Why your big ideas matter more than perfect data
Original: TMB 5/52: Powerful Ideas > Perfect Measures
John Cutler
June 2, 2025
2 min read
Opinion
Intermediate
Summary
This article argues that powerful ideas, even if imperfectly measured, are more useful for business decision-making than perfect measures for less impactful ideas. It discusses the importance of focusing on high-leverage metrics and acknowledging the limitations of data, rather than getting overly bogged down in pursuit of perfect measurement.
Who This Is For
Product Managers
Business Analysts
Data Scientists
Key Takeaways
- Focus on measuring high-impact business concepts even if you can't get perfect data on them
- Use structured interviews and qualitative methods to measure intangible outcomes like business transformation
- Create coarse-grained measurement systems for subjective concepts like content quality to test hypotheses
- Prioritize reducing uncertainty on powerful ideas over achieving perfect certainty on generic metrics
Tools & Technologies
Structured interviews Content classification systems Customer acquisition tracking
Topics Covered
business-models metrics data-analysis decision-making
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