We get stressed about money so we buy ads, SEO, and leads when we have no data-driven basis to do so. We have no evidence that what we’re buying will work, nor are we even certain that we need more business. We hire staff members or associates when we feel busy, even if we lack numbers demonstrating that we’re doing profitable work or that we’re really as busy as we think we are. We fire staff because we’re convinced they’re unproductive and lazy when we spot them killing time on Instagram, but we lack simple records to see how they’re performing financially, so we react when they push our buttons. Over and over we’re hit by emotions and we believe they mean something. Unfortunately, an emotional response is nearly always half-baked, short-sighted, and inconsistent with the vision we’ve created of the business we’re building.