There is an old story about a newly married couple who decided to host a dinner at their home for their families. It was the first time they hosted such an event. The husband was busy preparing a roast when his grandmother walked in. The grandmother was puzzled when she watched the man cut about …
The year is wrapping up and many people are looking forward to some rest, relaxation, and celebration of the holidays. It’s also a time for reflection as we think about our resolutions for the new year. 2012 was certainly the year of Big Data. Let’s see if we can make 2013 the year of using …
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What do movie makers, televangelists, advertising executives, infomercial producers, and even high school speech team students have in common? They all know that the first few moments of an interaction provide the greatest opportunity and the greatest need to grab their audience’s attention. Unfortunately for the rest of us this principle remains elusive in our …
In honor of Thanksgiving, here is a re-post of an earlier entry on the dangers of historic data.————————- The City of New York is considering suing BP for losses to its pension investments. (Reuters, June 24, 2010). They claim that BP misled them regarding safety procedures that led to the current oil spill. Perhaps that’s …
It’s hard to read a newsfeed since the U.S. elections without reading about big data and analytics. Nate Silver has established (or further established) himself as the king of all things data. Obama used it well, Romney didn’t. Case studies will be written for years about the impact that big data had on this election. …
Read more “Data didn’t win the U.S. elections, decisions did”
Ok, here’s a memory jogger. Think back to your high school algebra class and see if you can answer the following question. You should be able to answer it in less than ten seconds. A train leaves from Boston at 10:00 am travelling at 300 miles per hour. Two hours later, a train leaves Los …
Those of us in the U.S will be celebrating Independence Day tomorrow. Like our founders, we all want some level of independence in our work. But wanting independence and achieving it are two different things. Independence doesn’t come cheap. You can’t just ask for it. It requires work, vision, and even sacrifice. Fortunately, in …
Data and analytics continue to dominate the agenda of most businesses. However, somewhere along the line, we’ve become myopic in what we consider to be valid data. In particular, I’ve noticed a backlash against “subjective” data. To some, it is the enemy of good decision making. To others, it plays second fiddle to “real” (e.g., …
For several decades car dashboards have been equipped with “dummy lights”. We rarely see these lights (except briefly when starting your engine) but they are always there ready and waiting to alert you to a problem (check engine, oil pressure, tire pressure, airbag problem). Their less than flattering name comes from the fact that they …
The distinction between outcomes and activities isn’t new. Most leaders will tell you that it’s important to focus on outcomes. Yet, beyond talking about it, many have difficulty with the “focus” part. The problem that I often see is that leaders struggle to manage outcomes and activities simultaneously. Outcomes become book ends. They are …
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