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.
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.
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.
“The energy we carry, the personality traits we possess and the atmosphere that create on life are hard to understand by the average person.” Let’s break this one down.
“The energy we carry” is what drives us to do what many people look upon as crazy choices. Working 100 hours a week so we dont have to work 40. Leaving a stable salary and managed healthcare benefits. Walking away from a routine, where we know what we have to do everyday without many surprises. These choices give us an energy that is hard to understand unless you live it yourself.
“The personality traits we possess” is what makes us successful. We are persistent, we don’t give up and we have a deep faith in our ability to make a difference. Many people in our lives are quick to tell us their opinion, but few actually have the experience to make that opinion one we should listen to. Not a judgement, but a fact.
Most of us are surrounded by people we love dearly, but they are probably not the best ones to be taking advice about how to run a business from. CEO’s of big companies have boards of advisors. Small business owners generally do not.
“The atmosphere we create” is what happens when someone who is always “working” walks in the room. We never have a lack of things to do, we see opportunities in everything and we know the value of always moving forward. This makes us seem impatient, distant and unrelatable to many who know us.
So this leads me back to the central theme of joining masterminds and surrounding yourself with leaders and doers and people of action.
It is the best way to meet the challenge of being alone.
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.
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.
“Not everyone is going to understand how you mind works.” This is 100% accurate. Most of the people in my life have a job. They don’t get what it means to want to work 100 hours a week so I don’t have to work 40. The freedom that comes with being self-employed makes it like most of the time I’m not even working. Teaching, training, going to meetings, conference calls, etc… they rarely feel like work. They feel like me living the life I was destined to live.
You’d think most people who think that is cool and it would inspire them as well. But it doesn’t.
Sometimes I’ve been able to impact people and move them forward towards being a successful business owner, but most of them thank me for my time and thoughts, and then go back to the life they know. “There are many people out there who are willing to settle for less.”
Now this is not a judgement by any means, its just a fact. I was like that for most of my life. I didn’t really think about doing my own thing until I was 40. I never saw it as settling, just doing what I thought was the best way to provide for my family. It wasn’t until I got to a level of expertise in my field (analytics) that I rediscovered my passion for teaching and found a way to merge the two.
Now as I do what I do, its with a great amount of “intense” passion. I live it. That scare people. It shouldn’t, but it does. People have so many forces working against them to keep them in place. It’s not easy to throw off the yoke, and break free into the world of entrepreneurship.
So this leads me back to the central theme of joining masterminds and surrounding yourself with leaders and doers and people of action.
It is the best way to meet the challenge of being alone.
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.
As I hit the half way point of my latest trip to the Philippines, I have had the honor of delivering 3 of the 6 planned talks I have scheduled on the power of the mastermind.
At this point in my career, I’ve had enough experience with masterminds to know what makes them work and what doesn’t.
If you are surrounded by people whose only goal is to keep everyone down in the miserable place they are, you will fail. Stop taking advice from people who are never gonna be as successful as you plan to be. You need to leave them behind and get signed up to be part of a business mastermind.
Now as a recap for those who hadn’t heard of the term business mastermind before, a mastermind group is a peer-to-peer mentoring concept used to help members solve their problems with input and advice from the other group members.
The concept was coined in 1925 by author Napoleon Hill described in more detail in his 1937 book, Think and Grow Rich. Find the book, the audiotape or do a google search. If you truly want to Think and Grow Rich, it all starts here!
So to help me build my first mastermind in the Philippines I’m looking for Filipinos from a certain mold. These are exactly the kind of people you will meet at my talks.
I will be giving a talk on Sunday to an audience of mostly accountants, bookkeepers and financial experts at the NETWORK, LEARN AND HAVE FUN
The goal at these events is not just to sign them up to be in my mastermind, but to get each one to a point where they can run their own mastermind as well.
Finally want to share feedback from a couple of recent events, where I had a chance to share my story, talk about masterminds and build a team of like minded entrepreneurs who are ready to level up.
