cal models and a variety of advanced analytical techniques and algorithms to find the answers to questions embedded in data that are most often quite hidden to the general observer of business activities .
These questions often initially focus on the “ why ” or “ how ” as a baseline in order to understand or predict future outcomes . If we know the answers to questions like “ Which customers are likely to buy our products ?” then we can adjust our sales techniques aligned by customer segments . Or if we can optimize manufacturing capabilities to minimize waste and maximize yield , then this is a powerful use of data to improve future outcomes . If we can accurately predict which customers will pay us late , then perhaps we can preempt this future with a timely , focused and effective communication . These more sophisticated questions and analytical techniques that predict outcomes almost always produce a greater Return on Investment than the simpler questions focused on past events . In short , the most powerful and valuable questions are thought-provoking , invite new possibilities , surface underlying assumptions , and may even evoke more questions .
Analytical techniques and sophisticated algorithms are all necessary tools in the world of data science and business performance analysis . However , it all starts with formulating the right questions , which very much has a critical dependency to people and the talent they exhibit . The companies that get this right and excel at deriving value from the hidden treasures in their data , have recruited and / or developed people who truly have a gift to formulate the right questions - the type of questions that provide special insight and provide a competitive advantage .
These people have the ability to make rain happen , to leverage their business acumen and natural ability to use information , to connect dots across silos , to exploit their natural inquisitiveness and collaborative skills , to see the art of the possibilities through powerful questions that no one else sees , and to convince people who write checks to sponsor initiatives . If these people sound more like unicorns than rainmakers , it is because they really are hard to find in many organizations . And we only have to look at our education system for culpability . From the moment we enter school we are drilled to provide answers to questions , but when are we trained to use our minds to formulate questions that matter ? The education sys-
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