Statistics are Sexy

In an era of almost unlimited data availability managers are inundated with information of all types from multiple sources. In this environment, the manager must be able to filter out the relevant from the noise, and must also identify the data that can be transformed into something useful. Once you're left with a narrowed down pile of data, you can turn that into information that your team, your stakeholders, and your leadership can use to facilitate informed decision making.

Wait! That's not the end! Information is only truly useful to those people if it is communicated effectively. "Effectively" means that:

• It supports a well-defined purpose or decision-making objective; and
• It's in the right format for the message and the audience, and
• It provides clarity, rather than just more volume.

This is where the statistician on our team comes in. Statistics provides the means to analyze and extract real value from your pile of collected data. They can be descriptive- explaining the current reality in clear, concise terms; they can also be predictive- extrapolating trends to aid in decision making. Unlike other types of information, reliable statistical data when combined with a well-thought-out case for change is difficult to refute. A well-crafted, data-based argument is incredibly effective when trying to gain consensus among stakeholders on the way ahead.

Hal Varian, the Chief Economist for Google, was interviewed about the affect technology has on innovation. In that interview, he talks about how Statistician is the "sexy" job of this decade, as Computer Engineer was the sexy "it" job of the 90s during the tech boom. Keeping a skilled statistician within arm's reach can help you focus conversations and enhance your team's decision making activities by providing support for your business case for change. In a world where data and data sources are growing exponentially, a statistician can extract the value from that data and transform it into the representation needed to support your decision making processes. The statistician can inform and empower your stakeholders. Statistics aren't just critical to determining your path, but are also the key to explaining those choices to others.