Now What?

Posted | Category Analytics.

One planning season, as we were reviewing metrics and processes, building spreadsheets, developing assumptions, forecasting our opportunities and potential challenges, a new senior manager came into the picture. We were rushing around gathering our data and putting together our analytic plans, but not a big deal, right? We’ll pull together a quick program review, we knew our programs backwards and forwards, the performance metrics were seared into our brains – easy. But not this year…professionally, it was a turning point for me.

At this initial overview for the new senior manager, prior to the multiple rounds of Plan tweaking, we started to review our year-to-date program performance metrics (as we always did) and was told to…stop! “I’ve seen the deck – so what?” Silence ensued. What does she mean, so what? With what we were proposing, we could up our program revenues 30%! And still, she said “So what?” Continue reading “Now What?”

Jim Sterne Podcast: “Statistician’s Blues”

Posted | Category Podcast.

In this episode, Jim relays his vision for the future of marketing, why cookies are here to stay, and how today’s marketers should be thinking about machine learning (notice we didn’t say “worrying about” machine learning). Join Melinda and Jim as they reminisce about Silicon Valley when there was zero traffic and get blunt about where we need to be looking for the future. Continue reading “Jim Sterne Podcast: “Statistician’s Blues””

Fundamental Qualities and Skills of Market Researchers

Posted | Category Research.

As you may know, Market Research is one of the Awards Categories that folks can be
nominated for at the Analytics Hall of Fame. Our Analytics Hall of Fame membership is
global and is open to professionals who work in the following disciplines:

  • Analytics (Insights, AI, Data Science)
  • Business Intelligence and Big Data
  • CRM (Mar-tech, Sales, and Marketing Automation)
  • Digital Marketing and Analytics (Social Intelligence)
  • Research (Marketing, Market, and Competitive Intelligence)

Continue reading “Fundamental Qualities and Skills of Market Researchers”

LOVE Data, LOVE Data Science, LOVE ML, LOVE AI, LOVE Azure, LOVE Tenzureflow and still LOVE YOUR BUSINESS MORE….

Posted | Category Analytics(Data Science).

How to hire the Executive Data Scientist(CDS) and Scale Data Science Across the Enterprise.

In the age of data engineering and data science, many firms are trying to hire their Chief Data Scientist or Chief Analytics Officier but continue to struggle with how much engineering and science skills those leaders need versus leadership skills.

In my consulting and coaching practice, I am hearing some general themes in terms of challenges which demonstrate somewhat jumpy thinking in terms of what are the essential skills of the Chief Data Scientist:  Some skills you can teach and others come from deep experience.

Firstly, decide if you are looking to hire an executive leading data science or an individual contributor python expert. These are very different skills, and there are no Chimeras? Has anyone seen a Unicorn recently? I don’t think so. I subscribe to the complimentary and pod building theory of hiring which says the Chief Data Scientists needs to be surrounded by a variety of team members, not the least of which is the data engineer to ensure proper deployment of the ML solutions and to ensure IT resources are dedicated to projects.  Also, one question which may help you in hiring is asking yourself and knowing what are the connected skills to data science. Before DS was Predictive Analytics(PA) before PA was quantitative analysis(which skill sets are new and which ones are overlapped would be a good heat map or visual/infographic to create). More on this later. Continue reading “LOVE Data, LOVE Data Science, LOVE ML, LOVE AI, LOVE Azure, LOVE Tenzureflow and still LOVE YOUR BUSINESS MORE….”

Curiosity: The Feature We Share

Posted | Category Analytics, Digital Marketing.

The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.

– Albert Einstein

The Analytics Hall of Fame is populated by a variety of people who are practitioners, academics, consultants, and vendors.

We are from a variety of specialties, including Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Business Intelligence, Big Data, CRM, Martech, Sales and Marketing Automation, Digital Marketing and Analytics, Social Intelligence, Marketing Research, Market and Competitive Intelligence.

We come from the entire range of industries. We come from a diverse assortment of educational backgrounds. We come with the entire spectrum of experience from greenhorn to silverback. But we have one thing in common. Continue reading “Curiosity: The Feature We Share”