A.I. for Marketing — Makati
“I had so many Aha moments and insights from the Mastermind event, I felt I need to google the words I took some notes during the discussion.”
Vision to Wealth — Ortigas
“I would like to thank you for such a paradigm shifting night for me.”
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.
Most entrepreneurs and business owners are challenged to keep up with the rapid pace of technology.
Over the past 25 years, I’ve been fortunate to be seen as big data expert, data analytics author and business strategy educator. I have found that I have a fairly unique ability to make getting started with artificial intelligence & virtual staffing affordable and most importantly achievable for businesses.
This need and my experience to help fill the need has lead to my latest workshop, No Time for Tech. Our goal is to provide you with affordable and easy to implement technological advances through automating and outsourcing much of the work that takes you away from what you do best.
They key to successfully automating a process is having good, clean, well organized data. The key to this key for an entrepreneur is having someone besides themselves collecting, cleaning and analyzing their data.
The next time you post something about your business, set up and run a Facebook Ad, or share a bunch of photos promoting what you do, think about how much time you put into it. You should be putting zero time into it.
Let’s us show you how to get closer to the hugely profitable cutting edge without devoting more of your own time to tech. Having a virtual assistant who is social media savvy and adept at automating your marketing is the best way to not only free up your valuable time, but takes away something that is a manual, time consuming process. All of a sudden you’ll see so much more value out of tech.
I’ve found time and time again that we all have plenty of data in our business, but most of us are not using A.I. or virtual staffing to maximize the value of the data and turn that data into additional profit.
So now as a Virtual Staffing & Automation Expert, I’m taking my workshop on an international tour across Southeast Asia and the United States!
With 3 upcoming events in Manila in January and across Florida over the next months, lots of entrepreneurs will no longer be forced to say, I have No Time for Tech!
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.
My superhero origin story started against the backdrop of the 2008–2009 Financial Crisis. Let me explain a short history here, so stick with me. During the financial crisis, there was a bank that went bankrupt called Wachovia. If you are not aware of Wachovia, they were a bank that started on the East Coast and over time they spread westward, while Wells Fargo started in California and moved eastward. Wells Fargo was one of the few banks that was able to wither the financial crisis pretty solidly and when Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia, it was a pretty big deal for a number of reasons.
We did money transfers aka remittances, where people send money from the US to family and loved ones overseas. It is quite common for people that come to the US to work or to live still have family overseas, that they are responsible for. To support them, they sent money back to help pay for things like their parents’ retirement, or to help their brother or sister set up a business, or they are paying for their nieces and nephews’ education… whatever it may be. This is a big business; in fact, Wells Fargo had a goal of trying to get towards the top of that industry.
Our sights were clearly set on Western Union, being the market leader, and we put a lot of resources into the soon to be converted Wachovia branches in Florida. The goal within the bank, within my team, was to be able to get me number two one the merger was final. We would pass MoneyGram, pass, all the other money transfer operators and put Wells Fargo up there, right behind Western Union.
Now I don’t say that to brag, but around the same time this merger was happening, I realized that I was different. I had a level of skill that set me apart from most of the other analysts working at Wells Fargo during my tenure. This skill, which I had progressively been developing over the year, was my ability to take large, complex data sets from a variety of sources and blend them together to see trends and patterns that most analysts would likely miss.
Like with any superhero origin, when faced with a big challenge, a new power emerges that empowers the hero to save the day. And that’s exactly what happened.
Getting back to Wachovia and Wells Fargo, Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo and Company in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States, based on total assets. The acquisition of Wachovia by Wells Fargo was completed on December 31, 2008, after a government-forced sale to avoid Wachovia’s failure. The Wachovia brand was absorbed into the Wells Fargo brand in a process that lasted three years. source
This was a pretty big deal, because Wells Fargo up into that point did not have branches in the state of Florida. Wells Fargo had never set up shop in Florida, which is a very diverse state, with a lot of immigrants and first-generation citizens who send money to families abroad.
