Every senior team believes that a richer information set equals a smarter choice, so they pile dashboards, market studies, and customer surveys into a single meeting. The brain, however, treats each new datum as a fresh conflict to resolve, extending the mental work required before any action can be taken.

This “choice flood” triggers a hidden latency: the longer the mind rehearses alternatives, the more likely it is to settle for the status quo or defer altogether. In a product‑design sprint, a cross‑functional group of a dozen spent an entire day layering user metrics, competitor analyses, and internal forecasts onto a single whiteboard.

By the time the clock hit the final hour, the team’s energy had shifted from building a prototype to debating which metric deserved priority, and the sprint concluded with no tangible deliverable. The real cost isn’t the time spent reviewing data; it’s the erosion of collective momentum that makes the group less willing to commit, turning a potentially breakthrough iteration into a missed deadline.