Category: Analytics Survey

Like a Diamond in the Rough

I came across this article recently that really hit home.

The gist of the article was how people who are driven, passionate and successful are often alone.

There have definitely been times over the last decade that I have been my own boss that I’ve felt alone.

However, most of the time I’m not alone. I have always worked hard to surrounded myself with people who get what it meas to be successful. Ones with a great work ethic, have a vision and possess integrity.

So when I read the article, which the above quote is a paraphrase of, I felt the need to share it and explain what it means to me.

We are “diamonds in the rough”. This really says a lot. We are rare, we are valuable and we often take a while to turn from common to priceless.

I love the keywords, “honest”, “reliable” and “forward thinking”.

It never ceases to amaze me about how many people do business dishonestly. Its a small minority, but some days it seems like I attract more than my fair share who are trying to sell something that is not what they promise. Overtime honesty is the best policy, you can’t sustain success if you are constantly overpromising and under delivering.

Reliability goes hand in hand with honesty, but often being reliable can take a back seat when you are overwhelmed. When you set up an offer and you don’t have the ability to meet that demands of that offer over time you are going to lose credibility with your clients and they are going to go some where else.

To be in business in 2020 and not be forward thinking is an oxymoron. With the constant evolution in technology it has never been easier to grow a business. Social media, artificial intelligence, chatbots, smartphones… you have to wonder what’s coming next. And when you do find what is coming next, you have to jump on it. Small businesses around the world are being killed by the technology gap between them and their big tech titan competitors.

 So this leads me back to the central theme of joining masterminds and surrounding yourself with people who are honest, reliable and forward thinking.

As we are now 20 years into the information age, masterminds are still the best way to meet the challenge of being alone. Digital ones work too.

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Daniel Meyer heads Sonic Analytics, an analytics firm with offices in Manila, the San Francisco Bay Area and Ocala, FL. With over 20 years in Big Data, Dan is one of the most sought-after public speakers in Asia and offers big data coaching and analytics training seminars on both sides of the Pacific. Dan has also recently joined the Powerteam International family as a small business analytics resource speaker.

Sonic Analytics(www.sonicanalytics.com) brings big data analytics solutions like business intelligence, business dashboards and data storytelling to small and medium sized organizations looking to enhance their data-driven decision-making capabilities. We also advocate the use of analytics for civic responsibility through training, consulting and education.

As citizens of this great democracy, we need to look at the data (analytics), plan a course of action (strategy) and share our data-driven viewpoints (presentation). This approach to a data savvy work force starts in school. So, we started an internship program to empower our youth to use Analytics, plan Strategy and Present their insights… ASP!

When not training current and future analysts, you can find Dan championing the use of analytics to empower data-driven citizenship by volunteering his expertise with schools and non-profits dedicated to evidence-based social progress like Saint Leo University’s Women in STEAM 2020 Conference.

Grab a Big Data Surfboard or Get Left Behind!

“Land was wealth 300 years ago. So, the person who owned the land owned the wealth. Later wealth was in factories and production, and America rose to dominance. The industrialist owned the wealth. Today, wealth is in information. And the person who has the most timely information owns the wealth. The problem is that information flies around the world at the speed of light. The new wealth cannot be contained by boundaries and borders as land and factories were. The changes will be faster and more dramatic. There will be a dramatic increase in number of new multimillionaires. There also will be those left behind.”

Two things strike me in this quote by Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad.

The first is that it incapsulates the world we live in now. A world where information is power. We see this in practice today as the biggest companies now are the ones who use data the same way companies 100 years ago used oil. Nothing new here.

The second thing is that those who control the information will be successful and more importantly those who do, not, will be left behind. This my biggest fear right now. Watching so many businesses being left behind because they don’t have control of information.

Experts have talked about Industry 4.0, the Information Age, the power of Big Data, etc. ad nauseum. But people are not talking much about those being left behind. At least not in the context of being data-driven.

The past two years we have talked a lot about the Trump voter, feeling left behind financially. But we aren’t talking much about the data starved companies that employed a lot of them.

We all know that automation, innovation and globalization combined to spell the end of a lot of companies. But we don’t really talk about how the same companies ultimately ended up failing because they didn’t understand how to use their data better.

Big Data represents a massive wave of disruption that will continue to smash companies like a tsunami. Only those who can ride the wave successfully will be prepared. Analytics is our surfboard to make sure our organization doesn’t get left behind and that we are able to surf the Big Data wave.

Those that master analytics are the new multimillionaire that Kiyosaki mentions. They use data science, build predictive models and have figured out machine learning and artificial intelligence.

