# Just Keep Looking at [[Failure]] By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2022-11-29 Sometimes the data doesn't add up. No solution seems right. Something is wrong. It constantly lurks in the back of your mind. The best-case scenario is the data is flawed in some way. Perhaps it was poorly collected, or you are misusing it. You can deal with this through careful examination and exploration. The worst case scenario is the data is exactly right and your view of the world is wrong. Often we cannot deal with this. We will continue to torture the data until we find the missing story or blame someone or something else. Analysts are often subjected to this dilemma. Sometimes they fall for the trap of having a wrong view of reality, but often they are on the other side: presenting the data to someone who cannot deal with it. What do you do in such a situation? Many times the delusional decision-maker will ask for many more analyses looking for that magical insight that aligns with their worldview. Analysts are often forced in organizations to oblige with these endless requests, and the analyses continue until no one knows the point of it all. Breaking the cycle takes a special skill on the part of the analyst. They must acknowledge their limitations to not fall into the trap and develop trust with the decision-maker to be heard and understood. This is challenging enough in peer-to-peer relationships, but nearly impossible in organizational hierarchies. Organizations that can find creative ways around this will certainly beat the competition that remains stuck in delusional worldviews. #### Related Items [[Analytics]] [[Data]] [[Decision-making]] [[Most Analysts are Delusional]] [[Organizational Analytics]] [[Management]]