Performance Quote by Philip M. Rosenzweig
““If you select companies on the basis of outcomes—whether success or failure—and then gather data that are biased by those outcomes, you’ll never know what drives performance. You’ll only know how high performers or low performers are described.””
About This Quote
Source Article: “The Perils of Outcome‑Based Selection”, Harvard Business Review, 2007
Choosing firms by results creates circular bias, hiding true performance drivers.
In simple terms: Outcome bias hides real causes.
Key Takeaway
Avoid outcome‑based sampling.
Themes
bias
research methodology
performance measurement
Mood
analytical
critical
Type
academic
insightful
When to use this quote
- investment analysis
- HR hiring
- policy evaluation
Key Concepts
selection bias
causal inference
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you design a study that separates cause from effect?
- What alternative metrics could reveal true drivers?
A Different Perspective
Bias can be mitigated with random or stratified sampling.
