Navigating Influence in a Data-Driven World with NORC's Dan Gaylin

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of trust and influence in a data-driven world with insights from Dan Gaylin.

In today’s information ecosystem, influence is no longer about having the loudest voice — it’s about having the most trustworthy one. In this powerful conversation, Anthony Shop sits down with Dan Gaylin, President and CEO of NORC at the University of Chicago and author of Fact Forward: The Perils of Bad Information and the Promise of a Data-Savvy Society. Dan has built his career helping leaders navigate high-stakes decisions with rigorous, trustworthy research. Under his leadership, NORC has tripled in size, expanded globally, and strengthened its reputation as a trusted, nonpartisan research institution. But this episode goes far beyond organizational growth. It explores a defining leadership challenge of our era: how to build influence and trust when information is abundant, truth feels fragmented, and every individual now acts as producer, distributor, and consumer of data. Takeaways: Ask better questions first. Influence begins with defining the right problem — not jumping to conclusions. Practice “fit for purpose” thinking. Make sure the data you use actually answers the question you’re trying to solve. Build data literacy as a leadership skill. In a democratized data…

People in this episode

Host: Anthony Shop

Guest: Dan Gaylin

Topics covered

• influence
• data-driven decision making
• trust
• leadership
• data literacy
• information ecosystem

Keywords

• influence
• data
• trust
• leadership
• decision making
• research
• data literacy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NORC, University of Chicago

Books & works: Fact Forward: The Perils of Bad Information and the Promise of a Data-Savvy Society

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