People think data is valuable.

But it's actually the correct analysis of data that's valuable.

With an incorrect analysis, data can actually be harmful and dangerous.

Take the image, as an example...

During WW2, fighter planes would come back from battle with bullet holes. The prevailing analysis was that areas commonly damaged from bullet holes should be reinforced to reduce the number of planes that were shot down.

That was until, Abraham Wald, analyzed the results and suggested that, perhaps, they should be looking at areas on the plane that were NOT shot because planes that were shot in those areas never came back.

This story demonstrates a pervasive issue in business, as well.

Most analysis's are done by analyst who don't always have full business context, as opposed to CXO's and Managers who do.

Experience and context matters.

So there's a major gap letting analysts fly solo when translating data into insights.

Without context, data could be easily misinterpreted and misread.

CXO's and Managers need to be more well versed in what data their company is collecting and collaborate with analysts in building reports, creating segments, and analyzing insights.