Tag: Dan Meyer

Doing What I Do Best

So I have been doing public speaking and professional training for over 3 and a half years here in the Philippines.

Honestly I takes a few minutes to recount all the times I have spoken about analytics… which is an awesomely good problem to have.

I have gotten used to many of the nuances of doing training here as opposed to doing similar training in the U.S.

Now I know to mix in some Tagalog words, to tell lots of analytics stories using Filipino centric data points and lessons, to be ready to engage the participants in ways that makes them open up and share more.

I also know that someone will always be late because of “traffic sa EDSA” and that just about everyone can relate to things like working for bosses who don’t use data, but “gut feel”.

This really is a great place to conduct training and after 3+ years I am now no longer the only one talking about analytics.

The CHED Memo on Business Analytics,  IBM’s push for the Analytica organization, and seeing so far at least two other training companies offering business analytics. So many awesome things showing I am in the right place at the right time.

By the way… if I can count right the number is 47. And that is in person. If I add radio and TV  its closer to 55.

So Im averaging about 18 a year. And I have 5 more lined up in the next six weeks.

Not bad.

Go Dan Go!!

🙂

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In Demand > DMAI Data Analytics Trainings

Next week I will be conducting a training on data analytics.

Data analytics is generally considered to be the examining raw data with the purpose of drawing conclusions about that information. Data analytics is used in many industries to allow companies and organization to make better business decisions.

Topics covered in the training include:

  • What is Data Analytics?
  • The current state of Data Analytics in the Philippines
  • Self-Assessment of our own Data Analytics
  • Finding the Right Data at the Right Time
  • Big Data and Data Warehousing
  • Descriptive, Predictive, and Prescriptive Analytics
  • Business Intelligence and Data Visualization
  • Using Data Analytics to Drive Decisions

What’s extra cool about this training is that is already full. We are going to add a second batch in August.

The need for having good data analytics in a business continues to grow at a pace much faster than the supply of talent can keep up with.

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Besides the topics above, participants will also learn:

  1. How to do public data mining
  2. How to provide data for business intelligence
  3. How to build better reports in Excel
  4. How to manage data in business dashboard

So if you are interested in getting a better handle on the data in your business and how to build a good data analytics solution, DMAI can help.

My Thoughts On FilAm’s going back to the Philippines

Just got this message from a connection on LinkedIn.

Thought a blog post might be the best way to reply.

“I am a Filipino-American who was born in the Philippines and moved to Chicago when I was 10 years old. I always wanted to come back home, but hesitate to do it since the Chicago and Manila have totally different economies. I saw that you studied at Indiana University and now work in the Philippines. How did you do it? Do you like it? I usually go home every year and I will be coming home again this Christmas season. Any feedback would be very appreciated.”

I think there is a lot of opportunity for FilAms to be successful in either working in and/or setting up businesses in the Philippines.

From my experience, some of the advantages you will find include:

  • You can add a lot of value to businesses with American clients by role modeling your business acumen, your English and your understanding of American culture.
  • With big call centers you can find work in management or working with the clients.
  • With smaller call centers you can find yourself in a pretty senior position.
  • If you want to get into being a BPO broker by matching U.S. clients with call centers there is always room for that.

After getting your feet wet, you can probably set up your own small business that focuses your talents and interests like I have done.

I train people to be better analysts, introduce analytics to college students and do some consulting on analytics projects as well.

As for how I got my start, I worked for Wells Fargo as a business analyst for about 10 years and during that time got involved with some outsourcing projects. Things all fell into place about 3 years ago an I moved to the Philippines to set up my own business.

So, I am a big advocate of doing the something similar yourself.

A couple of other things to think about thought is getting paid in pesos doesn’t go as far as getting paid in dollars. The bureaucracy and the corruption can be maddening at times. The poverty and the congestion are not easy to see every day. But all in all the Philippines is probably in the best places it’s been in a while as far as business climate.

With the right planning and execution you can have a much more rewarding life in the Philippines.

Hope that helps!

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If Only They Would Look At The Data

Humans by nature are not very data-driven.

Often we act before we think.

In general we go with the gut over the information we are presented with.

It’s just who we are as human beings.

And you see it everywhere.

We come across an inefficiency, a broken process or a half-baked idea and ask ourselves who thought this up?

Why didn’t they look at the data before they made a decision that impacted so many people?

So just for a minute I want to daydream a little.

If only X people would look at and listen too Y data before making a decision, then the world would be a better place.

If only politicians would look at data before spending so much money on that big project.

If only people would really listen to the stories about how dangerous it is to text while driving.

If ever we actually stopped and took the time to calculate the high cost of living facing our children.

Try it yourself. If everyone did a little more of this, think of how awesome it would be.

We have enough data to help us decide just about anything.

In fact we now have whats called Big Data… an almost infinite amount of information to guide us.

We just need to get more people to understand how.

The then humans would really be able to solve the problems we face.

It is a simple hope magnified by 7 billion people and the data they create every day.

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Are You a Person of Chance? Or Are You a Person of Change?

Ask yourself what rules your life?

Are you a victim of chance or a maker of change?

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People who can’t adapt to change generally do not do well.

People who don’t want to change set themselves up for failure.

If you don’t like change, long for the old ways, wish things would go back to how they used to be…

I have news for you, change is coming anyway.

Accept it or get out of the way, because…

YOU

CAN

NOT

STOP

CHANGE!!!!

I Never Met A Wall That I Couldn’t Pass

By definition a wall is an upright structure of masonry, wood, plaster, or other building material serving to enclose, divide, or protect an area, especially a vertical construction forming a barrier.

