The Ridiculous Business Jargon Dictionary > F-words > Finger in the wind

Finger in the wind [exp.]

A businessman holding his finger in the air. He is surrounded by a group of business people that look like they are waiting for him to speak.

To reach a decision arbitrarily, with no clear rationale. “Don’t put your finger in the wind and call it due diligence.”

We don’t put the wet finger in the wind and go, ‘Well, we think it’s going to be this.’ That’s not how we do things, so we’d rather come from a conservative posture and be able to walk things up.

Frank Slootman, CEO
Snowflake Inc.
Mad Money, 3/2/2022

So I would say this isn’t a wet finger in the wind. But if you can tell me the probability of geopolitical risk and economic risk and the election cycle, then I could probably dial it in better for you.

Aaron Halfacre, CEO
Modiv Inc.
Q1 2024 earnings call

That 40% finger in the wind is really good enough for initial thinking, but not good enough for us to say, okay, what is really the bar in this patient population where we see the most activity.

Anna Berkenblit,  CMO
ImmunoGen, Inc.
Q3 2022 earnings call

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