Data-Driven Strategy: From Insight to Advantage

A conversation with David Spires, Strategy Director at Landini Associates What does it really mean to be data-driven? For David Spires, Strategy Director at global design firm Landini Associates, it’s not about surrendering decision-making to dashboards — it’s about using data to sharpen instincts, challenge assumptions, and generate meaningful action.

In this edition of Exec Edge, we explore how senior strategists can move beyond metrics to uncover true insight — and use that insight to create business advantage.

Below is our full Q&A, lightly edited for clarity and flow.

In your experience, what’s the biggest misconception about being “data-driven”? That “driven” means “controlled.”To be driven by something doesn’t mean it dictates every decision – it means it informs your direction. The best decisions are not made by data alone, but by using it alongside other insight sources to create a tension, provide a challenge, or to help reinvent the thinking.

How do you distinguish between raw data and real insight — and how do you help others in the org make that distinction? Raw data is what happened. Cultural, consumer, or operational insight is why it happened. And, when combined, they can highlight what you should do next.

In simpler terms – the data is the map, while the insight is knowing what streets to drive down. I encourage people to look for patterns, contradictions, and unexpected outcomes – that’s where the real story lives.

Where do you see companies going wrong when trying to turn analytics into action? They confuse analysis with action – too busy generating dashboards, not decisions.

They stop at descriptive insight – what happened – and never bridge to prescriptive insight – what to do about it. Or worse, 20 competing metrics surface and it’s expected that teams instinctively know which matters most.

What’s the right balance between intuition and data in strategic decision-making? Honestly, there is no right or perfect balance. It depends entirely on the brief, the challenge, and the context. Great decisions often come from tension – between what the data says, what the insight suggests, and what your gut suspects. That tension isn’t a weakness, it’s where the real thinking happens.

What advice would you give to leaders who think more dashboards = better decisions? Dashboards don’t make decisions, people do — so make sure you have the right talent analysing and actioning the data.

One of my favourite quotes on this (and I’m not sure where it came from):

“A dashboard is like a bathroom scale – it tells you what you weigh, but won’t give context as to why you ate a tub of ice cream.”