In the modern business world, there are certain terms and phrases related to data that are important yet poorly understood because they’re often misused or made to seem overly complex. I’ve clarified the meaning of some of this terminology before, and today I want to talk about one specific adjective that you’ve probably seen countless times on LinkedIn, company websites (including this one), and business publications from Forbes to Fast Company: data-driven.

If you’re considering undertaking a data project of any kind, you’re likely to see a lot of data terms that sound very similar but mean incredibly different things. To get to the heart of what you are trying to accomplish, it is essential to define "data," understand each of the different data terms, and learn the interpretations to track and measure what it is you need to know to grow your business with accuracy.