I learnt a lot from the following: “Statistics are often used as a drunkard uses a lamp post, not to light his way but to support his instability”!

Whenever we collect business statistics, we must keep these words in mind. Collection of statistics costs a lot of money and time and if not done wisely can mean money down the drain. But when collecting statistics using a bit of commonsense and experience statistics can help in making a better and faster decisions.

Learn to sharpen your skills, after you have collected the statistics, to use the concept of approximation. An educated guess often may be cheaper and faster than collecting detailed information. Statistics are no substitute to judgements! Most of us can recall the story about the statistician, going by the average depth of a river, drowned in the middle!

Sharpen your judgement and consider statistics only as one of the inputs.

Tags: business statistics, keeping skills sharp, reflections on management, skill, statistics for business, statistics in business, the judgement, the reflections, two minutes, use of statistics

Promod Batra B.Com:- Shri Ram College Of Commerce, New Delhi (1957),MBA:- University Of Minnesota, USA (1960),D.Litt.:- From Rani Durgavati Vishwavidalaya, Jabalpur, MP (2007). Started his professional career in India in 1963 with Escorts and retired from Escorts in 1996 as the Chief General Manager and now is CEO of Think Inc.