Tom Davenport, Author and Educator

Thank you everyone for the excellent discussion. Truly enjoyed it!

Thanks a bunch, Tom.

Thank you Tom for the great interivew and for spending time with us today!

@tom-I disagree.the less the govt has on us today,the better.we are turning into a Crony Capitalist state with each and every passing day.

Got to go--thanks for the great questions!

Tom, thanks for taking the time to talk with us.  Sounds like you have several books out -- which should I read first?

Great to hear. We interviewed Todd Park when he was at HHS. What a smart individual.

Yes, government needs a lot of help. Todd Park, the US CTO, is a big believer in analytics and has started some analytics-oriented companies before he got into government. That's a good sign.

Oh wow, great points Tom. Thank you.

Those are great examples, Tom.  With your criteria, I believe you could add government - local, state, and federal.

Also curious about the International Institute for Analytics.  Benchmarking analytics excellence in enterprise seems a fascinating project.  Is this very far advanced?

@Tom-Thank u very much for ur inputs.one final question-how can ordinary enterprises trust the apps on a General App store?doesnt it make more sense for the seller to have some sort of a demo/link on the app Store and the actual app is on their own website?

Nicole, the industries that need most help are the ones with low success rates on key decisions. For example, the film industry makes money on about 6% of the movies it makes. They need this badly. Some organizations, like Relativity Media, are starting to use analytics, and are much more successful. Other industries that need better decisions badly are venture capital and fashion.

I think every industry can benefit from analytics.  It's just a matter of knowing what needs to be tracked and what to do with it.

aum007, I think that the data coming from mobile devices will spur more adoption. And in terms of people using them to view information within enterprises, they're leading to smaller, more focused "analytic apps" that help with a single decision and are simple enough to use on a smartphone

Tom, is there any one industry that you think would best benefit from analytics? Or, alternatively, is there a particular industry that you think could be doing a much better job using analytics than it is currently?

@Tom-what abt the analytics skeptics?we need them too!

@Tom-do u see mobile devices driving greater analytics adoption in the enterprise?

I think you're right, Lin Crampton--there will be analytics amateurs, analytics semi-professionals, and analytics professionals/data scientists--we need them all

I think that makes great sense, lin.

aum007, I'm afraid I don't have much intelligent to say about that topic

Haha, Tom, very true. I'm usually stunned by LinkedIn's recommendations too. We had a LinkedIn data scientist on IE Radio not too long ago. Really interesting.

DHagar - I imagine that anyone who is good at data analytics could extract value from this skill professionally.  Like computer programming, I imagine data analytics would remain both a specialization and a special skill we all need.  

@tom-I was recently looking at some Skills wanted lists(in IT)-And Project Managers feature very,very highly.What do u think developers can do to master this skill better(other than simply get a PMP Certificate)!!!

Yes, and as a consumer I would be willing to trade off some privacy for good offers, but I seldom get any! I am very impressed, however, with LinkedIn's "People You May Know"--it's uncanny!

That makes sense, Tom. And with that in mind, then I understand why you support Do Not Track initiatives. There's no real sense in tracking people if meaningful insights aren't being derived from it, right?

@tom-the video is here http://www.ted.com/talks/gary_kovacs_tracking_the_trackers.html

From an education standpoint, do you see analytics as every becoming a part of mainstream business curriculum or remaining a separate science?

:) Thanks for being here, fitzscott! Great to talk with you today.

Nicole, I think that it's really difficult to do a good job of targeted advertising or product offers. Doing it well would require that you know a lot about your customers, a lot about your products or offerings, and a lot about the purchase context--and most companies just haven't made the investment to master all that information. I wrote with some colleagues about this--primarily the "next best offer" topic--in a December 2011 article in Harvard Business Review.

Tom - interesting, thoughtful presentation.  Thanks.

Nicole - you don't pull any punches.  Thanks also.  :)

Tom, With all of the analytics capabilities and all of the data that's out there, do you have any theories on why targeted advertising is still so bad?

@Tom-u should.The collusion plug-in generates some of the best data(in real time)-telling us who exactly is tracking us and for how long.The CEO of Mozilla had a good video on TED on this too.

aum007, don't know about the Mozilla plugin. But I use Firefox and will check it out.

