The slavish reliance on data points to a herd mentality of corporate safetyism. The underlying bureaucratic culture was one where everyone was afraid to make a decision.

In the absence of a visionary leader, the organization must rely on decision making by "evidence" in the form of numbers. That way no one can be blamed. It was the numbers that told us what to do.

It is this mentality that leads to Hollywood churning out nothing but reboots and comic book movies because it doesn't represent political risk to those in charge.