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I am a creative individual and bring a wide perspective to every challenge. I'm not afraid to be outside of the box and present a view contrary to the status quo.
I work well under pressure and find
the complex projects to be the most rewarding. I am a lifelong learner who is
consistently in pursuit of growth.
As a creative and data driven individual I have changed the perspectives of groups, sharpened project goals, and ensured my teams are achieving the desired results. I have learned that the answer is not always more data, but often utilizing the available data properly. Having been in positions of responsibility, I understand the importance of ensuring data is accurate, focused, and properly represented. I have seen data in every stage of its life cycle: from data generation, to logging it in the database, and then utilizing that data to identify insights. Effective utilization of data is the future, and I want to utilize data to drive humanity forward and unlock more of our potential.
Why I Have a Burgeoning Passion for Data
Why I Have a Burgeoning Passion for Data
The truth is, we are living in some interesting times. That statement, the truth is, gets to why I have a burgeoning passion for data. In a time of uncertain facts, deepfakes, polarized opinions, and conflicting narratives, it can be difficult to identify what the truth is. In times such as these, where it is difficult to identify who is being honest and what information is accurate, the best place, if not the only place, to turn is data. This means understanding what data is, what it can do, and what it cannot do is growing in importance.
The truth is it has become increasingly difficult to have conversations that touch topics with personal opinions. While writing this article, there is a sense of nervousness in simply thinking about what examples to present. There is a concern that in even listing examples of what can be polarizing, future opportunities for myself may be lost. This situation underscores the necessity of utilizing data, and therefore understanding it. To quote the documentary Navalny, “In today’s world of fake news, we don’t trust sources …. We trust data.” This is the age that seems to be upon us.
In the new Netflix docuseries about MH370, the missing Malaysian Airlines flight, data is front and center. The flight took off from Malaysia, disappeared on its path, was spotted again off course, and then only privately owned satellite pings remain to track the flight. That single flight has spawned numerous conspiracy theories and possible scenarios, simply because no one can “show” that they know exactly what happened. The closest we have is some data, which no one outside of that industry seems to understand.
Issues surround the story of the missing flight, but that doesn’t mean there cannot be a strong case to take a stance on. In the docuseries no one disputes that a type of tracking data is available. No one disputes the location the tracking data shows the plane in either. What they dispute is the credibility of that data, and more importantly, who is presenting it. Watching the series, it was personally frustrating not receiving clarification on why the data should be trusted. The viewers, and it appears the families of those on the flight, are simply told to do so.
The reasons for this are likely sound. First, the producers may have thought most people will not understand the technical nature of the Inmarsat data, and as a result were concerned viewers will get bored with the explanation of it. Second, the data itself may be confidential or of a classified nature. In any case, the lack of trust surrounding the data highlights the importance of one thing: data for decision making works best when accompanied with a credible story. The data presented alongside MH370 does not have a story anyone can connect to.
Data may at times be crystal clear to an expert, but a key characteristic that gets lost in understanding data is the story. That is exactly what happened in the Netflix series, and it is what a good data analyst knows. Data is only worth what stakeholders connect with, which at times may not be much. This in turn means data is only as valuable as the story that supports it. The stakeholders (families) in the MH370 documentary do not understand the Inmarsat data, and the story given to them did not help them to trust what was presented.
A good story will explain the aspects of the available information: What it is and what it isn’t, what are the types of data available, and in what ways the data can and has been manipulated? It will also be communicated at a level the listener can engage with. Data in many ways is an ethereal object to people. It all gets lumped together, it all looks the same, and it is often poorly understood. It is akin to a mystical entity with no real shape, it simultaneously has all of the answers and none of them at all. It has become more important than ever to understand data, and to have the ability to tell its story.
These times may be uncertain, but good data is not. Data is perhaps the single greatest way to identify not only a direction forward, but what is likely true, or at least true enough. Good data identifies what it is and what it is not. A good data analyst knows what they can do with it, and what they cannot. Very soon confidence in any decision will be measured not on who the source of the advice was, but instead on what data was used to make the decision. It seems to me, that everyone should have a growing passion for data.
1. CNN. (2022). Navalny. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.cnn.com/shows/navalny-cnn-film.
2. Netflix. (2023). MH370: The Plane That Disappeared. United Kingdom.
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