What if 70% Is all Leaders Need? The Flamingo Test on Data Overload

I recently spotted a newsletter from David Epstein with the subject line “How To Improve Your Information Diet.” The article caught my attention immediately. Epstein argues that we need to be intentional about what information we consume and, just as importantly, what we don’t. As I reflected on the article, I couldn’t stop thinking about flamingos. They are pink because of what they consume. Their appearance is shaped quietly and consistently by their intake. Our thinking is shaped the same way. Research has shown you are what you read, what you scroll past, and what you let linger in your peripheral vision. And it suddenly made sense why some of us end up looking stressed, vaguely annoyed, and slightly less effective.

Choose Your Inputs Wisely

Leaders spend enormous energy refining decisions, yet the quality of those decisions depends on the quality of the information that fuels them. Your information diet deserves the same level of intention you give to strategy, hiring, and planning. That insight points to a few simple practices that help leaders shape their inputs more deliberately.

• Add variety to your information diet that broadens your perspective. Relying on the same sources narrows your view of the world. Introducing new perspectives strengthens your judgment because it exposes you to ideas that challenge your assumptions. One simple way to do this is to pause before a decision and add a new perspective, such as a customer, technical or dissenting view. The goal isn’t volume, but adding contrast. A well‑chosen perspective often reveals blind spots that hours of additional analysis never surface.
• Chew before you swallow. Information consumed too fast doesn’t deliver great nutritional value. Leaders often move through dashboards, reports, and briefings at a pace that prevents real understanding. When you slow down long enough to interpret what the data actually is saying, you give yourself the chance to extract insight instead of reacting to surface‑level numbers. A helpful discipline is to force a 60‑second pause before deciding and ask: What is the data actually telling me and what is it not telling me? That single minute often prevents hours of rework.
• Know when you are full. Consuming too much information stops adding value and starts creating noise. Leaders who keep ingesting data, opinions, and updates past the point of usefulness do not make better decisions. They make slower, murkier ones. Developing a personal “decision threshold” helps. For example, “When I get 70% of what I need and the risk is low, I will make a decision.” This prevents the endless grazing that gets mistaken for diligence.

Flamingos do not become pink by accident. Their color reflects what they take in day after day. Leadership works the same way. The quality of your thinking reflects the quality of what you let in. If you want sharper decisions, start upstream. Your information diet quietly shapes everything that follows.

Adeline (Addy) Maissonet is a senior advisor on contracting policies and procedures within the Office of the Secretary of War, U.S. Department of War (DoW) and the agency’s representative on the Department’s views on proposed legislation to Congressional members, their staff, and committee staffers. She leads the development and implementation of Department-wide procurement policies for commodities and services, within her portfolio. Prior to her current role, Addy served as a Division Chief and Contracting Officer with unlimited warrant authority for the U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC) – Fort Eustis, Virginia. Prior to joining the MICC, Addy served as a Branch Head for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center (MARMC), Norfolk, Virginia, with unlimited warrant authority. She also held other procurement positions with the U.S. Navy. Addy holds an MBA in Management and Contracting Level III Certification under the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act. She is a graduate from Cornell University’s Executive Leadership Certificate Program and Harvard University’s Business Analytics Certificate Program. In her free time, Addy enjoys hiking and overlanding with her family and friends.

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of War.

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