The rise of powerful and easy-to-use software (e.g., software as a service) and analytic programming languages (e.g., R) have made it possible for people across the entire organization — not just the database trolls — to ask questions of business performance.

This transparency allows more people to engage on important business problems, making success more likely. But there is one notable downside: Just because you got an answer, even a “significant” one, doesn’t mean you got a real answer, or an important one.