Excellent, thank you!

fitzscott, I think the idea behind the "data scientist" term was that there needed to be a new term for the hybrid of programmer/hacker and quantitative analyst. I am not sure that's the best possible term, but we seem to be stuck with it for people who can work effectively with big data.

That sounds really great Tom.

thanks, Kim

@Tom-I am sure u have heard abt Mozilla's new collusion plug-in? do u think it will freak ppl off and ensure a lot of data is no longer generated(which Companies need for the analysis)-Web-based.

DHagar, I am always happy to talk about my books! This one is called Judgment Calls: Twelve Stories of Big Decisions and the Teams that Got Them Right. It's just that--stories of how organizations went beyond the "great man" school of decision-making and used analytics, a participative decision process, social media, etc to make better decisions. The examples range from NASA to a couple of small businesses to McKinsey & Co.

I should mention that Tom's website is a great hub for learning about his books, articles and blogging (he's writing a Harvard Business Review blog).  Grab the link for later browsing:

http://www.tomdavenport.com/

What's the rationale behind the term "data scientist"?  It seems like all scientists have to collect & analyze data, understand statistical significance, etc.  The software development part of the equation seems more significant.  The term "social scientist" is already taken, but maybe this is along those lines - psychology, etc.

Sum007, the ERP vendors have discussed functionality that would embed analytical decisions into the flow of the ERP process--e.g., a lifetime customer value calculation into the order management process. But these capabilities have been slow to arrive. I think there are probably ways to do some of it on your own, but haven't heard much about it happening.

Wow, so much for sentiment analysis!

Ah I'm so glad to hear you say that, Tom. I get so annoyed when I see "sentiment analysis" studies coming from groups who analyze Tweets and Facebook posts.

Can you tell us more about your latest book?

@TomDavenport:  How do you feel about Do Not Follow?  Do you feel it will have a significant impact on analytics for business?

Kim, I agree that sentiment analysis is a crude tool that gives only a crude approximation of what people are saying and thinking about a brand or product. Right now it may be easier to do it with a group of interns rather than an automated tool!

Sounds good - that sounds like the best approach to building a bse of support.  thank you

@Tom-How do u decide how much analytics to embed in your ERP infrastructure?

I think we can do that by building an analytics framework around HR models

To DHagar--I have found that most organizations already have some managers who are believers in analytics--the best solution is to find them and try to work with them to expand the base and prove that analytics can make a difference.

Thanks again for the interview Tom.  I did want to get around to asking you about sentiment analysis.  That seems still to be a fairly crude tool.  Any sign of people getting that right in the future?

How can we best build analytics into jobs to increase the use of analytics throughout the organization?

I'm on and will try to answer any questions

@Tom-i remember reading ur old book sometime back.It was a brilliant read!!

Tom should be here any moment so if you want to start posting your questions again feel free. 

Also, please tell us more about the latest book.

Three cheers for a great interview. Well done.

Thanks, DHagar.  It is cool seeing statistics getting some attention, as well as the logistics of loading & churning through mass quantities of data.

@Tom-good to see that u r teaching university-Which university is this gonna be?

Kim, we'll have to get to the rest of your Qs here. I know you had a ton.

Great info!

Haha, I figured, DHagar! I never really pegged you as a skeptic.

Oh, I had so many more questions.  Thirty minutes went real fast.

I agree, that was interesting.

I saw that, Nicole.  Actually, I was identifying where the best value is showing up so you can sell the short-term support for it!

thank you

Great interview!

I like your thoughts fitzscott.  I believe the terms are misused as well.  Coming up with standards will hopefully move towards better definitions.

@All: We'll get to the rest of your questions when Tom joins us here on the board momentarily. So please stick around!

That's you, DHagar. Skeptic! ;)

@Nicole-Yes.I think so.

@nicole-Yes I know wht u mean.Just bcoz u can analyze data,do u really wanna do it? unless we r going 100% towards the Minority report kinda way?

@aum: Think vendors are overstating what they can do w/their analytics capabilities?

Ha. Yup! Exactly!

