What Happens when Big Data Meets a Little Strategy?

Last week, in Las Vegas we had the opportunity to participate in a 2 – day “Mastermind-type” strategic session with a gathering of technology and Internet entrepreneurs and executives from around the globe. It was an impressive group – leaders of companies with average sales of $8 million and competing and prospering in industries than run the gamut – from consumer …

Why NOT Manage by Data?

For the first time, with the power of business intelligence dashboards, smaller businesses can harness the power of big data to more efficiently and profitably manage their companies. Some readers expressed skepticism that this “stuff” actually works. That it is just more “noise” that causes entrepreneurs to get “lost in the weeds” versus long-term thinking and planning. There is some …

Sports Metric of the Week: Did the Golden State Warriors Get Lucky?

The Golden State Warriors have emerged from Western Conference bottom-dweller to NBA champions in a rapid ascension to the top of the sport. With the new season underway, the Warriors are off to a blistering 7-0 start by outscoring their opponents by 20+ points per game, including a victory over their in-state rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers, this past Wednesday …

Big Data, Dashboards, and Exits

The confluence of Big Data and high quality, low cost software-as- service (SaaS) programs and applications for virtually every business purpose has made the path clearer than ever as to what entrepreneurs and executives must do to build real equity value in their companies. It looks like this: First, utilizing great tools like John Warrilow’s Sellability Score or Dave Lavinsky’s …

Sports Metric of the Week: Thursday Night NFL Point Differentials

You might recall that in 2014 there were many complaints that Thursday Night NFL games were not competitive enough, with a huge point differential between the winning and losing teams. In fact, during the first five weeks of the 2014/2015 season, the point differential averaged a massive 29 points.By the end of Week 8, the average for the 2014/2015 season …

Sports Metric of the Week: World Series Championships

The winner of Game 1 of the World Series title has a HUGE likelihood of winning it all. As you can see below, Game 1 winners have won 70 of the 110 World Series titles overall or 63.6%. Recently, the results have been even more convincing. In the last 18 World Series, the winner of Game 1, has won the …

Here’s Why NOT to Trust Your Business Gut

According to statistics from BizBuySell, less than 1 out of 5 of businesses marketed for sale are able to find a buyer and to consummate a successful transaction. Even this depressing statistic vastly under-estimates how few companies are able to attain a successful exit, as the great majority of the over 6 million U.S. business owners are never able to even consider listing their …

Why Business Intelligence is So Hard [And What to do About It]

Written by Jay Turo on Wednesday, May 6, 2015 Over the past few weeks, I have written about the amazing growth and financial progress of Business Intelligence (BI) companies like Domo, Birst, and Looker and how their rise to prominence and value signifies a shift in how we think about the best way to manage and value an enterprise. I …

H.A.P.P.Y Business Intelligence

The power of business intelligence tools and technologies (BI) to provide managers and leaders accurate, real time visibility to the performance of all aspects of their companies – marketing, sales, operational financial – along with “automated” insight as to how to improve them has made BI one of the highest ROI arenas of business management in the world today. This …

Breaking Through Data Overwhelm (3 Easy Steps)

Written by Jay Turo on Wednesday, August 12, 2015  Over the past few weeks, I have had the good fortune to speak to many executives and entrepreneurs about how the “Humans” in their companies grapple with data and information technology to improve critical work processes and business results. These processes include “New School” ones like formulating, launching, and managing multi-channel …