Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph on Gut Instinct vs. Data-Driven Decisions When it comes to decision-making, should you follow the numbers or your heart?

By Dan Bova

What's more important to good decision-making, data or your instinct? "The truth is, you need both," says entrepreneur, investor, mentor and Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph.

"Data is great, in that it can give you absolute certainty that the red button does 2.7% better than the blue button. But it will never tell you which of the 16.7 million colors you should test," he explains.

The best thinkers, says Randolph, use data to inform their intuition, to explore and then validate their assumptions. "You are trying to create a culture of data-driven decision-making. What you want is less 'I think...' and more 'The data shows...'."

Read more of Randolph's insights by picking up his instant-classic business book, That Will Never Work: The Birth if Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea.

Presented by Mastercard. Learn how Mastercard is helping bring local businesses into the digital economy at Mastercard.us/digitaldoors.

Dan Bova

Entrepreneur Staff

VP of Special Projects

Dan Bova is the VP of Special Projects at Entrepreneur.com. He previously worked at Jimmy Kimmel Live, Maxim, and Spy magazine. His latest books for kids include This Day in History, Car and Driver's Trivia ZoneRoad & Track Crew's Big & Fast Cars, The Big Little Book of Awesome Stuff, and Wendell the Werewolf

Read his humor column This Should Be Fun if you want to feel better about yourself.

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