Get Shit Done Step 4 — Push Decisions Into the Facts 4 | 10

Pushing decisions into the facts means grounding your decision-making in objective data rather than ego-driven opinions or emotional recommendations. The phrase, attributed to Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey, is about stripping away personal agendas and biases so the best available evidence drives the outcome. In practice, this means getting facts — not polished recommendations — in front of the decider, and going directly to the source of information rather than relying on filtered summaries.

No. According to the Radical Candor framework, kick-ass bosses rarely grab decisions for themselves. Instead, they create a clear decision-making process that empowers the people closest to the facts to make as many decisions as possible. This approach leads to two benefits: better-quality decisions (because the people with the most relevant knowledge are deciding) and better team morale (because people feel trusted and valued).

The episode outlines four key steps:

• Recognize you're usually not the decider — create a process that empowers others rather than centralizing decisions with the boss.
• Get facts, not recommendations — present raw data to the decider so bias is minimized.
• Go spelunking — dig to the source of the facts rather than relying on filtered, ego-driven summaries.
• Hold a Big Decision Meeting — formalize the decision and distribute a careful summary to all relevant parties afterward.

Garbage can decision-making refers to a chaotic model where decisions happen haphazardly — problems, solutions, and decision-makers collide by chance rather than through a deliberate process. The result is poor outcomes and a culture where people feel left out or overlooked. The Radical Candor approach counters this by establishing a structured process — listening, clarifying, debating, then deciding — so decisions are intentional and informed rather than accidental.

Unconscious bias shapes every decision we make, often without our awareness. On this episode, the team emphasizes accepting that bias exists at the table before you can address it. To mitigate it, leaders should create a culture where it's safe to surface 'unwelcome' facts, go directly to primary sources rather than filtered recommendations, and resist making decisions based on who presents information most confidently or persuasively rather than on what the evidence actually shows.

Skipping the listening, clarifying, and debating steps of the Get Shit Done Wheel before reaching the decide step leads to poorly informed decisions. Without those earlier steps, decision-makers lack the context, diverse perspectives, and grounded facts they need. This lines up with McKinsey research cited in the episode: 61% of executives said at least half their decision-making time was ineffective, and only 37% felt their organizations made decisions that were both high-quality and timely.