People who are likely to send money back to their homeland, or to their country their parents came from, and so when they do that that is a great opportunity for Wells Fargo. As the Wachovia branches were rebranded as Wells Fargo, we could use them to send our money transfer service. In fact, we would be the first bank in Florida to be able to send money through a bank which would give the customers have much better benefit than sending through a money transfer service.
Needless to say, everyone was excited. As we finalized marketing plans, I was in a staff meeting and we were talking about what we were going to do when we are able to finally have rebranded stores. We were ready to acquire tens of thousands of new customers and sign them up for the Express Send Service. With this huge opportunity in front of us, the marketing meeting, was about the plans for the launch of the remittance product in Florida.
The marketing team had a whole bunch of events planned, our communications strategy was shared, and we picked a rebranded store in Miami, where we were going to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Our plan included inviting local dignitaries the local news, etc; was expected to to make a big splash. We are going to launch in Miami, and on the surface, it made sense because Miami is the biggest city of Florida. The city’s population has incredibly high percentage of immigrants and first-generation Americans, our key target.
However, what I thought in my head, as we are going through all this stuff in the media was that most of the people that have migrated to Florida come from countries that Wells Fargo has not traditionally sent money to. Now, take a step back remember, I said Wells Fargo was a west coast centric bank, most of the money that Wachovia customers send overseas goes to places around the Pacific, China India the Philippines and Mexico.
In addition, we had pretty big markets in Central America like El Salvador, Guatemala. That is where our sweet spot had been for the past several years. Wachovia is East Coast centric; their branches are in parts of country where a lot of people that migrated to the US don’t come from the same markets they do in the West Coast. They come from the Caribbean, they come from South America…. i.e. Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Haiti. This population of remitters was not one that Wells Fargo had a lot of history sending money to. Here we are excited about sending money overseas, about helping our employee, our customers, be able to send money to their loved ones and yet I’m thinking we have a problem.
Long story short, this is an issue for me because I looked at the data in my head. What I have known previously about the demographics of the area and populations in the state of Florida. Because being a data guy, I know a lot about the graphic data and geographical distribution of our customer base and the digital customers.
So, I raised my hand, I explained to everyone in the meeting, exactly what I just shared with you. The whole thing about, Miami not being the best place to launch in Florida, that its somewhere where we are not going to have a big turnout of new customers. I added that because we are not traditionally sending money to their home countries, this entire plan will fall flat.
I expected that to be enough. The data spoke for itself.
However, everyone was kind of like “well yeah that makes sense Daniel, but you know we’re locked in we’re still going ahead with Miami”.
Basically, I got out voted.
It was time to find a phone booth and put on my cape.
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.
The funny thing about when I started at Wells Fargo, the skill that really got me started in my career with data, was simply being good with Microsoft Excel. That’s how it all started.
When I got to Wells Fargo and started working as a customer service supervisor, we had all the kinds of sales goals. Many of you have probably seen in the headlines the past few years, Wells Fargo was ultra-aggressive in it’s sales goals. To be able to effectively manage phone bankers and coaching them to meet goal was key to success. Ironically, I was the only one on my team that really knew how to use Microsoft Excel.
Before I knew it, I was being asked to create reports, do all kinds of analysis, to help us figure out how to optimize the salesforce. I also learned how to get better at managing teams using data and was often loaned out to HR to help develop people metrics around employee engagement. It was a fun time and managing all the data involved with all the transactions, sales, products, and everything we were doing in the customer service center at Wells Fargo really taught me how powerful data can be to a company’s success.
That first job at Wells Fargo really started down a path towards things like artificial intelligence, all because, I knew Excel.
Over the next several years I continued to level up my skills with Excel, and MS Access and different database tools like. Then they got into understanding data warehouses and seeing the data architecture underlying the enterprise. I moved from away customer service and got into project management and that led me to working on the bank’s websites and online channels.
