Analytics Transformation: Lessons from the world’s largest sovereign hedge fund

Posted on By Aliyar

Analytical awakening at any organisation requires a change in the mind-set on the organisational level.

Having the right tools and skills certainly enables the transformation but it’s the set of shared values that make the real difference.

Here are my highlights from an interview I recently read on Bloomberg where Yngve Slyngstad – CEO of world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund – shared his list of soft skills required to make smarter decisions in a world over burdened with information.

Continue reading “Analytics Transformation: Lessons from the world’s largest sovereign hedge fund” →

Perspectives: Right path to Growth, Many-Model Thinking & How to use Data for Creating Better Sales Promotions

Posted on By Aliyar

Articles on strategy, leadership and analytics (in no particular order) that taught me something new and widened my perspective. Hopefully they will do the same for you.

Read my key takeaways from the following articles:

  • The Right Path to Growth (McKinsey)
  • Making better decisions with Many-Model Thinking (HBR)
  • Case for using data for creating better sales promotions (HBR)

Continue reading “Perspectives: Right path to Growth, Many-Model Thinking & How to use Data for Creating Better Sales Promotions” →

How CMO’s can Prepare their Organisations for Data-Driven Decision Making

Posted on By Aliyar

This article was originally published by AW360.

Problem-solving is explorative process. Since my job is to help business and marketing leaders identify and tackle their biggest growth challenges, when I’m not talking to people, I’m absorbed in research or excavating insights from data.

I’m proficient at Excel and can make my way through data analysis in Python. Still, I often wish I had smart algorithms that I could use to complete complicated tasks on their own.

Fortunately for me, and people like me, that isn’t far off. Machine learning, and AI are developing at a pace where advanced analytics will soon be available to everyone across the organisation.

But truth be told, we’re not ready to move decision making away from the C-Suite to the people on the front lines. Continue reading “How CMO’s can Prepare their Organisations for Data-Driven Decision Making” →

Bite Sized – Trends & Behaviours

Posted on By Aliyar

A personally curated collection of thought starters for marketers who believe in personal and business growth over following vanity metrics. Follow this brief to discover trends, behaviours, technologies and perspectives that are changing the way we live and work.

Is Amazon really gaining on Google?

Amazon is here and it’s shaking up online retail. My friends and colleagues who live in places where Amazon Prime is available swear by its convenience and efficiency. If the same friends happen to be marketers, they also remember to through in a word of warning that Amazon is eating up Google. Is it really?

While majority or product searches do start on Amazon, as far as informational searches go, Google still dominates. In fact, according to a survey completed in US, UK and Canada, 82.7% of people use Google when searching for products online. Read more on Hubspot >>>

Ephemeral Content: What is it and what you’re going to do about it?

Ephemeral content is the short-lived, fast moving content designed to appease our shorter attention spans and faster news cycles. And I’m a big fan.

However, as a consumer, I’m not all that interesting. What’s really interesting are the habits of the 16 – 34 year people who predominantly consume this type of content. It’s not just fun and games either;

“This group’s primary reason to be on social media is to stay up-to-date with news and current affairs (91%, Index 2.27), but this is followed closely by finding funny or entertaining content (89%, Index 2.45).”

This research is the place to start if you’re interested in learning more about ephemeral content. Read more on Global WebIndex >>>

Instagram Stories attract more than double ad-spend

For Facebook, ad-spend on Instagram is attracting is growing more quickly than on its flagship platform itself. Data from Marin during Q3, ad-spend on Instagram Stories more than doubled YoY. It seems that, while still the advertising budgets devoted to Instagram Stories are still low, marketers are testing it as a platform to reach younger audiences who are abandoning Facebook. Read more on MarketingCharts >>>

Stay tuned for more.

Bite Sized – Perspectives

Posted on By Aliyar

A personally curated collection of thought starters for marketers who believe in personal and business growth over following vanity metrics. Follow this brief to discover trends, behaviours, technologies and perspectives that are changing the way we live and work.

4 Analytics Concepts Every Manager Should Understand

A frequent review of the basics is important for veterans and rookies alike.  Here’s a recap on the four most important analytics concepts that everyone working in digital marketing should understand. Go to hbr.org >>

Maintain Your Competitive Advantage by Focusing on Your Most Valuable Asset – You

The thing that makes you successful today may not be relevant tomorrow. The only true advantage one can develop is learning how to adapt to change faster and more successfully than others. Strategies that you follow to keep yourself ahead of the curve are the foundation for how you’re going to behave when your product or business in on the line. Go to entrepreneur .com >>

How to be creative?

I believe that we’re all creative. Yet in many professions, especially marketing, there’s still a distinction between those who do ‘creative’ work and those who don’t. You don’t have to be an AD to be creative. Creativity is adapting your knowledge to new situations and finding hidden connections where others only see obstacles. Listen to this podcast to discover how to access and exercise your creative muscles. Go to Freakonomics.com >>

Persistence vs Consistency

“Everything you can imagine is real.” – Pablo Picasso

But between imagination and reality lies a whole lot of hard work. Reaching your Wildly Important Goals requires both persistence and consistency. I tend to skew towards persistence when dealing with particularly thorny issues. 

Persistence and constancy aren’t one and the same. This article was a great reminder that while persistence is a necessary ingredient, consistency is going to help you win the victories, friends and allies that will ensure long-term success. Go to Seth Godin >>>

Other interesting reads

From a viral toy to projected 10 million USD in revenue.