Decision-Driven Analytics: Leveraging Human Intelligence to Unlock the Power of Data by Bart de Langhe and Stefano Puntoni.
Stefano holds a MSc in Statistics and Economics from the University of Padova and a PhD in Marketing from the London Business School. Today Stefano is a Professor of Marketing at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and Co-Director, AI at Wharton.
Bart holds a MA in Psychology, from KU Leuven in Belgium and a PhD in Marketing, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University in the Netherlands. Today he is Professor of Marketing at KU Leuven.
I certainly found this a must-read for anyone seeking to understand and leverage the power of AI data for competitive advantages. In a broad stroke the book shows how companies today have so much data at their fingertips, yet many executives and organizations fail to extract any true value from it.
They introduce a new framework called “decision-driven analytics”. In fact, this approach emphasizes the integration of human intelligence and judgment with data analytics to improve business outcomes. The book outlines four pillars of decision-driven analytics and identifies common pitfalls that organizations face when trying to leverage data effectively.
A counterintuitive but powerful approach
Readers will certainly understand the skills and tools needed to effectively use data for business outcomes. Bart and Stefano are providing critical perspectives on the conventional, legacy approaches to data-driven decision-making.
In addition, I would highly recommend the following books that compliment Bart and Stefano’s work: Competing on Analytics, HBR’s 10 Must Reads on AI, Analytics, and the New Machine Age, and Leading with AI and Analytics
Their insights focus upon why so many analytics programs fail, projects are disconnected from the actual business decisions that must be made for business projects to succeed. They share that many data analysts are advocating for data to be the starting point. They are stressing that effective decision-making with data actually starts by moving data into the background and just initially focus upon the decision itself.
In conclusion, I believe this is simply a must-read for organizational leaders and and data scientists who seek to harness their data effectively for competitive advantages. Helping organizations use data more strategically by integrating human intelligence and decision context certainly drives successful projects. Get onboard!