That’s important to remember, because walls are man made.

Walls can be climbed.

great-wallOnce oceans were like walls, but we built ships.

No wall can stop us if we want to get on the other side bad enough.

If the wall is too high, then you can dig under it.

If the dirt is too hard, then you an go around it.

If the wall is too long to go around, then I have an old chemistry book from college in my trunk.

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Boom! I just blew a whole in that wall.

Nothing stands between me and what I want.

Because I when I want things bad enough, I pray and I think and I come up with a solution.

Walls are meant to be broken!

You can borrow my chemistry book anytime you want.

Analysts Are The Guardians Of The Truth

Every once in awhile I hear a story about someone misusing data and it makes me want to turn into the Hulk.

Manipulating data to advance a political gain happens all the time.

Fox News is a master at it. Most politicians bend and twist data like a pretzel just so it will make them look good and their opponents look bad.

I always think of Mark Twain’s famous quote, “there are lies, damn lies and statistics”.

In today’s age is expected form politicians now. When its election time we know most of what we hear is not the whole story and we just accept it.

This also happens a lot outside of politics. It happens in big business. When business people manipulate data to mislead people. Marketing and Sales people are constantly tempted and often even incentiveized to twist the truth too.

But what makes me the maddest. What drives me to Hulk levels of rage. Is when someone does it just because they dont want to face the truth. When they get data, run some analysis, see results, dont like the results they see and then they change the data.

To an analyst like me, thats just flat out unacceptable. Analysts have to be the guardians of truth, using data as their shield and their convictions as their sword.

We know marketers lie. We know politicians tell damn lies. But when people we know and work with manipulate statistics to further short sighted and selfish goals, we have to draw a line.

So keep hope alive and stand up and say, no. Dont use my data and my analysis to build a web of lies. If you do, you are going to have to deal with the Hulk!

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Implementing the CHED Memo on Business Analytics > How DMAIPH Can Help

In 2013, the Commission for Higher Education (CHED), the governing body for Higher Education in the Philippines, published a memorandum requiring accredited colleges and universities to establish a Business Analytics Specialization Program for Business Admin and IT students.

The objectives of the business analytics specialization track aims to provide Filipino students the skills needed for different forms of Analytics namely, Descriptive, Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics. This track enables students to identify opportunities and implement or enact solutions for which these analytics can be used to solve business problems to aid intelligence and informed business decision-making.

One of the analytics training solutions that DMAIPH offers, is partnering with schools  on curriculum and instruction enhancement.  We are also more than willing to meet with you to explore possibilities of collaboration.

The key areas DMAIPH can assist with are as follows:

  1. Consultation with Key School Administration Decision Makers
  2. Initial Faculty Training via a 1-Day hands on workshop
  3. Building Student Awareness by speaking at student events
  4. Guest Speaking in classrooms and academic events
  5. OJT Opportunities with DMAI and out partner companies
  6. Fresh Grad Training for analysts looking to start their career
  7. Provide a textbook for business analytics based on the CHED memo

DMAIPH is adapt at providing staff and students with an overview of the current trends in business analytics that drives today’s businesses, as well as providing an understanding on data management techniques that can help organizations achieve their business goals and address operational challenges.

The need for more analysts and professionals with analytics training in the Philippines continues to quicken at an amazing rate. On any given day you can see over 2,000 analyst jobs posted on jobstreet.com

The demand of analytics talent in the Philippines far outweighs the demand. Even with specialized tracks like the Fundamentals of Business Analytics starting up over the Philippines, more needs to be done.

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DMAIPH is uniquely positioned to help schools deliver on CHED’s memo and help supply the demand Filipino businesses, BPOs and Call Centers are asking for.

We have been doing analytics training, consulting and outsourcing in the Philippines since May 2012. In addition, DMAIPH has helped over two dozen companies bring more analytics into their business and have trained over 100 batches of analytics trainees.

Analytics Education – Facilitating a mastery of the fundamentals of analytics is what DMAIPH does best. As a key parnter of the Data Science Philippines Meetup Group, DMAIPH champions the use of using data.

All across the world, companies are scrambling to hire analytics talent to optimize the big data they have in their businesses. We can empower students and their instructors with the knowledge they need to prepare for careers in analytics. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly so we can set a guest lecturer date, On-the-Job Training experience or other analytics education solution specifically tailored to your needs.

“If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It”… Not In My House!

Often I here people say, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

The saying is thought to have originated by an American politician, referencing a way to control government spending. Wait until something breaks before spending time and money on something. Don’t waste resources on things that don’t need maintenance or improvement.

I think about that, then I think about my own up bringing. I come from a family of men who are handy with tools. They are builders and tinkers and always using time to maintain and upgrade to prevent things from breaking.

The lesson of taking leaves out of the gutter to prevent a heavy rain from bringing the overstuffed gutter down.

The lesson of taking the time to check your time pressure and replace your break pads before having to go out driving during a storm.

I could make a list 100 pages long of lessons from my Dad and my Grandfather about why its better to fix things before they break.

When I think about this saying and the lessons I learned as a child, I notice I apply them to my business.

I am always tinkering and trying to proactively fix things before they break.

If you look at what separates good leaders from bad, successful businesses from failures…. they fix things before they break.

Waiting for something to break in the end usually costs more time and money in the end.

But, that’s not human nature.

Most people, go with the if it ain’t broke model.

And to that I say, not in my house. Not in the house I built based on the lessons learned from my heroes… my Dad and my Grandfather.

And by the way… the politician who is the one most responsible for this saying… he ended up ruined by a banking scandal and resigned after only a year into office.

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