Real-World Analytics: A Business Leader's Concise Inside View of How to Build and Manage Analytical Teams

By: Michael Koukounas 
Publisher: Full Court Press
Publication Date: June 2014
ISBN: 978-1-938812-31-6
Reviewed by: Amy Lignor 
Review Date: September 12, 2014

Knowledge that you, the business leader, needs to have is what author Michael Koukounas has most definitely delivered in his new book and...with humor thrown in for good measure. You really don’t need to have a multi-billion dollar company when it comes to understanding the information shared in this book. Yes, you will most likely not come in contact with the larger elements of data analytics if you are a ‘Mom and Pop,’ but to understand the process of data management and accumulation is important.

With the technology used in the 21st century, companies know everything about you, from your naptime to what latte you like best in the morning. A little too ‘Big Brother’? Sure. But there is an upside to our ‘personal data’ being scooped up and used in a company’s computer system. By using the data (correctly, of course), companies can do better for us. They can increase productivity and profit, but they do this by using the data to learn what it is that the consumer really wants and what they’re missing out on. They utilize an analytics ‘team’ to really ‘hear’ what people want, and what they can do to make lives better.

Business analytics helps business and industry make better choices, and the lessons in this book show business leaders' the very core of analytics and how to accumulate and sort through consumer data. Efficiency is needed in all areas of a business: CEO’s must make strategic decisions. Marketing teams use data in order to understand how best to present a product. There are even Risk Managers who need crucial data in order to do their jobs betters; such as, deciding on loans and other financial issues.

Setting forth the ATOM method in this text, business leaders actually see what’s required to create a successful analytics team. Call it a roadmap, if you will. From learning how to Access Data; to how to set up an analytics team by what Talent you should be looking for; to getting that Operational knowledge to better understand and improve your business; to Maintenance, and learning how to rotate, edit, add and increase data so that your company is always ‘fresh,’ this book covers it all.

From the very beginning, this book offers an overview of everything the business leader needs to know. It also proves that analytics teams will not only be something to ‘look into’ in order to increase your business, but they will become an industry of their very own. People need experts in our never-ending data age, so taking the time to invest in a team is essential to growth. In the end, you learn how the data out there can be used for far more important things than just learning about someone’s morning latte experience.

Quill says: A necessary book for businesses that is told by a definite ‘master’ of analytics.

For more information on Real-World Analytics, please view the book's website at: Real-Worldanalytics.com