Tree Maps and Tableau

I'm beginning to become a big fan of the tree map.  It is very useful to see where business is coming from.  One of the cool features in Tableau is the user can bring dates to a row and then the tree maps also act as a bar chart comparing where the business is coming from YOY.  

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Sample Tree Map from Tableau

As you can see above I can tell 2007 was my best total sales year with declining sales throughout the years.  The decline was primarily driven by Office Machines as the size of that box never returned to its largest total in 2007.  

I can see myself using this for many different dashboards and analysis in the future.  Maybe I may even use bubbles. 

Apple Innovation from January 2004

Very interesting article from January 2004 and why Apple can't succeed as an innovator.  It's so easy to bash in hindsight.  I think I had the same opinion of the company back then also. 

Is Twitter the ‘end of the civilized world’

I love sensational headlines.  Of course it's not the "end of the civilized world".  I believe it is a changing of the way we consume news and information.  People who are in control of those industries are scared, not because of Twitter can do to the world, but because of what Twitter can do to their livelihoods.   

Innovation...

Companies covered by larger numbers of analysts generate fewer patents, and the patents they produce have lower impact than those from other firms, according to an analysis by Jie (Jack) He of the University of Georgia and Xuan Tian of Indiana University. The findings suggest that analysts exert so much pressure on managers to meet short-term financial goals that they impede companies’ investment in long-term projects, the researchers say.

Hmmm.  Just what I said in my last post. 

Why Apple needs to innovate faster

ZDNet’s most recent Great Debate raised the question whether Apple needs to innovate more rapidly. The answer is a definite “yes” and here’s why.

I love when writers and analysts talk about other peoples businesses and come up with blanket statements like this.  What's even more amazing is to use the stock prices of two companies as your argument.   

Wall Street is the killer of innovation.  Innovation happens over time, you can't rush it.  It happens through iterations.  If Apple were to have hurried their innovation in the past they would have released the iPad first, which would have been a flop because it would have cost much more than it did when they introduced it.  Instead, they took their time and iterated and introduced the iPhone first, which allowed them to build up more buying leverage to reduce prices for the iPad. 

Apple will show us what their next innovation is and analysts and tech writers won't be the ones dictating the timetable. 

Is Data Visualization Actionable?

Although data visualization has produced some of the most captivating artistic displays in recent memory, some of which have found their way into exhibits at the New York Museum of Modern Art and countless art installations around the world, business leaders are asking: is data visualization actionable?

I believe for the most part, the answer is yes.  Data visualization tells a compelling story which allows the consumer of the data to see patterns that are missed in analyzing the numbers.  Even when visualization cannot tell the whole story, they are able to point you in a direction that will save countless hours as they give a great starting point.  

The other side effect of visualization is it engages executives.  Executives love pretty pictures and stories without having to dig through multiple pages or large spreadsheets of numbers.  Dashboards are all the rage, but the visualization tells a story that executives can appreciate. 

IBM Watson, the Ultimate Marketeer?

When a computer can figure out whether a movie trailer is going to positively affect an audience or not – it makes you wonder how close we are to computer generated predictions on everything else in life.

Computers make our lives as marketeers so much easier in the past, however with social media and instant access to data, our jobs become much tougher to stay ahead of the curve.  IBM's Watson could be the way we all look at marketing in the future

Predict new trends and shifting tastes

Watson is a voracious consumer of data, and it doesn’t forget anything. You can feed it data from credit cards, sales databases, social networks, location data, web pages and it can compile and categorize that information to make high probability predictions.

IBM Watson is the ultimate in big data.  The ability to analyze sentiment and understand how tastes are changing in the marketplace is invaluable.  Most marketers don't know this until well after the shift takes place.   

Analyze social conversations – generate leads

Most social listening solutions on the market today do an adequate job of giving the marketer signals and reports about their industry, competitors, partners and current customers. But it’s up to the marketer to analyze the information and take action.

