25 things I’ve learned about analytics
Loading. Still learning.
To all the data-driven slogans out there (Author’s Image)
Hiring data experts and helping them thrive is like preparing for a serious long-term relationship. You’ve got to know what you want.
The analytical culture isn’t about data; it’s about the leaders.
To be analytical is to be humble and humility is an acquired taste.
You can buy the most expensive analytics tools, but they won’t make you more “data-driven.” People’s behaviours don’t change overnight. Invest more time in building scientific thinking.
Data is just another opinion. For some, though, gut feelings will always win.
Most people aren’t ready to deal with uncertainty, so they look for certainty in the data. If we solve the first part, we can cure the symptoms of continuous reporting.
It’s not about having “the data.” It’s about having the best data to impact decisions.
We confuse “measurable” with “measured.” What needs to be measured should be measured, but not everything measurable needs to be.
Metrics can be a trap. Too many metrics, …, you get it.
There’s no such thing as full accuracy. Everything has a margin of error.
Dashboards are like dinosaurs in museums. Veni, vidi, discessi.
People believe in data as if it holds the absolute truth. We all need to learn a bit of scepticism from the Greeks and testing processes from the scientists.
Self-service analytics only works with a small group of well-trained consumers, under tight control, and with low expectations. You can be surprised by the amount of trash people generate if you let them.
Fancy analytics tools and AI aren’t a replacement for decision-making responsibility.
AI supports the conversation; it doesn’t drive it.
Analytics isn’t just problem-solving — it’s communication. Humans evolved through storytelling; we learned to share agreements and disagreements through language.
So, we have to want to learn each other’s language. Analytics experts ned to understand business lingo, and business experts need to understand analytics lingo. It’s a two-way street, especially if you’re branding yourself as a “first-AI” company.
Most of the time you won’t find anything in the data. And that’s fine.
Our human strength is curiosity. Our human weakness? Also curiosity. We say, “It would be interesting to know…” and don’t know when to stop. When innovating, we have to know when to stop.
Repeat after me: “Analytics and AI tools won’t take away analytics jobs.” If they do, it’s for dashboard builders or companies that just don’t know what they are doing (See point 1.)
The existence of an analytics culture matters more than data-driven slogans.
Being wrong — and accepting you were wrong — is part of being analytical.
Everyone must know what an “average” and “fat tails” are. And by everyone, I mean everyone — including your grandma, who’s probably using ChatGPT right now.
Analytics is nothing new; it’s just “advanced scaling.” We had Socrates and Aristotle 2,000 years ago, so having analytical business stakeholders in 2024 should be normalized.
It’s not just about saying “No” — it’s about having a culture that accepts “No.” A lack of intellectual honesty pushes companies away from innovation.
Bonus points if you can count how many times I used the word “culture”.
