I recently have been lucky enough to listen to Fernando de la Rosa, an expert in digital strategy and co-founder of Foxize. It was at an event organized by ESADE Alumni Lleida when he presented his book “Data, Cómo los datos te ayudarán en tu vida y en tu empresa, y transformarán la sociedad“. It was a very interesting presentation. Data is fundamental in any field and understanding it well is essential to making the best decisions.
Here I share with you the MAIN IDEAS THAT I GATHERED IN THE PRESENTATION:
- NO DATA IS NEUTRAL. Many times, most of us give data the ability to be neutral. Fernando points out that any data “has been collected, selected and displayed by a person with an intention”. We must not forget it.
- DATA NEVER SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. Another of the great fallacies related to data. De la Rosa affirms that “the selection, collection, analysis, and presentation always have an intention”.
- DATA SHOW, NOT PROVE. False belief deeply rooted today. According to de la Rosa, “no data will give you reality, only an approach.” I find it very interesting; we cannot intend to achieve with the data a total discovery of reality.
- CORRELATION DOES NOT IMPLY CAUSATION. For me, it is one of the most interesting reflections. And surely it is one of the most common mistakes when we talk about data. As Fernando himself indicates, “the data describe possible connections, but they do not guarantee their cause-effect”.
- GOOD DATA, BETTER THAN MANY DATA. Many people believe that they must have a lot of data to make their best decisions. De la Rosa is committed to having few but good ones, with which he strongly recommends “thinking, capturing, using and providing feedback on data that really matters”. Therefore, be selective and choose well what data you want to consider in your decision-making process.
- LITTLE (BUT GOOD) DATA, BETTER THAN NONE. It is always highly recommended to have data to make decisions. Sometimes it is not easy and you have to make an effort to achieve them. As Fernando recommends “if you don’t have data, go look for it”.
- DATA DOES NOT MEASURE EVERYTHING. I sincerely believe that it is one of the most interesting ideas; data does not measure everything. As Fernando says, “not everything that matters can be measured… not everything that can be measured matters.”
- ALL MODELS ARE FAKE, SOME MODELS ARE USEFUL. As the co-founder of Foxize explains, “data builds models and models help decide. But no model is reality”.
8 really interesting ideas to know how to manage better using data. As the author himself highlights in his book, “we are heading for a data-enabled society that will require us all to introduce ourselves to data literacy.”
Recommendations:
Book: “Data, Cómo los datos te ayudarán en tu vida y en tu empresa, y transformarán la sociedad”.
Fernando de la Rosa’s blog: www.titonet.com