What if someone could tell you what to do, not just tell you something happened?  In this age of social media it takes teams of people to keep up on the never-ending conversations happening about the brand.  Taking complexity out of tasks is what technology should do and this sounds like the perfect use of Watson.

Computer calculated and automated growth hacking

If you’re a marketer and not familiar with growth hacking, please study up fast. Growth hackers focus on innovative A/B testing techniques to maximize conversions on emails, websites, social media, online content or just about any digital media available to them. It’s a low cost but more effective alternative to traditional media.

A/B testing is nothing compared to what Watson can do.  Imagine A/B testing on steroids, using predictive analytics and much more information than just clicks on a webpage.  The ultimate in design and the right offer/message to the right person at the right time. 

Keep Up with Your Quants - Harvard Business Review

Very good article about using data to make decisions and communicate results.  

having big data—and even people who can manipulate it successfully—is not enough. Companies need general managers who can partner effectively with “quants” to ensure that their work yields better strategic and tactical decisions.

Often times analysts struggle to communicate their findings in a way the organization understands.  Finding a common ground makes for a great combination. 

We all know how easily “figures lie and liars figure.” Analytics consumers should never pressure their producers with comments like “See if you can find some evidence in the data to support my idea.” Instead, your explicit goal should be to find the truth.

How many times I have heard this in my career?  Quite a few times.  As data consumers, we can't be afraid of being wrong or showing that a decision we have made lost money.  That happens.  Always strive for the truth.  It is much better to improve results then to take a hit to your ego.

The rest of the article is a great read on how to better receive analytics.   Being someone who can take analytics and turn data into money is what separates the men from the boys.    

Creating Baselines

On Monday Apple introduced a brand new iOS, version 7. While it didn't change the basics of the operating system, it created a new starting point. I call this a baseline. The point in which things will be measured against. The standard if you will.

Baselines are very important to measure your business. I always want to come in to an organization, create a new baseline and innovate from that point. Once innovation has slowed and opportunities start to become scarce, a new baseline must be formed to build the next great iterations. Without the foundation, a house cannot be made.

Apple has created their new foundation on which to build upon. Some don't like it, some love it. In time it will be like second nature and we won't be able to remember when the interface wasn't like this. All companies eventually have to create new baselines, even ones as insanely successful as Apple. This should be embraced, because it takes courage to throw away and start new. The alternative is to slowly fade into mediocrity.

Bridge the Gap Between Marketing and IT

...IT organization has been transitioning from the traditional development approach of (1) define functional requirements, then (2) design, then (3) build (the "waterfall" approach) to making quick, small changes to systems ("Agile Scrum").

The waterfall approach kills companies that are not in the software business.  Since internal products are not sold, nor measured by sales, its easier for IT departments to hide behind process.  Process and requirements kill companies.  Companies in this current age need to be faster to market.  

Agile and Scrum have allowed ING to respond quickly to signals from customers. But moving to continuous delivery is a struggle. Some business people who are used to the traditional waterfall method can fall into an unfortunate cycle: taking months to develop requirements, then waiting for IT to respond, then telling IT that's not what they wanted. Now instead at ING they say, "Here's your team. You need to be in every daily or weekly Scrum cycle or sprint to decide if the work is meeting your needs." It demands more time from the business people, but they are engaged and own it.

The Agile method is so much more effective to engage the business.  The business moves at the speed of sound compared to IT and if the IT department gets buried into process, the business loses faith in IT and finds another way.  This doesn't make sense for the business, but it happens to get things done. 

While Scrum has been employed primarily in software development, ING shows that it has broader management applications. They have used Agile Scrum as a key tool for collaboration across functions in processes such as developing new products and in marketing campaigns. And the frequent (daily or weekly) meetings accelerate decision-making.

This is very interesting and I have never thought about all decision making changing to an Agile Scrum.  In my business, I deploy an "unofficial" Agile Scrum, just have never thought about it from that point of view.  I believe it works so much better, to be engaged daily in your business and with your team.   

