Remarkably, and often tragically, most companies today are still driven almost solely on the intuitive guesses of their leaders. They may use data to guide their thinking, but they are just as likely to fall prey to a long list of self-delusions—everything from a sunk-cost bias to a confirmation bias (see below for a list of cognitive biases). One reason for Google’s success is that it is more ruthlessly data-driven than most other companies, right down to its hiring practices.
