Data

How do you make good decisions?
In business, you look at data. I love our software dashboard at the music store. I see sales by category, day of the week, comparison to last year, and much more. Tracking information is extremely useful.
As we are looking at this pandemic, it's hard to sort through the disinformation to get to good data. I don't care about the politics, I want data. I want something I can use to make a good decision. Here's what I can't use.
*This is all a democrat hoax to derail Trump's re-election. This would mean that US Democrats have infiltrated every country on earth and created a virus spread to spoil Trump's chances for re-election.
*This will all be over when the election is over. Wow! Then every country in the world should be demanding that we do the election NOW. US election done - Virus over. Done. That sounds like a great plan.
*The tests are not accurate. Well, yes, that is likely true. So, are we to believe there are NO positives and EVERY negative is correct? That doesn't sound right. How many people have it and spread it but have no symptoms? Don't we need to know that?
*There is a difference between dying from corona and dying with corona? OK If I smoke and develop lung cancer, is it the lung cancer that killed me or the smoking?
Mostly, I see people twisting themselves in knots trying to minimize what is actually a very serious problem.
So, how am I making decisions?
First, I look at the big picture. What's happening in other countries? How are they handling this? What is working? Who's doing better and why might that be?
I follow regional reporting. And I depend on my personal contacts. I have a personal connection to someone who tested positive and got pretty sick while a spouse tested positive and showed no symptoms. Who had it first? We don't know.
I personally know a handful of people who have direct experience with death FROM covid. (And I cannot think of anyone IN MY LIFETIME that I know who have direct experience with death FROM flu.)
I personally know someone who does the contact tracing and says there is much to be concerned about and much we do not know publicly.
I am personally connected to someone who has been working in a Covid hotspot hospital for months on end and is outraged that anyone is calling it a HOAX.
Those are the basis of my decisions. Personal data collection. Careful data collection. And sorting the stupid bullshit out. You talk politics. I don't care about it. I have a business to run and I'm not playing footloose and fancy free.