@Tom-Do u believe in the ability of most analytics packages to actually satisfy (what they are promising) with better than 75% accuracy?

Nicole - Kind of a case of, "We can't pay you much, but we have this cool title for you!"?  :)

They've put out analysis like... oh.... people are happier on weekends than Mondays according to status updates. 

I think the label is often misused and misplaced. For example, Facebook has "data scientists" who I have a hunch are actually interns.

Interesting point, fitzscott. We'll get Tom to speak to that.

What's the rationale behind the term "data scientist"?  It seems like all scientists have to collect & analyze data, understand statistical significance, etc.  The software development part of the equation seems more significant.

@smk-No,no.U dont want to provoke the powers that be here! they are experts at Tasering Pregnant women nowadays!

@Tom Daverport:  How do you feel about the Do Not Follow initiatives?

@aum007:  I was thinking of a more physical application.  It might be easier to just get a taser.

@David-Any thoughts on Sentient Analysis?

@smk-do u have any such app?have u patented the app yet?

I am wondering what Tom's take is on the current state of "sentiment analysis."

Haha, smk. Sounds like that's precisely what you need!

@smk-I second your motion(slapping marketers)

Indeed, kkohli!

Hello nedal. Welcome to the show.

@Nicole:  Marketers who refuse to respect the privacy of the target market make me want to slap them.  Marketers who refuse to adequately use the infor they have also make me want to slap them.  I think I should invest in a slapping device.

hi

Everyone, we'll ask as many of your questions as we can on air. But no matter what Tom will answer them here on the board after the interivew if we don't get to them during the show.

Another great question, thanks!

A second question, how does he recommend or envision that we incorporate analytics into jobs to more widely utilize analytics throughout the organizations?

But that's a great point about "earning" access.

@Smk: I figured that would be your answer, re: respecting privacy. I was mostly just trying to provoke you. :)

For example, Steam exchanges the information I give it for reccomendations and knowledge (and fantastic deals) on games.

Thanks, DHagar. Great one. I'll pass it along and see if we can ask it on air.

It is my opinion that marketers earn the privilage of accessing information.  We have to offer something of value for it, or make the process a valuable service for the target market.

Nicole, I have a question - where does he see the most visible ROI coming from in data analysis right now?

The question cones down to what is the default setting for the majority.  Is privacy enabled by default?  Or is LBS data enabled by default?

@Nicole:  I disagree.  I personally can't afford privacy but I believe it's to our benefit in marketing to respect privacy.

information security is a big concern for us. any advise

interesting 

Well you can't really value consumer privacy if you're in marketing at all, right smk?

Hello, Susan!

I'm involved in social marketing, so I've long sacrificed my privacy.

Great question, tonydt.

Are there "levels" of analytics....i.e. things that are associated under a broad catagory that the analysis of gives building trends, reducing trends and change measurements vs the single yes no questions of analysis in the past?

Yes

DHagar! hello

@bwailes3: Lots going on this week between 7DEE and Smarter Analytics Clan Radio.

Yes, it's the environment, right. 

The fastest growing segment of Internet traffic is video, particularly mobile video.

Anyone have questions for Tom so far?

Back for Day 2

Hey batye. Good to see you here.

hi

That's a great point. It's not that analytics has changed, it's the rest of the environment.

Glad you think so, DHagar, and welcome!

This is excellent, as always!

Everyone: We'll be gathering your questions and comments for Tom here, so please keep the conversation going.

Hi firasatali. Welcome!

Kim's right this is the perfect way to start our series.

hello

We are LIVE!

I am eager to hear Tom speak. This should be great.

Indeed. He's a great host.

Kim has a good voice for the radio show.

Almost Susan. Four minutes!

Almost starting?

Kim's vocal chords are being overused this week. He is our 7DEE moderator and now our Smarter Analytics Clan Radio host!

Hello Kimbvh.

Hi everyone.

Thanks Nicole!

Hello jcarlisle! Welcome!

Hi everyone!

I'm looking forward to a lively discussion with you all during the show!

Thanks for being here. We go live at 2 PM ET, but please feel free to get your questions for Tom in early.

Good afternoon everybody!

Hello!

Hey

Hello, batye!

Hello :)

Hello, Hello!