it goes sideways?”
• “Is there a slide for this?”

That’s not indecision. That’s career risk management.

The Dashboard Problem (We All Have One)

Dashboards were supposed to help.

Instead, they:

• surface everything
• prioritize nothing
• and imply action without guidance

A dashboard can tell you: “These five things are happening at once.”

It cannot tell you: “Which one deserves your attention now.”

So leaders stare. Teams debate. Decisions wait.

More Metrics = More Veto Power

Better data didn’t just inform decisions. It invited more people into them.

Now every decision has:

• a metric that supports it
• a metric that questions it
• and a stakeholder who brought their own spreadsheet

Consensus feels responsible. It’s also very slow. When everyone has data, no one feels comfortable making the call.

We Confused Information With Instruction

Data explains what happened.

It does not:

• tell you what matters most
• choose between trade-offs
• or absorb risk on your behalf

At some point, data stops being helpful and starts asking:

“Okay, but you decide.”

That moment is uncomfortable. That moment is unavoidable. That moment is leadership.

Why “Waiting for More Data” Feels Safer (But Isn’t)

“Let’s get more data” is rarely about curiosity.

It’s about:

• buying time
• reducing exposure
• or hoping clarity magically appears

Sometimes it does. Often it doesn’t.

And the cost of waiting quietly compounds while the dashboard stays green.

The Very Practical Truth About Modern Decisions

Decisions feel harder because they now require:

• judgment
• prioritization
• and choosing what to ignore

Those skills can’t be automated. They can’t be visualized. And they definitely can’t be outsourced to a chart.

What Smart Teams Are Doing Differently in 2026

They stop asking: “What does the data say?”

And start asking:

• “What decision is this data meant to inform?”
• “What would we do if this metric didn’t exist?”
• “What are we choosing not to optimize for?”

They design insights around:

• trade-offs, not totals
• scenarios, not averages
• consequences, not confidence intervals

They treat data as input, not absolution.

The Last Word

Decision-making feels harder because it is harder.

Not because you’re failing. Not because the data is bad. But because the illusion of simplicity is gone.

Better data didn’t make decisions easier. It made them honest.

And honesty, unfortunately, requires judgment.

If you’re waiting for the dashboard to tell you what to do next… It won’t. That part is still on you.

***

SMARI is an award-winning Indiana-based market research consultancy that was founded in 1983 with the idea of guiding change and inspiring confidence. We are proud to work with SMEs as well as a variety of Fortune 500 brands. We are powered by our core values: integrity, community, perseverance, trust, passion, curiosity, and innovation. SMARI’s expertise encompasses complete project scopes, including instrument design, sampling & fielding services, reporting & analysis in the Healthcare, CPG, Retail, Food & Beverage, Manufacturing, and Financial Services industries, among others. Much has changed in our 40+ years, but our tagline and overarching mission remain the same—to guide change and inspire confidence. Start a conversation with us at www.SMARI.com.