Transcript DR - Sing the Song Analytics Nov 14

You’ve written the song now sing it!
David Reed
Editor
DataIQ
What makes the
“Perfect Analyst”?
Four Skills of the “Perfect Analyst”
• 1.Clear and concise communication
- “Red/Green Words”:
Red word
Green word
Concave function
Downward curving
Central limit theorem
Diversification
Standard deviation
Degree of uncertainty
Covariance
Inter-relationship
Stochastic
Uncertain
Utility theory
Risk attitude
Baysian analysis
(No green word!)
(Source: “Building the perfect analyst: What will it take to compete in the future?” by Cameron J. Davies and Mark Shafer, Walt
Disney Parks and Resorts, Orlando, published in Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management 2013)
Four Skills of the “Perfect Analyst”
• 1.Clear and concise communication
- “Red/Green Words”:
- avoid “business ‘sadistics’”
- do the two-minute test
(Source: “Building the perfect analyst: What will it take to compete in the future?” by Cameron J. Davies and Mark Shafer, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts,
Orlando, published in Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management 2013)
Four Skills of the “Perfect Analyst”
• 2.Creative with complexity
explaining the complex, dealing with imperfection, framing
questions, communicating...
- “If you are the type of analyst who can crank out a complex
Sudoku in less than five mins flat but couldn’t tell a haiku
from a tanka* if your life depended on it, consider picking up
a creative hobby.”
-
- (*a thirty-one-syllable poem, traditionally written in a single unbroken
line)
(Source: “Building the perfect analyst: What will it take to compete in the future?” by Cameron J. Davies and Mark Shafer, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts,
Orlando, published in Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management 2013)
Four Skills of the “Perfect Analyst”
• 3.Compelling credibility
- Why should I trust you?
- “Of course you should listen to me, didn’t you see that
PhD at the end of my name?”
- Understand the business
- The analyst of the future will invest heavily in their client’s
business. They will understand the key drivers, the pain
points, the challenges, the organizational culture, the
customers
(Source: “Building the perfect analyst: What will it take to compete in the future?” by Cameron J. Davies and Mark Shafer, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts,
Orlando, published in Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management 2013)
Four Skills of the “Perfect Analyst”
• 4.Committed enthusiasm
-
“It is a sad fact of analytics - often the data
generated by those having the experiences is not
quite as exciting as actually having the
experience.”
(Source: “Building the perfect analyst: What will it take to compete in the future?” by Cameron J. Davies and Mark Shafer, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts,
Orlando, published in Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management 2013)
Four (or Six) Skills of the
“Perfect Analyst”
Nesta*
Wipro*
Analysis and computing
Business analysis
Domain knowledge and
business-savvy
Data analysis
Storytelling and teamworking
Data architecture
Creativity and curiosity
Maths/Statistics
Data interpretation and
visualisation
Social/behavioural analysis
(* “Inside the Datavores”)
(* The Missing Data Scientists)
4 out of 5 companies are
struggling to recruit*
•
•
•
•
Talent lacks skills and experience
Not enough talent
Talent without the right mix of skills
Internal capacity issue
(* Nesta, “Inside the Datavores”)
“Do we need creatures of magic
to create value from data?”
Meet some creatures of magic...
Sheldon Cooper, “The
Big Bang Theory”
Abigail Sciuto,
“NCIS”
Charlie Eppes,
“Numb3rs”
Education: PhD ScD
Education: PhD in Chemisty
Education: PhD in Mathematics
Job: Theoretical physicist
Job: Forensic scientist
Job: Professor of applied
mathematics
Related interests: Everything
Related interests: Hacking
Related interests: Chess
Weaknesses: Asperger’s
syndrome, obsessive compulsive
disorder
Weaknesses: Hyper-activity,
tendency to panic attacks
Weaknesses: Ego, workaholic
Meet some creatures of magic...
Sheldon Cooper, “The
Big Bang Theory”
Abigail Sciuto,
“NCIS”
Charlie Eppes,
“Numb3rs”
Education: PhD ScD
Education: PhD in Chemisty
Education: PhD in Mathematics
Job: Theoretical physicist
Job: Forensic scientist
Job: Professor of applied
mathematics
Related interests: Everything
Related interests: Hacking
Related interests: Chess
Weaknesses:Asperger’s
syndrome, obsessive compulsive
disorder
Weaknesses: Hyper-activity,
tendency to panic attacks
Weaknesses: Ego, workaholic
Charlie Eppes explains
“The Decoy Effect”
How Can Analysts
Achieve “Perfection”?
Habits of the Perfect
Do:
Don’t:
Love your subject
Share obsessively
Tell stories
Explain the detail
Find a peer
Only socialise with
group/support network people like yourself
Learn to say “no”
Automatically say “no”
Lessons for Managers
• Caring for your introverts:
– ”A minority in the regular population, but a majority in the gifted
population.”
– "Introverts are driven to distraction by the semi-internal dialogue
extroverts tend to conduct. Introverts don't outwardly complain, instead
roll their eyes and silently curse the darkness." - Thomas P. Crouser,
Why Should Extroverts Make All the Money?
• A short reading list:
– http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/03/caring-for-yourintrovert/2696/
– “Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking” Susan Cain
Questions?
[email protected]
@DataGuv