How many times have you heard someone say that they made a decision on a gut feeling? While it may seem that they had a unique perspective on a situation and knew instinctively how to move forward, that feeling cannot be explained, shared or repeated. What were the conditions that gave the person confidence that they would make the correct decision? What were the consequences if the person made the wrong decision? How many people were affected (directly or indirectly) by the decision? There are lots of questions, but no clear way to put decision-making of this form into framework where they can be understood, evaluated and even scrutinized. In a recent conversation with a seasoned business professional, I was told that business decisions must be sound and based on fact, weighed, ranked and executed within a specific timeframe to yield the best possible outcomes (in terms of market impact). Decisions need to be outcome focused and knowledge-driven. The knowledge must be derived from deep and continuous analysis of market indicators. By focusing on tangible measures and interpreting their meaning within the context of the business foci and the larger market, businesses can find gaps in the market. This allows them to keep pace or even surpass competitors. Like many folks these days, we hear about the wonders of big data and how to extract meaning from it. If we approach the acquisition of the specific kinds of data, apply the right kinds of analysis to drive the appropriate decisions, we can literally transform businesses from guts-driven organization to a knowledge-driven organization. So, here is what you get when you make the switch: 
Guts Approach
Knowledge Approach
Personalized
Shared
Non-Repeatable
Repeatable
Inconsistent
Consistent
Error Prone
Precision Accuracy
Local Insight
Total Market Insight
Given the comparison, there are compelling reasons to transform your organization to an outcome focused and knowledge-driven organization. Given the competitive nature of the business world, decisions cannot be left to chance. That is precisely what happens when decisions are made in the absence of accurate data that reflects the disposition and direction of the target market. By continuing to operate in a knowledge-blind mode, businesses will continue to fall behind their competitors where they are very unlikely to recover. In short, if businesses insist on navigating the business world and avoid the shift to the modern approaches to knowledge driven decision-making, they may find themselves as the stars of their very own horror movie.