Analytics are like a mosquito in a nudist colony. Why? Because there are so many opportunities! There is a problem, however, that not everyone thinks or behaves like a mosquito. They do not always see opportunities – the opportunities to apply analytics.
I routinely see opportunities for analysis in my daily life. Perhaps I was born with DNA to constantly observe […]
How can one explain why seemingly successful companies, such as Borders, Blockbuster, Circuit City, Wang Labs and Digital Equipment, go bankrupt or fall from a successful leadership position? I find it fascinating that almost half of the roughly 25 companies that passed the rigorous tests to be listed in the once-famous book by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, In Search […]
Ever notice how the personalities and dispositions of animals often resemble humans’? An organization’s pursuit of adopting analytics-based performance management involves personalities of all types. How are they like the creatures that populate our planet? Here is a zoology of analogous types of employees that you might recognize.
Lions – These are the managers whom co-workers respect. They are bold […]
I’d like to reflect with you my take on what I believe is driving the accelerating interest in analytics and Big Data. Our lives have become hectic. We are working harder and longer. We talk about life balance, but for so many of us we continue to have life imbalance. Our jobs. Our families. Our security.
Every once in a while […]
I was educated as an industrial engineer, but I sometimes masquerade as an accountant. Engineers are not perceived as very worldly or sophisticated. They are often pictured with a shirt-pocket protector stuffed with pens. But some engineers, like me, do have appreciation for the performing arts. For example, I appreciate classical music. In particular, I admire and am in awe […]
How does an organization create a culture of metrics? One example is the community of baseball, including its managers, team owners, scouts, players and fans. With better information and analysis of that information, baseball teams perform better – they win!
Legendary baseball manager Connie Mack’s 3,776 career victories is one of the most unbreakable records in baseball. Mack won nine pennants […]
Analytics is becoming a competitive edge for organizations. Once being a “nice-to-have,” applying analytics is now becoming mission-critical.
An Aug. 6, 2009, New York Times article titled, “For Today’s Graduate, Just One Word: Statistics”(1) reminds me of the famous quote of advice to Dustin Hoffman’s character in his career breakthrough movie The Graduate. It occurs when a self-righteous Los Angeles businessman […]