The ones that are left behind are the ones still using MS Excel to do rudimentary reporting. Even ones who have started using some basic business intelligence tools and are gaining valuable insight from their data will struggle against the bigger, more data-driven competitors that make multimillionaires of the best data surfers.

One way to know if your organization is in trouble is ask this one simple question. Does the way data is used inside your business look like the way data is used in your personal life? Can we do at work what we can do with Facebook, Netflix, Amazon, Google, etc. at home?

In most cases there is probably a pretty big gap. We process data at work in batches, sometimes only at month end. The analysis takes days and the reports we use to make decisions are only looking at the past. We know who our customers have been, but we are guess who they will be in the future. We hire people not on who is likely to bring the most value to our business, but the one with the best resume and the best interview skills. Does any of this sound familiar?

If it does than that sound you hear in the background, getting louder and starting to impact what you do is the wave of disruption.

If you don’t want to be left behind, crushed by big data, and you want your organization to keep making millionaires than you had better start learning to surf and to do that, you will need a high-quality board.

Dan Meyer heads Sonic Analytics, an analytics advocacy with offices in Manila, the San Francisco Bay Area and as of February 2019, Ocala, FL. With over 20 years in Big Data, Dan is one of the most sought-after public speakers in Asia and has recently begun offering public training seminars in the United States. Dan has also recently joined the Powerteam International family as a small business analytics resource speaker.

Sonic Analytics(www.sonicanalytics.com) brings big data analytics solutions like business intelligence, business dashboards and data storytelling to small and medium sized organizations looking to enhance their data-driven decision-making capabilities. We also advocate the use of analytics for civic responsibility through training, consulting and education.

As citizens of this great democracy, we need to look at the data (analytics), plan a course of action (strategy) and share our data-driven viewpoints (presentation). This approach to a data savvy work force starts in school. So, we started an internship program to empower our youth to use Analytics, plan Strategy and Present their insights… ASP!

When not training current and future analysts, you can find Dan championing the use of analytics to empower data-driven citizenship by volunteering his expertise with schools and non-profits dedicated to evidence-based social progress like Saint Leo University’s Women in Data + Science Program and the Data + Women of Tampa Meet Up Group.

Amazon Will Spend $Millions Up Skilling Its Workforce.. Shouldn’t You?

Saw this article in the New York Times Today

If Amazon is investing in up skill training, because they can see what’s coming, why wouldn’t everyone else? Offering companies analytics and data science up skill training seems like a sound business model right? And that my friends, is why we have Sonic Analytics.

Give you and your team access to skills on the future. #dataspark#sonicanalytics#dataiswealth

I ran a data science-centric program the past 18 months to do just this for Accenture’s Philippines operation. We put over 500 Accenture employees through our Applied Analytics Training Series covering topics like Data Mining, Blending and Visualization, discussed case studies by the likes of Google, Best Buy and HP, and conducted exercises giving attendees a chance to design business dashboard prototypes, build predictive models in Excel and practice data story telling. We can do the same for you.

Dan Meyer heads Sonic Analytics, an analytics advocacy with offices in Manila, the San Francisco Bay Area and as of February 2019, Ocala, FL. With over 20 years in Big Data, Dan is one of the most sought-after public speakers in Asia and has recently begun offering public training seminars in the United States. Dan has also recently joined the Powerteam International family as a small business analytics resource speaker.

Sonic Analytics(www.sonicanalytics.com) brings big data analytics solutions like business intelligence, business dashboards and data storytelling to small and medium sized organizations looking to enhance their data-driven decision-making capabilities. We also advocate the use of analytics for civic responsibility through training, consulting and education.

Putting Your Data to Work. Let’s Get Started

For those of you who follow me and have not yet attended one of my trainings, I want to share with you what we do. Here are some excerpts from a recent talk I gave in Chicago with Powerteam International.

Let’s talk about how to master your data to increase your income. Over the next couple of blog posts I’m going to walk you through some tips on how to increase the insight you glean from your data and use that to increase yyour income. We’re going to cover five things.

First of all, we’re going to talk about how big data is a wave of disruption. It’s causing massive disruptions in every industry and every type of business. We’re going to talk about how data analytics is a process. You have to be able to understand the entire process, to be able to master the data in your business.

Next, we’re going talk about how to find the right data at the right time. Like anything worth finding, this will require a map. You have to be able to look at your data throughout your business like you’re mapping something and going from start to finish.

We will next cover talking making impactful data visualizations. It is actually something that is quite hard to do, so I am going to talk about some tips on how to make some better visualizations.

