This week I read an interesting article from Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson about how big data is influencing businesses and causing a ‘management revolution’. In short, the article discusses the differences between standard analytics and big data, the effect on performance in data-driven companies, the impact of data on decision making and the challenges managers face in using data in decision making when it potentially goes against gut instinct.

Key Learnings:

The 3 V’s – Volume, Velocity and Variety: McAfee and Brynjolfsson say that data differs from analytics in the sheer numbers of data now available, the speed with which that data is updated and published, and the amount of different types of data now accessible.

Effect of data on data-driven companies: The article lead a study that found that the more companies charactarized themselves as using data-driven decision making, the better they performed.

Five Management Challenges: Leadership, Talent Management, Technology, Decision Making and Company Culture

To Be Continued…

McAfee, A., & Brynjolfsson, E. (2012). Big data: the management revolution. Harvard business review, 90(10), 60-66.