Despite significant investments in collecting data, most organizations struggle to get much value from it. This is not because of a lack of data. It’s a lack of a proper understanding of how decisions are made and communicated. The data may actually be making things worse.

While data can support decisions, it shouldn’t drive them. When companies rely too much on data, they ignore the importance of opinions and gut feelings. The goal is to make effective decisions rapidly. Anything that helps this goal is welcome; anything that hinders it needs to be removed.

Ruben Ugarte is founder of Practico Analytics, providing expertise in data analytics. He has worked with companies on five continents and in all company stages, helping them to use data to make higher quality decisions, boost performance, increase profitability and make their teams world-class. He maintains a popular blog with more than 100,000 readers. His new book is The Data Mirage: Why Companies Fail to Actually Use Their Data. Learn more at rubenugarte.com.