---
id: "t-2025-05-26-nobody-actually-wants-data"
type: "thought"
title: "Nobody actually wants data"
date: "2025-05-26"
week: "2025-W22"
url: "https://nosov.ai/writing/nobody-actually-wants-data/"
linkedin: "https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn%3Ali%3AugcPost%3A7332682618510925824"
author: "Ivan Nosov"
---

# Nobody actually wants data

Nobody actually wants data. They want permission with a spreadsheet attached.

Continuing my 15-year compensation confessions...

Somewhere along my Total Rewards journey, I had a revelation that helped me a lot.

When someone asks "What should we pay for this role?" they're not actually asking for data. They're asking for permission - permission wrapped in a spreadsheet with impressive-looking market analysis.

This realization led me to understand that every compensation professional eventually becomes one of three archetypes when faced with requests to bend the rules:

🚔 The Policeman - "That exceeds our range maximum. Denied."

⚖️ The Judge - "Let me review the facts and make a fair decision"

🤝 The Politician - "Let's explore what we're really trying to accomplish here"

Most of us start as Policemen, evolve into Judges when reality hits, then transform into Politicians to survive. It's like professional evolution, except instead of growing deep expertise, we develop the ability to turn any "no" into "let's find creative alternatives"

I've been all three. The Policeman phase was mercifully brief (turns out being the "fun police" isn't sustainable). The Judge phase felt noble - weighing evidence, making thoughtful decisions - until I realized people still resented having to justify everything to me.

Now? I'm firmly in Politician territory, and honestly, it feels natural. Turns out I genuinely enjoy creating and solving puzzles - and compensation challenges are exactly that kind of puzzle. Can't pay $120K for that role? How about $95K base plus sign-on bonus, flexible working arrangement, and a title that sounds more impressive than it actually is?

The bonus? Your business partners actually start appreciating you for your thoughtful approach rather than seeing you as the person who just says "no" with data attached.

The uncomfortable truth? Politics wins. Every. Single. Time.

Not because it's right or wrong, but because compensation isn't really about perfect systems - it's about managing human expectations in imperfect organizations. And humans prefer creative collaboration over rigid rule enforcement.

The irony? The more you understand compensation theory and best practices, the more Political you become. Your beautiful merit matrices and precisely calibrated salary ranges become just tools in a much larger game of organizational psychology.