 

Redesigning the Look of iOS Is Jony Ive's First Step Towards CEO

I don't believe that Jony Ive is being groomed for the CEO role.  In my opinion, what Tim Cook is doing is defining his #2.  I have believed for some time that your #2 should be your opposite.  Jony Ive is a true product guy, an innovator.  Tim Cook is an operations guy, a brilliant logistical tactician.     

When your #2 is your opposite, it allows you to focus on what you are passionate about, your expertise.  Let your #2 focus on the things you don't have passion for.  A trusted #2 that is your opposite will make your team more effective because the team gets the best of you. 

Manage Data with Organizational Structure

Article on who should manage data...​

most people management is actually done in the course of day-in, day-out work, by managers and employees. HR may very well define the semiannual performance review process, provide the needed forms, and make sure it is carried out. But performance assessment is completed by employees and managers.

This last point strikes at the heart of the federated model. Corporate HR sets policy; department HR may modify it in accordance with specific needs; and departments, managers, and employees carry out these policies. Most have a certain degree of latitude in how they do so.

 I am a big proponent of moving data management out of IT.  The HR model is exactly the model that works.  The business is closer to the data and very few IT department can handle the pace of the business when it comes to data management.  IT designs the network, builds the hardware and manages updates, while the business manages the ETL, data model and governance of the data.  

Marketers, Go Back to Basics

"There's so much that's sexy in social media and in mobile right now," he said. "Anyone who's bought a smartphone in the last 18 months is doing some things they hadn't imagined yet." When they read about a big company launching a cutting-edge initiative, they want in — but the economics usually only make sense for large companies that have experimental budgets. Instead, he says it often pays to focus on bread-and-butter marketing (like direct mail) or even on technical innovations of the past few years that are effective, but less novel (like mobile websites).

In the gaming industry, direct mail is still king.  In fact, it's not really close with a response rate of over 4X then email alone.  Yet, many marketers get caught up in the sexy new marketing trends.  Social gets more attention than direct marketing, even though direct marketing brings much more profit.  Likes are revered, yet direct mail is boring and so yesterday.  Sometimes whats worked in the past is what will work in the future.  

Will Data Science Become the New Bottleneck? - Forbes

many have posited that recalcitrant IT departments, hidebound by a history of rigid organization, have been a bottleneck to the adoption of new technologies and, by extension, the ability to distill business value from data.

We’ve also examined the potential and difficulties of analyzing big data, arguing that a new class of analyst, the data scientist, is on the rise in many organizations.

That may be part of the problem, rather than the solution.

I think this will be a major problem as big data moves into the mainstream.  So many organizations struggle with IT getting data that is readily available in the organization, wait until 20 groups are pinging 2 data scientists, who by nature are slow and go down unnecessary rabbit holes to find the truth.   

In reality, most businesses don't need all this data.  They need to perfect using their current data to drive actionable results.  Until they do that, there is no need to bring big data into the organization.  ​

Amazon's Jeff Bezos: The ultimate disrupter - Fortune Management

He's a pro-customer, tightfisted risk-taker who is conditioning Wall Street to embrace his erratic earnings. If you're running a business with high margins -- watch out.

I am fascinated with Jeff Bezos and Amazon.  Years ago I became obsessed with Steve Jobs and Apple and the differences between the two companies are drastic.  People compare Jeff and Steve all the time, but there isn't much in common from their philosophies.  

The first thing that fascinates me about Amazon is when are they going to start making money?  Sure they bring in a large amount of revenue, but they really don't bring anything to the bottom line.  Can they ever?  If they make moves to make more bottom line will they lose their extremely price sensitive customers?  It will be interesting to watch.

