A book review and recommendation by Dan Beaulieu
Behind Every Good Decision: How Anyone Can Use Business Analytics to Turn Data into Profitable Insights
by Piyanka Jain and Puneet Sharma
Copyright: 2015 by Amacom
Price: $27.95 • 244 pages with notes and index
BUY NOW
I’m happy I decided to read this book!
First, I have a confession to make: I never read books that have the word “analytics” in the title. I hate that word and everything it means. As a completely right-brained person, I have no use for charts, numbers and graphics. I am completely focused on people and ideas and dedicated to the philosophy that, with the right ideas and the right motivation, a passionate person can do anything — even things that analytics can prove that we should not be able to do.
Okay, whew! Now with that out of my system, let’s go on to why I did break my rule and read this book with the “A” word in the title. I thumbed through it, did my chart and graphic test, and found there weren’t too many. I checked out the introduction and found words like “clear,” “simple” and “easy to use” and thought, “Well, this is the book for me.” I had looked at a number books explaining how to work with big data and was half asleep before I put them back on the shelf. But for some reason, this one seemed different. I liked those words “simple and easy,” so I decided to give this one a try. And I’m glad I did.
This is truly the big data book for dumm … er, I mean right-brained people. The authors have done a great job of taking all of the mystery and heaviness out of the subject of analyzing data. I particularly like the chapter that explains BADIR (Business questions, Analysis plan, Data collection, Insights, Recommendations). I got it. I understood finally how this all worked.
The thing I found most useful about the book was the way the authors guide me through implementation and how to make all of this work. They explain how to impact the organization in just 90 days by driving the organization in the right direction. They go into specific detail, right down to the type of person to have on the team, and focus on getting things done in 90 days. This book does have some charts for certain, but they are simple and elegant enough for a person like me to understand, to “get.”
There are many books about data out there right now, but to my thinking, this is the best for right-brained thinkers like yours truly. If you really want to know everything about analytics but were very afraid to ask, this is the book for you. This is the one that does for analytics and big data manipulation what Carl Sagan did for the Cosmos.
Don’t be afraid. Pick this one up and read it. And then you’ll know.
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Dan Beaulieu is the president and founder of D.B. Management, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in all aspects of sales, marketing and branding with a focus on rep-principal relationships. His latest book is The PCB 101 Handbook which can be purchased online by emailing danbbeaulieu@aol.com. Dan is also the author of “It’s Only Common Sense,” a weekly sales column appearing at pcb007.com. Dan can be reached at 207-649-0879.