I’m pleased to announce the release of my new eBook Tripping Over Data – How too much data and not enough actionable intelligence can torpedo your business.
(That link takes you to a free download of in PDF, iPad, or Kindle format. You can also buy either the Kindle or print version of it from Amazon for a nominal cost.)
The print version is only about 35 pages, so it is a quick read. As a Data Head, I can get pretty philosophical pretty fast which means part of the book is a collection of some of my rants about data in manufacturing, some of them taken from this blog. Chapter titles include:
“Smile. It’s going to get worse”
“Six ways data can torpedo your business”
“The impact”
“The hierarchy of manufacturing metrics”
I’ve drawn from a variety of sources, including research from the information tech research and advisory firm Gartner, and IC Insights, a marketing research firm. I also drew on my own 30-plus-years of experience in the manufacturing data field.
But I also wanted to humanize the story, so I interspersed the facts and figures with a composite account of customers that I’ve gotten to know over those years. These chapters, “Alignment and Execution,” follow a VP of Supply Chain as he visits one of his plants at a pivotal point in his company’s growth. With a nod to some of the great business books (say Goldratt’s The Goal, or Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team) I hope these chapters help readers see the human side of data, without getting too cheesy.
Here is a short excerpt:
As you’re taking all this in, you spot Brian in the first aisle hurrying towards Line Five. He waves for you to join him. When you catch up with him, he explains that he just got a text message about a shift in bag weights on Line Five that he needs to check on. He points to the panel over that line that has a red indicator.
“The panel keeps the people on the line informed, but I get the text message anywhere, at any time. I love it and hate it,” Brian laughs.
Download your copy of Tripping Over Data here.