Before I knew it, I had 15 years of the experience with Wells Fargo. Each stop along the way during my time with the bank, I kept taking more and more challenges that involved learning new technologies and new skills. It was fascinating for me during my time Wells Fargo to be able to move up the corporate ladder simply be learning new skills to add to my “data utility belt”. And with each move being more and more data centric job functions.
Which takes me back to the point I really want to emphasis, I am self-taught, I learned everything pretty much my own. I took a few classes here and there, like I took a class at HTML, which helped me figure out how to manage a mutual funds website. I took a class and Microsoft Access to help build a database for investment products. Whenever I got a new opportunity to learn any technology, I did. I went from Access and Excel to start to learn business intelligence tools like Tableau and IBM-Cognos to builds better reports and dashboards.
Towards the end I learned programming languages like SQL and I got into predictive modeling using R. I know it sounds like an alphabet soup of applications, programs and languages, but it all started with that one simple skill with Microsoft Excel.
Even today, Excel is still powerful tool for data analysis as it is used by just about every company. It has a lot of value as being a piece of the puzzle that you will need to solve as you prepare your business to use A.I. Excel is like the very first brick in the wall.
If you are not sure if you want to get started in working A.I., ask yourself this question. Does working with data and and to use data to manage your business interest you? That is really the first thing you should ask yourself. And if the answer is yes, start with mastering Excel. If you can do a pivot table, if you can do the basic things like pie charts, or line graphs. If you know a few formulas, then that is a great foundation to start.
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 seminarson 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.
As a writer, I have found it invaluable to have a virtual assistant to assist me with research, content curation, social media sharing, event booking and a host of other time consuming, often manual tasks. This has been a big help, as my VA also help me stay on task, meet timelines and more than double my productivity.
One thing I do often is share selections from my books as repurposed blog posts. Writing my first book was a passion project, but I have found that sharing part of the book across social media has impacted a lot more people than those who buy and read the book.
A good VA can actually be much more than just help take away some of the administrative and marketing tasks that are in the end time wasters. A really good VA with a talent for writing themselves can be mentored as well. In effect, I’m turning VAs with the right talent and aptitude into mini-versions of myself… akin to an apprentice. A virtual writer’s apprentice.
One of the biggest killers to any small business is wasted time, and in many ways, being an author is like running a small business. Entrepreneurs who have trouble delegating things and like to do it all themselves, end up spending most of their time that someone else can be doing better, faster and cheaper.
To some extent, authors who have publishers and promoters don’t have to worry about this a much, but most authors are like entrepreneurs… one person shows. Prone to wasting time and not doing what they do best.
This is especially true today where what we write ends up being shared across so many mediums, making content accessible to a much broader audience.
Lately, I’ve also been getting more and more into podcasting where I can use my VA to edit, keyword, upload and curate media files. I’ve played around with a few podcasting apps and hosting options on my own, but having someone dedicated to will undoubtedly keep my casting more consistent.
I also enjoy having simple images designed by my VA to add to the podcast, add the intro and outro and on the social media posts. Filming the podcast, which I have played around with, can then turn the blog into a vlog for upload and shafting on YouTube. This will broaden my reach even more. That’s why I write… to share knowledge, empower the use of data analysis in decision-making and inspire people new to analytics to keep going. I will be really ramping up these ways to share my years’ worth of content.
And while doing all of the above, I have my VA look for other podcasts to guest on, places to do media interviews, events to speak or sign books at, and other event managers stages to promote and sell my book.
I’m still thinking of more ways to use a VA as a writer. Feel free to add any that you can think of. A lot of writers like myself can benefit from your suggestions.
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.
Working with data is my favorite thing to do. I have a passion for solving problems with technology and it comes from my background, working for Wells Fargo for 15 years.
However, you wouldn’t have known that was my destiny when I was 25 and just out of college.
Originally, I was a teacher.
Let me tell you how I actually got started. I do not have a typical tech story background. I do not have a degree in IT or computer science. I do not have an engineering background, or a math background. I actually have a Bachelor’s in History and a Master’s in Education.