Then finally we will cover storytelling with data, which is how you influence decision makers.

To recap…

1. Big Data is Disruption

2. Analytics as a Process

3. Finding the Right Data

4. Data Visualization

5. Storytelling with Data

I generally cover this subject matter over a two-day course, but for written consumption I have condensed it.

I have made it very layman.

So, we’re not going sit here and go through a lot of complicated technical stuff. This is more of a high-level perspective of my experience. Of what I know about analytics and why I want to share with you.

A little about me, so I have about 20 plus years of experience working with analytics or data analysis work. Most of my professional experience came with Wells Fargo Bank.

I worked for 15 years with Wells Fargo’s as a senior analyst. For the last seven or eight years though after I left Wells Fargo, I set up my own business. I’ve been teaching people how to be analysts. Talking to companies about how to use more data in their decision-making. Talking to people about how to really level up with their business.

I’ve been doing a lot of that in Asia and I just recently moved to Florida. I am expanding my business towards the East Coast and up here in Chicago. I also have a master’s in education. I was a teacher before I was an analyst. My favorite thing to do is talk about analytics in a way that could help empower people. This is me fulfilling my destiny.

I have a company called Sonic Elevate. Since 2011, we have trained over 8,000 people. Conducted over 186 trainings. We’ve worked on over 50 projects across Southeast Asia.

We at Sonic, work with a wide range of companies, a broad spectrum of types of businesses. The one thing they all have in common is they all have a lot of data and they’re all struggling to use that data effectively. It doesn’t matter how big or how powerful or how amazing a company is. They have to really look at data in a way that allows them to constantly optimize this.

I want to share with you a few of those things that some of these companies do within the framework of the outline I listed above.

Big Data, Analytics, Data Governance, Data Visualization and Storytelling with Data.

If you want to attend a training or set up some time for a 1 on 1 coaching session, let’s connect.

https://www.coachtheworld.com/en/dataiswealth

Dan Meyer heads Sonic Analytics, an analytics advocacy with offices in Manila, the San Francisco Bay Area and as of February 2019, Ocala, FL. With over 20 years in Big Data, Dan is one of the most sought-after public speakers in Asia and has recently begun offering public training seminars in the United States. Dan has also recently joined the Powerteam International family as a small business analytics resource speaker.

Sonic Analytics(www.sonicanalytics.com) brings big data analytics solutions like business intelligence, business dashboards and data storytelling to small and medium sized organizations looking to enhance their data-driven decision-making capabilities. We also advocate the use of analytics for civic responsibility through training, consulting and education.

As citizens of this great democracy, we need to look at the data (analytics), plan a course of action (strategy) and share our data-driven viewpoints (presentation). This approach to a data savvy work force starts in school. So, we started an internship program to empower our youth to use Analytics, plan Strategy and Present their insights… ASP!

When not training current and future analysts, you can find Dan championing the use of analytics to empower data-driven citizenship by volunteering his expertise with schools and non-profits dedicated to evidence-based social progress like Saint Leo University’s Women in Data + Science Program and the Data + Women of Tampa Meet Up Group.

Getting Buy In From the Top

One of the biggest reasons analytics projects fail is that they are not fully supported by senior management.

According to Gartner, more than half of all analytics projects failbecause they aren’t completed within budget or on schedule, or because they failto deliver the features and benefits that are optimistically agreed on at their outset.

I’ve seen a lot of studies like this, asking why big data projects fail, why companies come up short with their digital transformation efforts or why going out and hiring a rock star, data scientist fails to fix everything. Quite often it’s because the bosses never really believed that great analytics was going to be make much of a difference as compared to just basic analysis and reporting.

I’m fact, lack of management support, was among the top 3 reasons analytics projects fail in a survey I conducted of over 700 analytics professionals via LinkedIn a few years ago.

When someone in an organization identifies a need for better analytics, one of the first things they need to do is get buy in from the top.

In a lot of cases, people will just jump to the conclusion that this is a technical problem. One that can be fixed with a technical approach.

However, it’s often the case that the real problem is in the culture of the business. And when that’s the case, technical solutions usually fail.

I recently wrapped up an 18 month training project with Accenture’s operations in the Philippines. We trained over 400 Accenture team members in Applied Analytics at the request of their top brass. Their support was essential in getting the ball rolling, fine tuning the training curriculum and filling up each class with 25 analytics minded employees.

Wether it be sending people to a training, buying a new piece of technology or adding staff, you’ll need their support to make sure you are successful.

