Data-driven Decision Making

Because the velocity of data is increasing and will always increase, the need for data literacy is increasing and will always increase. This does not mean that to be a successful executive you have to become a data scientist – quite the contrary. It means that in order to be a successful executive, you need to understand how data is turned into action, be familiar with the methods of data science and data-scientific research, and be able to think strategically about how to use data to create value for your business. Here's an article I wrote a while back that explains how data literacy will make you "almost" invincible. Continue Reading →

We deal with procurement departments everyday. It's a fact of modern day corporate life. But this week, I've had to respond to so many RFPs asking for "blue disco balls," (my metaphoric name for a specific kind of middle management error that most vendors, suppliers and even solutions providers love most), I'm thinking about hanging one over my desk. What is a “blue disco ball?” Here's a story I wrote last year about every senior executive’s worst nightmare and every vendor’s holiday bonus all rolled into a budget-busting good time. Continue Reading →

When to start using machine learning in your business is not a hypothetical question; it’s a question you must answer today. Not because I say so, but because your competitors are working on their answers as you are reading this. So here are a few thought starters to help you explore your machine learning investment strategy. Continue Reading →

Machine learning, AI, cognitive computing, natural language understanding, image recognition, pattern matching, autonomous devices – these are just a few of 2017’s loosely defined catchall phrases. But in practice, they each refer to a significant field of study that is guaranteed to have an impact on the way people live and how business is done. So here are five things that you, as the leader of an organization that is singularly focused on creating shareholder value (however you define it), need to know ... Continue Reading →

Worried about robots taking your job? You have a weapon and one last chance: partner, or die! Continue Reading →

Clients want us to deliver online experiences that are competitive with Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google, and other top-tier tech companies because that’s what consumers demand. This has created a war for talent unlike anything I’ve seen in my career. While it must be fought, it can never be won because the rules are not what they seem. Continue Reading →

The TV business was once ruled by overnight ratings. Those metrics are becoming less and less meaningful in a world of mobile-first consumers. Online networks such as Netflix and Amazon don’t want or need third-party ratings. They know exactly what is being consumed, by whom, and when. Delivery and analytics are their core competencies. Additionally, Netflix and Amazon own their customer billing relationships, and whoever owns the customer usually wins. Continue Reading →

Analysts estimate that by 2030, self-driving cars and trucks (autonomous vehicles) could account for as much as 60 percent of US auto sales. That’s great! But autonomous vehicles are basically computers on wheels, and computers crash all the time. Besides that, computers get hacked every day. So you gotta ask, “Can self-driving cars ever really be safe?” Continue Reading →

FANG (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google/YouTube) is about to take a huge bite out of traditional network TV (ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox), and the media business will never be the same. Continue Reading →

There was a recent tabloid piece featuring a video of a woman asking Alexa if it was connected to the CIA. At the time, the Echo Dot she was speaking to did not respond to the question. She asked a few times, and each time the Echo was silent. Conspiracy theorists weighed in. It was an amusing video, but the Daily Mail’s clickbait headline raises a legitimate question: Can Alexa lie? Continue Reading →