One dataset, many truths
6th June 2025
In the last US election:
77 million people voted for Trump
77 million voted for Harris and others
90 million eligible voters didn’t vote at all
That’s one view of the data.
But what’s the truth?
The answer is that there isn't one. There are many.
One person sees a divided country.
Another sees a legitimate mandate.
Another sees a broken system.
Someone else sees apathy. Another empathy.
Same numbers. Different meanings.
It reminds us that people don’t respond to data alone. They react to what it means to them – based on their experiences, their roles, their identities and stories.
In business change, if we want real engagement, it won’t come from broadcasting the numbers. It comes from surfacing what people feel when they see them.
That’s why I say:
Data opens the conversation
But meaning is made in the dialogue