Applied Analytics with Accenture

Dan Meyer heads Sonic Analytics, an analytics advocacy with offices in Manila, the San Francisco Bay Area and as of February 2019, Ocala, FL. With over 20 years in Big Data, Dan is one of the most sought-after public speakers in Asia and has recently begun offering public training seminars in the United States. Dan has also recently joined the Powerteam International family as a small business analytics resource speaker.

Sonic Analytics(www.sonicanalytics.com) brings big data analytics solutions like business intelligence, business dashboards and data storytelling to small and medium sized organizations looking to enhance their data-driven decision-making capabilities. We also advocate the use of analytics for civic responsibility through training, consulting and education.

As citizens of this great democracy, we need to look at the data (analytics), plan a course of action (strategy) and share our data-driven viewpoints (presentation). This approach to a data savvy work force starts in school. So, we started an internship program to empower our youth to use Analytics, plan Strategy and Present their insights… ASP!

When not training current and future analysts, you can find Dan championing the use of analytics to empower data-driven citizenship by volunteering his expertise with schools and non-profits dedicated to evidence-based social progress like Saint Leo University’s Women in Data + Science Program and the Data + Women of Tampa Meet Up Group.

One Of The Key Differences About The AAP… Our Strong Ties to Academia.

It’s not a coincidence that the Analytics Association of the Philippines has such a strong focus on skills building and talent development.

In fact the majority of our founding board members either are currently or have in the past taught in higher education.

The reality of the current analytics landscape in the Philippines is that we need large scale initiatives to both upskill the existing workforce as well engage with the government and with academe to ensure a steady stream of analytics savvy graduates.

Some of the initiatives we have in the works include:

  • Upskilling training as many as 500,000 Filipinos currently working in the IT-BPO sector whose jobs are at risk do to AI
  • Facilitating a series of academic conferences to empower analytics educators with more tools and resources
  • Conducting train the trainer classes to build up the necessary number of analytics experts who can assist in both the massive upskilling and the teacher conferences
  • Working with a wide range of associations and organizations to offer targeted analytics training for their members
  • Bringing together analytics training providers, academic programs, industry leaders and government officials to unify the analytics ecosystem.

To meet the founding board members of the AAP, interact with many of the 30+ companies already working with the AAP, and to learn more about Big Data Analytics here in the Philippines, check out the following event:

https://conferences.enderunextension.com/conferences/big-data-analytics-summit-2017

It’s a holiday for many of us, but learning about analytics never stops.

See you there!

AAP Logo Option Vertical 5

Analytics Leadership – DMAIPH is a founding member of the Analytics Association of the Philippines (AAP.PH) and specializes in arming the Data-Driven Leader with the tools and techniques they need to build and empower an analytics centric organization. Analytics leadership requires a mastery of not just analytics skill, but also of nurturing an analytics culture. We have guided thousands of Filipino professionals to become better analytics leaders. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to discuss a uniquely tailored strategy to ensure you are the top of your game when it comes to Analytics Leadership.

Data Science and Big Data Analytics For Finance

Was recently asked to do a one hour talk on data science and big data analytics for Finance… so I created A Step By Step Process To Get More Value Out Of Your Finance and Accounting Data.

To get started, we will discuss at a high level what is analytics, big data and data science and how it can be used in Finance and Accounting to get more value out of all the numbers you have in your business.

Per Deloitte, “In today’s highly competitive business environment, companies need more from Finance than accurate financial statements and reports. They need forward-looking, predictive insights that can help shape tomorrow’s business strategy and improve day-to-day decision-making in real time. “

New IT applications and infrastructure such as big data technologies, predictive analytics, as well as modern mathematical methods are opening up new possibilities for gathering and processing large amounts of data and opportunities for generating value.

They keys to a sound data science and analytics approach to Finance include the following:

  • A Process for Using Big Data to Answer Business Questions
  • A Well Mapped Data Lake of all the Data Finance Needs
  • The Right Mix of Analytics Talent, Technique and Technology
  • A Top Down Embrace of an Analytics Centric Culture

By translating data into insights around financial statements and operations, the finance team can unlock and create new value. Being able to identify unrealized and often unexpected potential as well as quickly and decisively mitigating risk, data science and analytics can take your team to a new level of insight and performance.

This in turn supports the finance function to make better decisions by being able to understand what has happened and why, and then predict what may happen next. The end result is a strategy built on data and one with a much higher rate of success then ones based on intuition or gut feel.

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The Fundamental of Business Analytics – Business Analytics is the application of talent, technology and technique on business data for the purpose of extracting insights and discovering opportunities. DMAIPH specializes in empowering organizations, schools, and businesses with a mastery of the fundamentals of business analytics. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to find out how you can strengthen your business analytics fundamentals.