The way I got started was really kind of a fluke. I was happily teaching at college in California, and during the middle of the school year, the school went bankrupt. I was out of a job and I had to find a job to pay the bills, and at that point I wanted to find something short-term that I could do for a few months, and then eventually I would get a new job, going back teaching when the new school year started.
So, I applied for a job in Wells Fargo as a customer service supervisor, in their call center. I started that job thinking I would do it for a few months, but before I knew it, I had spent 15 years working for Wells Fargo. As I mentioned, do not have that techie background, I’m not a data scientist by education. This is important because I am probably more like most of you reading this book. I just learned how to use data, I learned how to use technology, and basically, I am self-taught when it comes to big data and artificial intelligence.
It definitely helps to have that kind of background in technology and IT and computers to be a true data scientist, but to get more value out of your data, it’s not a requirement.
Besides learning a lot about technology, I have learned as much by setting up my own business. I have been an entrepreneur for about 10 years now and have a lot of insight into how to apply data and A.I. to setting up new businesses. I have been working with companies to help them level up their employee’s data skills, and when it comes to using technology.
Helping companies start to do big data projects, to work with their data to be able to start moving towards things artificial intelligence is just the latest area I am have added to my general expertise.
It is my hope that knowing my story will inspire you to get started as well, and if you have already started maybe this will help you level up. The bottom line is companies need to be investing both financially and as far as talent, into technologies like artificial intelligence to be successful in the age that we live in now. Technology is only going to continue to hyper accelerate, so if you are not already looking at AI, it’s almost too late.
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.
When we think of artificial intelligence, a lot of us think of what we see coming from Hollywood. Movies like the Terminator, War Games and the Matrix color our imaginations to see A.I. as a villain and something to be feared. But it shouldn’t be so scary.
“AI is everywhere in tech right now, said to be powering everything from your TV to your toothbrush. In short, it’s making decisions that affect your life whether you like it or not.” 1
Today we all walk around with A.I. in our pockets (Siri), running our homes (Alexa), giving us directions (Waze), how we watch TV (Netflix) and soon in all of our cars (Waymo). So why the disconnect? What is about the way we use A.I. in our personal lives makes it so easy to use and not nightmare inducing?
At this point in time, we’ve only scratched the surface of examples of A.I. in day-to-day life. Specific industries and hobbies have habitual interaction with A.I. far beyond what’s explored in this book. For example, casual chess players regularly use A.I. powered chess engines to analyze their games and practice tactics, and bloggers often use mailing-list services that use a machine to optimize reader engagement and open-rates. 2
In fact, the applications of artificial intelligence is already so ingrained in what we do every day, it’s just mostly out of sight or at least not staring us in the face. We just have this double standard between what we see as harmless and what we see as a menace.
How will A.I. affect daily life on a grand scale in the near future? Futurist and Wired magazine co-founder Kevin Kelly predicts that, as AI becomes more deeply integrated in our lives, it will become the new infrastructure powering a second industrial revolution. ”The actual path of a raindrop as it goes down the valley is unpredictable, but the general direction is inevitable,” says Kelly — and technology is much the same, driven by patterns that are surprising but inevitable.
This genie is not going back in the bottle. Over the next 20 years, he says, “our penchant for making things smarter and smarter will have a profound impact on nearly everything we do. “Kelly explores three trends in AI we need to understand in order to embrace it and steer its development. “The most popular AI product 20 years from now that everyone uses has not been invented yet,” Kelly says. “That means that you’re not late.” 3
With this in mind, I want to bring things back to ground level and share with you my story about how I got started with artificial intelligence. The idea behind my next book is really to explain to you my path, from where I started with data and technology to where I am at now. As I share my story I will also explain what I’ve seen across hundreds of businesses, and highlight the importance of starting to think about how to use artificial intelligence for massive success.
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 seminarson 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.
Decision-Making, Analytics & Intelligence > Philippines 