Why smart managers can't count

Omar Mahmoud

In this unusual and thought provoking article Omar Mahoud challenges some long accepted beliefs. He asks three questions: how can money be spent more wisely?; how can risks be more accurately assessed?; how can research be more accurately interpreted?.

Why Smart Managers Can't Count

Omar MahmoudProctor & Gamble Europe

H.G. Wells once remarked that 'Statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for efficient citizenship as the ability to read and write', but he did not say when.

Statistical thinking, even more so than other forms of rational thinking, does not come to us naturally. Usually it does not come to us unnaturally either.

This article attempts to help us use statistical thinking better by answering three questions.

  1. How can we spend our money more wisely?
  2. How can we assess...

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