Data Storytelling for Disruptors

Disruptive innovations have become common in these 'postnormal' times. Organisations that seek to be disruptive are fusing big data analytics with storytelling to nurture better business cultures. Narratives and data stories encourage participation in innovation. We share our recent experience and insights into data storytelling and disruptive innovation.

Data-driven entrepreneurs

Leading a business intelligence project can be like bootstrapping a startup. Doing it well demands the mindset of a data-driven entrepreneur, along with BI tools that leverage open data and enable an agile approach.

Data-driven entrepreneurs are individuals responsible for successfully applying their resources to transform data into actionable insights and profitable opportunities. They may be analysts, managers, or executives who work in an established organisation or are independently in charge of a startup. Their goal remains the same either way: to persuasively propagate the power of data into the lives of others, so that decisive actions can be taken quickly to grow income, reduce risk and save money.

Data denial and the downfall

Mid-sized organisations are looking to business intelligence in order to build resilience amidst the uncertain and complex business climate. It’s about having the capacity to change before the case for change becomes desperately obvious, but building resilience rarely happens in isolation. 

Having to reform an entrenched business model is a daunting task, particularly for the giant corporations among us. To build resilience is to develop the capacity to respond intelligently to changing circumstances. When we, as executives, notice a reason to change strategy, but choose to avoid what the data reveals, we're in data denial, and that could make the difference between a mid-sized organisation taking market share and the downfall of a behemoth.

Maslow's Market Intelligence

We share an idea for how charities might become smarter in a networked world by using business intelligence concepts and a transparency index based on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

There is no shortage of challenges facing charities. As humanity grapples with complex issues, it is through the power of networks that the not-for-profit sector can best address human needs. To make a greater impact, donors and charities should take a closer look at their organisation as one option in a marketplace of alternatives.

Entrenched poverty, food security and failing education systems are large-scale challenges that also present massive opportunities. Through open data, these opportunities can become more apparent as a form of market intelligence. In this blog post we hone in on how open data may be structured for the benefit of all.

Keeping your job in the technology race

Creativity and social intelligence will be needed to adapt to an increasingly automated and unequal world.

If you hate chores, then Roomba's suggestion, 'Let a robot do your dirty work' may strike you as a welcome solution. From automated vacuum cleaners to robots that wash windows and mow lawns, accelerating automation is not only eliminating your time-wasting chores, but your jobs. How do you plan to keep yours?

Managing a Black Swan Event

When catastrophes strike, organisations may 'fall apart'. Managers may try to prevent the 'breakdown' and sustain operations, but in the aftermath of a disaster, no simple 'fix' may restore the previous order. A mechanistic-view of organisations leaves managers ill-equipped to handle the consequences of an unexpected event, yet it remains a common view in spite of Black Swan events.