Freakalytics

Read the full presentation here, “Overvalued Software Products and Undervalued Analysts? The Value of a Great Analyst in Business Analytics”

I recently pondered the value of a great analyst to a mid-sized public company (revenues around $1-2 billion.)   Based on my experience at multiple companies, I estimate the productivity, typical project benefits, and costs of an average, good and great analyst. The differences in the return to a company are staggering with great analysts yielding double the ROI of a good analyst and triple the ROI of an average analyst!

My conservative estimates of analyst project results (annual value to the firm) are $460k for average analysts, $1.2m for good analysts and $3.1m for great analysts!

There are two primary drivers behind the much higher value produced by great analysts (illustrated in the following graph):

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Download the full paper by Eileen McDaniel, Ph.D., “A Practical Framework for Green Policy Decision-Makers: Maximizing Sustainability by Incorporating Consumer Behavior and Environmental Expert Opinion” (PDF.)

Executive Summary
Which “green” activities are consumers performing in their everyday lives?   Activities that-
–       Save them money?
–       Are easy to do?
–       Are the most beneficial to the environment?
–       Some combination of the three?

By combining insights from a recent survey of consumer behavior with expert opinion on green activities I found that:
–       Activities that experts rank as the most beneficial for the environment are not always performed frequently by consumers.
–       Economic benefit to the consumer is a stronger predictor of frequently-performed activities than environmental benefit.
–       However, convenience to the consumer is the best predictor of green behavior!

Decision-makers for sustainability programs can tailor this method to their particular location by:
–       Compiling a list of green activities specific to their region.
–       Surveying local consumers and experts.
–       Altering which dimensions are included in assessing the importance of various green activities.

“Newcomer” communities can maximize the impact of launching their green programs by:
–       Prioritizing activities that are convenient and economical for the consumer.
–       Motivating consumers with educational programs and incentives.
–       Waiting until the environmental program has gotten off the ground before encouraging activities that are low in convenience and economic benefit- unless they can be financially subsidized.

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After reading several articles, I decided to add my help for wayward singles seeking the right city to call home.   Following in the footsteps of work in the New York Times and Sperling’s BestPlaces, I seek to create a visually intuitive presentation about the “best” place to be single.   In particular, I seek to find the best cities based on concentration of singles and offer insights about cities with better odds for women and men- with some surprising results!

I hope this is a fun topic for everyone and a useful reference for some!

The presentation with maps: click here for presentation.

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