APEC Data Science & Analytics Key Competency #4: Domain Knowledge and Application

According to the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) Advisory Group, Domain Knowledge and Application is one of the key competencies of a Data Science & Analytics professional working in the region.

By definition, a DSA professional can apply domain-related knowledge and insights to effectively contextualize data, achieved by practical experience (e.g. apprenticeships) and exposure to emerging innovations.

In my own experience, I knew Wells Fargo data like the back of my hand, but my domain knowledge would have easily allowed me to the same great things with other big banks. When I toyed with the idea of moving into the health services industry, it was obvious my skills would be useful but I had a lot ot learn about the domain knowledge of healthcare data.

Since, domain knowledge represents knowledge and insight that is unique to the organization or industry and that analysts need to consider when conducting any data project. Without this knowledge, analytics solutions may not entirely address the real business problem.

In my experience, domain knowledge about the data being analyzed can sometimes be acquired through exploration of the raw data.  Often, good analysts become subject experts just by playing with the data and asking questions to domain experts about the data.

Given the dearth of analytics talent in many areas, reality will dictate that a lot of data projects will have to be done without sufficient domain knowledge. However, most experts would agree the best results come when the ones using the data, know the data.

So, it behooves companies to invest more in educating and enabling internal resources then looking outside for DSA talent. My solution to this is to introduce apprenticeship programs where subject matter experts train current staff with high DSA affinity who are currently working in other roles.

As an example, there are likely thousands of current call center agents who have the aptitude to be analysts an data scientists, but never had the opportunity to of into DSA. Given they are already employees with proven track records of success, they would be much more likely to have the domain knowledge needed.

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Analytics Training – DMAIPH offers a wide range of analytics centric training solutions for professionals and students via public, in-house, on-site, and academic settings. We tailor each training event to meet the unique needs of the audience.

If you need empowerment and skills enhancement to optimize the use of analytics in your organization, we are here to help. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to set up a free consultation to learn which of our DMAIPH analytics training solutions is best for you.

Quick Data Science Survey

If you are in the Philippines and work with data everyday in your job, I’d like to invite you to take my survey.

Next week I will be speaking about data science in the Philippines, specifically trying to answer the question, “Just How Many Data Scientists Are There In The Philippines Anyway?”

It’s a short 7 question survey that will help me validate some of my research.

Here’s the link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WKG9VJ5

Thanks for taking a few minutes to help address on of the biggest questions facing the Philippines today.

Analytics Survey – DMAIPH conducts quarterly analytics surveys to collect data on current trends in analytics. We specialize in surveys that assess analytics culture and measuring how aligned an organization is to using data and analytics  in its decision-making.

Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to find out more about how DMAIPH can conduct surveys to help you assess the analytics culture in your business.

Most Analysts Are Spending Only 20% of Their Time on Reporting

In many cases reporting is either something that is set and stone and just needs to be filled or there is a time crunch forcing quick and dirty reporting.

Little time is devoted to using the data for storytelling, maximizing data visualization and really providing the audience exactly what its needs.

% Finding Analyzing Reporting
10 12% 6% 33%
20 14% 10% 39%
30 20% 31% 24%
40 6% 14% 2%
50 31% 16% 2%
60 14% 18% 0
70 0% 0% 0
80 0% 2% 0
90 0% 0 0
100 0% 0 0
       

Ideally, at least a third of the time should be spent post data gathering and analysis to really give the end user of the data the things they need for intelligent decision-making.

A full one-third only spend 10% of their time on reporting, which to me means that there is a lot of the waste in their analytics process.

If you take a full 40 hour week to complete a high priority, high value report but only have Friday afternoon to boil down your finding into a report, it is highly unlikely that your report will fully capture the fruits of your labor.

However, if the time frame is even shorter… you have to do all this in one day, you are just getting to the reporting phase at around 3:30pm.

You have less than an hour and a half to summarize you methods and boil your findings into a few points.

Making sure you craft a compelling story to really influence decision-making based on intelligent data analysis is likely impossible.

Data is based on a survey I sent to 3,000 of my LinkedIn connections who are either analysts or work closely with data and analysis.

Analytics Survey – DMAIPH conducts quarterly analytics surveys to collect data on current trends in analytics. We specialize in surveys that assess analytics culture and measuring how aligned an organization is to using data and analytics  in its decision-making. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to find out more about how DMAIPH can conduct surveys to help you assess the analytics culture in your business.