Evidence-based management

It's OK to be lucky when you're lucky, but it's not OK when the issues are critical. Too often, we manage by anecdote, which is OK when you can afford to be wrong, but when finances are tight, or the market is overregulated, or a lot is at stake, making mistakes is not an option. Evidence-based management depends on attention to three components: analytics, decision making, and problem solving. These are skills that should be required of everyone who assumes a management position, no matter how high or low one is on the totem pole. Understanding basic analytical techniques, knowing how to apply these techniques to making good decisions, and learning how to become a skilled problem solver ensure that, when we manage our businesses, we minimize the risk of mistakes and maximize the potential for positive outcomes.