Jackson Two

Category: Personal

  • How do you add value through data analytics?

    I recently read this article that really ignited a lot of thoughts that often swirl around in my mind.  If you were to ask me what my drive is, it’s making data-informed, data-driven decisions.  My mechanism for this is through data visualization.  More broadly than that, it is communicating complex ideas in a visual manner.  Often when you take an idea and paint it into a picture people can connect more deeply to it and it becomes the catalyst for change.

    All that being said – I’ve encountered a sobering problem.  Those on the more “analytical” side of the industry sometimes fail to see the value in the communication aspect of data analytics.  They’ve become mired down by the concept that knowing statistical programming languages, database theory, and structured query language are the most important aspects of the process.  While I don’t discount the significance of these tools (and the ability to utilize them correctly), I can’t be completely on board with it.

    We’ve all sat in a meeting that is born out of one idea: how do we get better.  We don’t get better by writing the most clever and efficient SQL query.  We get better by talking through and really understanding what it IS we’re trying to measure.  When we say X what do we mean?  How do we define X.  Defining X is the hard part – pulling it out of the database, not as difficult.  If you can get really good at definitions, it becomes intuitive when you start trying to incorporate it into your business initiatives.

    As we continue to evolve in the business world, I highly encourage those from both ends of the spectrum to try and meet somewhere in the middle.  We have an unbelievable amount of technical tools at our disposal, yet quite often you step into a business who is still trying to figure out HOW to measure the most basic of metrics.  Let’s stop and consider how this happened and work on achieving excellence and improvement through the marriage of business and technical acumen – with artistry and creativity thrown in there for good measure.

  • #data16 Day 3

    Admittedly I’m jumping from day 1 to day 3.  I hit a micro wall on Tuesday.  But now that I’ve pushed through to Wednesday – it is time to focus on the amazing.

    First up – paradigm shift.  I had a very novel vision of expectations and how to “get the most” out of the conference.  This involved the idea of attending several hands-on sessions and maximizing my time soaking in how others solve data problems.  The ‘why’ behind the initial decision: I have a particular love for seeing how other people pull apart problems.  I was once asked what my passion was by a colleague – I said that I loved understanding the universe.  Pulling apart anything and everything, understanding it, cataloging it, figuring out how it fits into existence.  So faced with the opportunity to see how others tackle things was something I had to do.

    So what was the paradigm shift?  The conference isn’t just for seeing people solve problems.  It’s about seeing people communicate their passion.  And this happens in a million different ways.  This morning it happened with Star Trek and making data fun and serious.  Later it was 300+ slides of humor secretly injected with sage wisdom.  The word that comes to my mind is intensity.  I think really what I started seeking out was intensity.  And there’s no shortage.

    My takeaway: Focus more on the passion and intensity from others.  Soaking this in becomes fuel.  Fuel for improvement, potential, and endless possibilities.  I can always go back and learn the intricate, well documented solutions.  I can’t recreate magic.

    Second item – commitment.  Commitment is accountability, following through, sticking it out, dedication.  Commitment is daunting.  Commitment is a conscious choice.  I made a commitment to myself to be present, to engage with others.  Following through has been difficult (and very imperfect), but it has been unbelievably rewarding.  Thinking back to my day 1 thoughts – I fall back to community.  Committing to this community has been one of the best decisions I’ve made.

    My takeaway: Human connections matter and are second to none.  Human connections make all the gravy of data visualization, playing with data, and problem solving possible.  (Also when you commit to dancing unafraid at a silent disco, you end up having an amazing day.)

    Final item – Try everything that piques interest.  (This one I will keep short because it’s late.)  If you sense something is special, RUN TOWARD IT.  Special is just that: special.  Unique, one-of-a-kind, infrequent.  I think the moments I’ve had while here will turn into what shapes the next year of my life adventures.

    My love note for Wednesday – in the books.

  • #data16 Day 1

    What better way to commemorate my first day at #data16 than sharing the highs, lows – what has met expectations and what I didn’t expect.

    The community – Probably the one thing I couldn’t anticipate coming into #data16 was how the virtual community (mainly via Twitter) compared to reality.  Like internet dating, you never really know how things are going to be until you meet someone in real life.  Not that I am shocked, but everyone that I’ve met from the blogosphere/twitterverse has been even more amazing than I imagined.  From sitting next to an Iron Viz contestant and forming a friendship on the plane, to getting a ride to my hotel, to meeting up with friends in a crazy food truck alley, to someone shouting my name in the Expo Hall – it’s been a wave of positive energy.

    One unexpected component was the local Phoenix community.  It’s been awesome to see familiar faces from Phoenix wandering around Austin soaking in every moment.  I wanted to come to Austin and feel surrounded by familiar and that is definitely something that’s been accomplished.

    The venues – When I was 18, I redecorated my childhood bedroom to be more “adult.”  Part of the process was finding the perfect desk for my space.  I somehow stumbled onto an Ikea webpage (mind you, I grew up in a small-ish city in Indiana).  Not knowing too much, I convinced my mom to road trip to Chicago to go to Ikea and buy my perfect desk.  What I expected at the time was to walk into a normal size furniture store.  I couldn’t fathom or anticipate the sheer size the store turned out to be.  That’s been my experience in Austin so far.  Overwhelmingly massive in size with everything being on a grand unexpected scale.  Not bad, just unexpected.  The registration desk had 50+ smiling faces greeting me.

    Logistics – I’m still early in the game, so I will have to elaborate after a full day of conference.  So far I’ve been extremely impressed.  I was intimidated by being south of campus.  How would I get around, would I be able to be “in it?”  This has been a non-issue.  Details on transportation have been very transparent and well organized.  There’s been food at every turn, plenty to sustain even the weirdest of diets.

    The weather – This has been my only let down!  I can tell it has been rainy off and on, so it is super humid.  For someone used to the dry Arizona air, it’s a little different feeling the moisture in the air.  I’m sure my skin in thankful!  But, tonight I’m left running the A/C to compensate for the moisture.  A huge change from swimming in Phoenix on Sunday to heavy humidity on Monday.

    First up for my very full day Tuesday is hopefully a meetup for Healthcare followed up by the morning keynote (I really need to eat some breakfast!).  After that – we’ll see.  I originally anticipated spending the majority of my time in Jedi hands-on sessions.  I love seeing how people solve data problems and figuring out things I can take back, tweak and tinker with.  After today, I’m wondering if I should reevaluate.  The one thing I won’t be able to recreate after this experience are the people, so anytime there’s a schedule clash – for me I am prioritizing networking above all else.

    #data16 day one in the books!