Gut vs Data: How to make decisions as a creative
I have a curious and creative mind, so curious that I believe in trying everything ‘legal’ at least once in a lifetime. I have tried acting, modeling, jazz, singing, selling wedding souvenirs, producing stageplays, teaching, interior decor, business consulting, and even jumping off the first floor of a building in secondary school (but let’s keep this article ‘professional’)
This curiosity is what has led me to where I am today, developing content and communication strategies for impact projects while working with Nigeria’s leading recruitment company, Jobberman.
As a creative, I depend on my gut most times to make these decisions. And when faced with a challenge or an opportunity, this curiosity is usually what drives the adrenaline to dive in and think of the consequences later. Unfortunately and fortunately, in the corporate world, you cannot make decisions without being able to research and evaluate.
Luckily, I also have an analytical mind. So analytical that I spend time researching and budgeting before making any major personal and career decisions, especially ones that involve spending money. I am that friend that researches the ‘new’ restaurant’s menu, reviews, and traffic time before making the decision to try it out or not.
Over the course of my life, I’ve had my analytical side and my creative side fight for who should win when it comes to decision-making. This problem, known as the guts vs data debate, is a universal part of the human experience. There are many situations where people have chosen one over the other and have both failed and succeeded. We all know of at least one story of the entrepreneur who built a wildly successful business by following their gut in the face of contrary evidence. But we also know that data is gold and helps guide entire industries in making the right decisions. So there isn’t a clear answer. This is what I like to call the decision-making problem. How do you know when to choose gut over data?
Guts and data are often regarded as conflicting concepts. I for one, feel the drop in excitement whenever I ask my team to look at the insights of the perfectly crafted creative content that we took a risk on. Most people believe embracing one would imply the abandonment of the other. However, few people see the possibility of embracing both in making decisions.
As a corporate creative, I depend on data to measure the success of my intuition or creativity, and luckily, the world is being overrun with data. The content you read, the videos you watch, the updates you post, and the products you buy. Everywhere you turn your data is being collected (with or without your consent) so why not use available data to see what works.
In order to solve the decision-making problem, here are a few things I’ve learned over time
Creativity might be a force but data is what guides it. Creatives generally follow their intuition, we feel and then we do. However, data tells us where our creativity should be channeled.
Data defines your problem statement. What’s the point of following your gut when you don’t know what you’re trying to fix? Analyzing your data tells you what areas need intervention. You cannot just ‘think’ you have a challenge, you need to know what the challenge is and recognize the pattern.
Data gives confidence. Collecting and analyzing data makes it a lot easier to reach a confident decision as it serves as a benchmark of what currently exists, which allows you to better understand the impact that any decision you make will have on your business.
Sometimes you have to ‘Just do it’. I know this goes against everything above but I must admit that there are certain times in your creative decision-making process that you just have to trust your guts and move. I teach my team to be creative and disruptive (within reason), it’s this creativity that spices up our work especially when it begins to feel like a routine. However, after every risky attempt, my first question usually is ‘what are the stats like?’ This data is what tells me if we should be changing our direction or scraping that creative idea altogether.
There can be a balance. It is important that every creative finds the balance in using data to make creative decisions. You would be amazed at how much inspiration you can draw from identifying trends and patterns.
Creativity that is not backed by data is as risky as data utilized without creative, human thinking. I believe that great creative strategies come from a combination of the two and create truly impactful and contextual content.
Finally, I encourage my fellow creatives today to embrace data and data ‘nerds’ to trust their guts.