Confluent research has found that UK business leaders are still relying on instinct for major decisions because the data they need is often too difficult to access, too slow to analyse, or already out of date.
The data streaming company’s latest findings show that 59% of CEOs, managing directors, and C-level executives frequently rely on gut feel when making important business decisions. At the same time, 82% said they feel forced to choose between making a quick decision and making an informed one.
The pressure comes from a gap between the pace at which decisions are required and the speed at which useful data reaches leadership teams. Six in ten leaders, at 60%, said data is too difficult to access. Almost two-thirds, at 62%, said there often is not time to analyse all available data before making a decision, while 71% reported that data is frequently out of date by the time it reaches the C-suite.
Richard Jones, VP Northern Europe at Confluent, said: “Gut instinct is based on confidence and experience rather than cold, hard evidence. No matter how experienced or informed you are, without data to back up your decisions, something will eventually prove to be an unpleasant surprise.”
The research points to a confidence problem at senior level. Four in five leaders, at 80%, said businesses cannot be fully confident in their decisions without up-to-date data. Three-quarters, at 75%, said they have regretted decisions where they acted too quickly, while 71% said they waited too long and missed an opportunity altogether.
The findings appear in Confluent’s Quick Thinking 2.0 report, which examines how UK leaders are balancing instinct, AI, and real-time data in executive decision-making.
The issue is becoming more acute as leadership teams increase their use of AI. AI systems can help process information rapidly, but they are only as effective as the quality, freshness, and relevance of the data available to them. If data architecture remains fragmented, automation risks accelerating poor assumptions rather than improving judgement.
More than six in ten leaders, at 61%, said real-time data streaming will become essential to their business over the next 12 months. The direction reflects a broader operational shift: companies are no longer treating data access as a technical back-office matter, but as a condition for faster commercial, financial, and operational decisions.
Jones added: “Real-time data is a crucial defence against such surprises. It allows business leaders to fact-check their instinct against the real world and adjust accordingly. Ensuring that this data is accessible, reliable, and actionable right across an organisation is the best way to enable effective, decisive judgement calls.”
The research shows that the tension between speed and evidence is not confined to data teams. It affects decisions on investment, hiring, market expansion, product launches, customer experience, and operational resilience. Leaders are expected to move quickly, but stale or inaccessible data can leave them choosing between delay and risk.
As companies invest in AI, analytics, and automation, the underlying data layer is becoming a strategic constraint. Dashboards that present historic information may support reporting, but they do not necessarily support decisions that must be made while conditions are still changing. The organisations able to close that gap will be those that make reliable, current information available at the point of judgement rather than after the decision has already been made.
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