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Category Archives: Problem Solving
The histogram – the honey badger of statistical tools
I’ve dedicated my posts this month to showing you why the histogram is the Honey Badger of statistical tools. The histogram looks deep into our data, helping us see patterns, raise probing questions and identify causal relationships. One of the … Continue reading
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Remember: March is “Hug a Histogram” month
In my last post I extolled the virtues of the histogram and proclaimed March “Hug a Histogram” month. It seems only fitting then that I dedicate another post or two to the benefits of using histograms – and the costs … Continue reading
Posted in Presentations, Problem Solving
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Embrace the histogram
Let’s say we are comparing two suppliers of some service to our business – any service: Temp Labor, Facilities Management, Security, IT, etc. One important measure is each supplier’s hourly rate. This may vary based on the seniority and skills … Continue reading
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Better Decision Making
The quality of a decision depends on the information available at the time of the decision, not the actual outcome that occurs later. As long as we decide consistent with our values, given what we know at the time, we’ve … Continue reading
Picking the right chart
Selecting the right chart type and designing it well is essential in clearly communicating our analytical findings. I’m Captain Obvious, yes, I know. But we often get this wrong. Last week I came across the following chart in a Wall … Continue reading
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Video in communication…and analysis
In a blog entry last week, Seth Godin shared the following clip illustrating changes in the earth’s temperatures since 1880, and posed the question: If a picture is worth a thousand words, what’s a short video worth? While video is … Continue reading
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Siri, the great communicator
A couple months ago I stood in line at the local Apple store to buy the new iPhone 4s (I used to shake my head at people who did this, yet there I was). The purchasing process took longer than … Continue reading
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Mental focus
This past week, Seth Godin blogged about how we should start the workday. Seth’s point was that we’re better off starting the day focused on our priorities than by reacting to those of others (found in the emails, websites, etc.), … Continue reading
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Designing Data Tables
Tables are one of two primary means for sharing quantitative information (charts the other). The first step in designing an effective table is to determine the comparison we want viewers to make. Do we want them to compare sales of … Continue reading
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How do you think best?
Most of us would recognize that thinking is one of our job responsibilities. Why of course. That’s so obvious it’s not even worth pausing to consider. But if we actually do pause and consider it, we might conclude that thinking … Continue reading
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