Standard Deviations Gary Smith’s impressive Standard Deviations book concerns an important point. Statistically inclined people often seem to miss that theory small t matters. Smith is keen to note that data isn’t enough on its own. “Data without theory… is treacherous” (Smith, 2014, page 233). Smith describes a case of a cholera outbreak. This outbreak…
Simpson’s Paradox: Data can be very confusing
One of the strangest things in statistics is Simpson’s paradox. The paradox happens when two sets of data each show the same result. Yet, when you combine the data into a single data set the combined table gives you a different result. Data Can Be Confusing Smith explains this using a click data example. In the data, he shows when you look at…
The Secret Axis: Label Your Axis So As Not To Lie
Gary Smith’s advice on statistics, Standard Deviations, is a really useful and entertaining book. In this Smith points out a number of major problems with the way stats are used. Some problems arise from deliberate tricks played by researchers/managers describing data. Other problems arise through carelessness; the researcher/manager using the data doesn’t realize they are abusing…
Nudging: Calm Down It Really Is Not The End Of Freedom
Mark D. White has written an ominously titled book “The Manipulation of Choice: Ethics and Libertarian Paternalism”. He really doesn’t like the sort of Nudging proposed by Thaler and Sunstein in their book, Nudge. I think that he needs to chill out. He gets excited about minor philosophical issues while ignoring big social issues. Nudges…
What Is Wrong With This CLV Formula?
Peter Fader and Bruce Hardie are experts in understanding the value of customer relationships. They have offered advice on problems with CLV calculations, especially those taught in MBA programs. They ask: “What’s Wrong With This CLV Formula?” Five Issues They outline five issues. Many of these are things to bear in mind that we might…
The Three Stages of Business Analytics
Thomas Davenport is one of the best know voices in the field of business analytics. He has a book with Jinho Kim which discusses how individual business people can best manage their work in a world where analytics are a key part of many business strategies. The aim of the book is to enable managers,…
The WAITA Model — How To Decide Upon Marketing Metrics
I recently published a short piece for WARC Best Practice on “How to set marketing metrics effectively”. The basic idea behind the piece is an explanation of how to decide upon what marketing metrics to use. This work introduces a new acronym that I’ve produced called the WAITA model. Hopefully, this is easy to remember. Why call…
The Red Queen And Implications For Best Practice
It is hard to spend any time at a business school without hearing the phrase best practice. We teach students best practice. Junior professors seek hints from senior folk on best practice. Even schools regularly go through bouts of benchmarking to see if they are adopting best practice. Best practice essentially is something that gets the most…
The History of Reporting on Brands
Roger Sinclair shows the value of experience when he surveys the history of reporting on brands. (Roger made a large number of contributions to the field of marketing accountability. I had the honor of presenting Roger’s family with the Blair Award for Marketing Accountability at the 2019 MASB Summit see here). When Firm’s Reported Their Brands…
Understanding Brand Valuation
Marc Fischer explains common methods of brand valuation. His work is useful in understanding brand valuation. Different Methods Of Brand Valuation One of the problems he highlights is that there are so many methods. Different companies have their own proprietary valuation systems. He groups these into three main approaches; a cost-based approach, a market-based approach, and an…
