What can you add?

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I want to thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Analytics: What a 4 Year Old Can Teach Us is a post from the Support Analytics Blog

With the one below that was posted on March 9th, there is a message that I think is important to those folks that are creating charts and graphs and those that are viewing them.  My rule of thumb is to question the data or designer when I see a lot of "dressed up" data.  The more glitz and chart bling, the more it makes me question the data and creator.  A good data visualization or data presentation will speak for itself and doesn’t need chartjunk or gaudy colors to send a message. 

The old saying goes: "If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with buIIshit".  Well, if you apply this saying to data, it might go: "If you can’t enlighten them with elegance, baffle them with bling".

[source]

Updated per Jon’s link in the comments.  This one never gets old…

[source]

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I want to thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Dress Up Your Data is a post from the Support Analytics Blog

If excel were a car…

• It would crash two or three times per day for no apparent reason. The driver is often hurt, but the car itself receives no permanent damage. You’d just accept this fact, restart the car, and begin your trip again.
• Occasionally, your car would fail to restart after a crash, and you’d have to reinstall the engine.For some strange reason, you’d just accept this too.
• You would be forced to buy a new model every 18 months, and your old model would have no resale value. Each new model would be bigger that the previous one, require more gas, and would operate differently. Furthermore, parts from the old car would not be interchangeable with the new car.
• You could call a special phone number when you had a problem. The phone would be staffed by people who know less about your car than you do.
• There would be a special Macintosh model, powered by the sun. However, it would only run on 5 percent of the roads and require different driving skills.
• You would have to spend additional money to buy the operating manuals.
• The oil, engine, gas and alternator warning lights would be replaced by a single warning light: "This car has performed an illegal operation."
• Before engaging, the airbag system would display a message, "Are you sure?"
• Every time you looked under the hood, an obnoxious cartoon character would appear and ask if you need help. No matter how many time you refused help, it would keep appearing.
• A special feature would let you automatically record the route for a particular trip, so you could repeat the trip automatically later on. However, after repeating the trip you always end up at a different location.  Source

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I want to thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Excel Humor is a post from the Support Analytics Blog

Source

This comic comes at a perfect time to follow up on the recent predictive analytics post.  I am trying to keep things light on the weekends.  I hope you enjoy.

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I want to thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Predictive Analytics – Hiring is a post from the Support Analytics Blog

I don’t care who you are, that’s funny right there!

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I want to thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Dashboards for Fact-Based Decision Making is a post from the Support Analytics Blog

A little lighter side for a Wednesday!  I Hope you got a chuckle out of this one, like I did.

Warning: Don’t try this at the office.  Fictitious numbers can lead to a lack of income/employment, divorce (if applicable), and ultimately, complete distress. 

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I want to thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

The Importance of Accurate Numbers is a post from the Support Analytics Blog

I answered the phone to find a sales person on the other end asking to speak with the head of household, which was my first clue there was going to be a sales pitch coming.  I’m not sure what kept me on the phone because the only thing the caller usually hears at that point is the click of me hanging up.  Reluctantly, I said this was the head of the household (my wife may disagree, but that’s for another post).

After that response, it all became a blur.  The woman talked so fast and word-for-word from a script about how now was the best time to get replacement windows and their company was the best … blah, blah, blah.  I tried to get a quick, “not interested” reply in, but she was so fast in talking, I couldn’t get a word in.  I really wasn’t interested because I just purchased new windows six months ago.  Finally, I tried to interrupt with a, “Miss”, but she wasn’t even fazed.  She kept up at a blinding speed apparently in the “zone”.  Getting annoyed, I said again and louder, “MISS”, which again went unanswered.  Finally, I was really annoyed and just said “STOP” in the phone.  She seemed to be taken back a bit and stopped her tirade.  I informed her that I just bought new windows and was not interested.  Click!

Here is where the lesson comes into play.

If this woman had been nice, spoke in conversation or just a polite manner, I may have shared with her that everyone on our street is probably in the market for new windows because of all the houses are 20 years old with poor initial windows installed.  Also, I may have given her the names of probably five neighbors that I knew were interested in windows.  At almost $20k each, I guess that one call was a missed $100k opportunity for that sales person. 

If she merely asked nicely if I was interested and spoke in a civil manner, I may have shared this information with her.  Those sales probably would have made her year’s quota or at least a nice bonus. 

My guess is that she gets paid by the number of calls she makes or the amount of time she keeps someone on the line, which is a BIG mistake.  Compensation should be based on value and not an arbitrary number that may promote bad behaviors such as this one.  If all else fails, just be nice because it can go a long way.

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I want to thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Possibly $100,000 left on the table is a post from the Support Analytics Blog

This video is a little long, but Hans does an excellent job presenting statistical data.  It’s worth the time to watch, trust me.

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I want to thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Hans Rosling Video with Statistical Data Visualizations! is a post from the Support Analytics Blog

Happy Independence Day / 4th of July!  Not only is today a great day to celebrate our independence, but it’s also my wife’s birthday.  Happy Birthday!  I hope you take some time and relax from the norm and do something fun!  We will be celebrating the 4th on our new deck with a family cookout and cocktails!

Have a happy and safe 4th and enjoy your long weekend!

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I want to thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

Happy Independence Day! is a post from the Support Analytics Blog

This video is a good view for a lazy weekend!  Mixed into the video are some good data/info visualizations with a significant shock factor.  Enjoy and thanks Chris Jordan!

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I want to thank you for your continued support. This blog is better because of you.

TED Video Infused with Data Visualizations is a post from the Support Analytics Blog