So that is what data does..
On February 11, 2022 by jonI still remember being incredibly intimidated. I had been with the small-ish semi-conductor firm for a little less than a year and it was my first real presentation for the executives. Somewhere in the walk between my office and the boardroom I decided I was just gonna let it fly.
Big boy job
I started with Mimix Broadband (aforementioned small-is firm) in 2006 and had a great run. It was during these years I was able to finish grad school. Turn numbers to data and data to action. Most importantly it is also when I married my amazing wife and my son was born!
The learnings from this early (re-careering…) work continue to be valuable today. In my time with Mimix I was able to build my first real ‘data product’ – a tool (mostly ETL) that pulled information across a number of suppliers and manufacturing process to identify significant* gaps in process yield. This little tool (a technical combination of random scripting languages, MS Office automation, and my first every foray into PHP and web design) – was able to produce findings that captured the attention of our C-level executives.
Presentation skills matter
The exact data/circumstance that threw me down the path that really drove the rest of my career/passion escapes me. (I guess you never really know what artifacts will be meaningful to you in 10 years) I do remember a few key features:
- It was my first ‘real’ presentation to c-level executives
- I ‘way’ – over-prepared
- Had ‘way’ to many slides
- Didn’t understand that statistical reference rarely makes a point by itself
- I totally spent 28 minutes of my 30 wasting time
- But – that 2 minutes changed my existence
In that 2 minutes I showed a simple distribution plot with a simple caption. That caption spoke to a growing variance in result from one of our suppliers. That supplier had continued errors/reduced output for one of our key products but because of it’s incremental nature the loss had been uncovered.
Simple is complex
It was a simple thing. A simple chart. A (should have been) quick conversation. But the result was 2 fold. The supplier was immediately contacted, made aware and action plans were put in place – $MM of savings. The other result – I was immediately aware and excited by the power a simple graphic could have to explain a complex issue and drive action.
This is my data science origin story.
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