I also don't know if this low margin business model is actually good for the consumer in the long run.  Sure, it's always nice to pay next to nothing for any items, but there are always consequences.  Innovation will lessen if a competitor can come in later and make no money and steal all the marketshare.  Also, for companies that sell to Amazon, if price is always driven down and margins are always squeezed, the products become worse over time.  Companies need to make money and margins are a good thing as it allows for better innovation in the product and higher R&D budgets.  If the margins are so low, the only innovation becomes cost-cutting and that is not good for anyone, especially the consumer.

Again, it will be interesting to watch.  

Is Siri really Apple’s future? « counternotions

Siri is a promise. A promise of a new computing environment, enormously empowering to the ordinary user, a new paradigm in our evolving relationship with machines. Siri could change Apple’s fortunes like iTunes and App Store…or end up being like the useful-but-inessential FaceTime or the essential-but-difficult Maps or the desirable-but-dead Ping.

An article making the rounds.  Very interesting take on what Siri can become, sounds pretty awesome. 

FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver Explains Why We Suck At Predictions (And How To Improve) | Fast Company

When human judgment and big data intersect there are some funny things that happen. On the one hand, we get access to more and more information that ought to help us make better decisions. On the other hand, the more information you have, the more selective you can be in which information you pick out to tell the narrative that might not be the true or accurate, or the one that helps your business, but the one that makes you feel good or that your friends agree with.

This is a great article on using data and predictions.  I just bought this book as a good friend of mine suggested it is a great read.  I always hear "You can make numbers tell whatever story you want."  Ain't that the truth?  So many times colleagues of mine hold on to a certain part of the data that tells the story they want to tell and soon it becomes truth, however this only helps them look good instead of moving the business forward.  

Amazon profits: They don't exist, but the company keeps on keeping on.

I totally agree with this article.  Companies like Amazon and Google are ruining innovation and stifling competition.  If they are going to compete in many markets at a loss, it prevents many other companies from entering the space because they can't compete and make a profit.  

I still don't understand the fascination with market share.  Market share without profit is meaningless.  The theory with Amazon is eventually they'll be able to bring some of that massive top-line to the bottom, but can they really?  Are customers loyal to Amazon or the price?  If they try to get more margin will they keep the business or have they just trained their customers to expect the service and goods at a discounted price and wait until they get it?  

It's about time Wall Street and bloggers start rewarding companies that make money and are growing longterm sustainable business models, instead of focusing on market share and number of non-paying customers a company acquires.  

Seth's Blog: Beauty vs. specs

Some can't understand why a product or service doesn't catch on. They can prove that it's better. They can quote specs and performance and utility. It's obvious.

The other might be willing to look at the specs, but he really doesn't understand them enough to care. All he knows is that the other choice is beautiful--it makes him feel good. He wants to use it.

Since the iPad mini announcement the bulk of pundits say it costs too much.  $329 is higher than I would have liked it to be, of course I would like it to be free if I had my choice.  But Apple is playing for the long run.  

Apple could have created a $249 iPad mini, they are perfectly capable.  However, they chose to make the product that aligns with their brand and is beautiful.  In the long run it pays off.

Is This Driving Incremental Revenue?

So I went to lunch with my daughter today.  We were out and about and she loves Tony Roma's, saw that we passed one and asked if we could go to lunch there.  When walking up to the door there was a "check-in with foursquare" sign on the front door.  So I did.

Mind you I was already there, already made my decision to eat there, was going to pay full price before I saw this sign.  I checked in and they gave me 10% off of my meal, for essentially doing what I was already going to do.  So why is this a good strategy?

I understand the whole social aspect of this check in.  This goes to all of my "friends" and they get to see I ate there.  But how many of my "friends" are paying attention to what I am doing, aside from those stalkers I have, by the way, stop reading this, but I digress.  How many people am I really influencing, enough to make up 10% for a meal I was going to pay full price?  I don't see it.  That is a lot of cost to overcome to drive something that can't be measured.

Am I crazy?  I just don't see this as a good business decision.  Just my thoughts.