Learn the #1 secret to becoming a data-driven company.  SPOILER: It has nothing to do with data!

I'm Lee Feinberg (not in the video), founder of DecisionViz, and if you’re anything like I was 10 years ago, you’ve spent a huge amount of time and money getting your data in perfect shape.  You’ve architected and installed the Tableau platform.  You’ve trained tens —  maybe hundreds — of people on how to connect to certified data sources, build dashboards, and publish them to your eager audience.

There’s only one problem -- your audience of executives, to sales teams, to staff -- doesn’t seem to be all that eager anymore.

They’re not using the dashboards as much as you expected. You haven’t heard of many new insights or awe-inspiring improvements in the business. What’s worse: most of your audience has gone back to using their old ways of doing things (oh yes – spreadsheets)!

HOW COULD THIS BE?

​I have seen the exact same problem working with analytics teams for many different types of companies.  

When I first discovered the secret to data-driven success, I couldn’t believe it.  

It seems SO OBVIOUS now.

Here’s the secret:

​No one is interested in data.

Nope. Not one person.

They’re NOT interested in sifting through huge amounts of data, hoping to find an insight they can use.
What they are interested in is taking action.  My problem, all those years ago, was that I was focusing my company’s effort and resources on the wrong thing -- the data -- when I should’ve been focusing on something entirely different! (Frankly, it doesn’t help that it’s called data visualization!)

So, what do you do to make your company more action-oriented while still being data-driven?

Give your audience a visual message that helps them see data and action at the same time! 

Let’s have a conversation over the phone, so you can tell me what you’re trying to change or improve at work, and together we can explore how it makes sense for us to work together.

Just pick a time with my easy booking page
   BOOK 30 ON LEE'S CALENDAR

Become a  great communicator  of data™

In the same way you must be literate in your spoken language to write effectively, you must be literate in the language of visualization.  You don’t type out a bunch of words and expect them to be a compelling story and you can’t click a bunch of data elements in Tableau and expect them to form an actionable data story. 

Becoming a good writer is a skill you build over time.  It’s not in one workshop or perusing the pages of the latest Tableau how-to book.  Those resources can each be valuable on their own, but what I’m offering you is completely different.  Design to Act is the only program structured to help your organization build its data literacy capability.

The  Design to Act Framework

Design to Act is the product of 10 years of research and creation in the field of data literacy. Through those years, I’ve been breaking down everything I’ve learned about data visualization and action into a program that’s repeatable — and scalable.  Design to Act is a program you and your organization can learn. In fact, it must be learned for you to compete.

Storytelling : Level 4

Storytelling is a craft honed over time and it can be learned.  Our ATHENA Rising™ framework is an approach for authoring visuals that connect the analytical and creative sides of the reader's mind.  At its finest, a data story creates conversation and elevates a clear sense of the decisions to be made and actions to take.  

  • Learn the "magic question" to reveal your audience's needs vs wants
  • Practice agile techniques that produce a sharpened dashboards, faster
  • Perceive the "why" behind stakeholder feedback; stop taking orders
  • Takedown organizational barriers that are holding back  your progress

Vocabulary : Level 3

When you speak or write with words, your vocabulary allows you to communicate the same ideas in a variety of ways. In the visual world, knowing how to apply the core traits (location, size, color, gradient, and shape) let's you express a message with clarity and variety to hold the reader's attention.

  • Master the “hierarchy” of how people consume visual information
  • Trade-off between visual elements to simplify existing dashboards
  • Brush color and gradients to focus the eye and reduce distractions
  • Finally! Eliminate crosstabs and make important information obvious

Composition : Level 2

I've been writing in Tableau for nine years and at times have to innovate new visuals that are not in Tableau's Show Me. So, to help you communicate better and take advantage of these, I've broken down my upgrades into step-by-step instructions you can follow right in a Tableau workbook.

  • Build movable data windows for flexible what-if analysis
  • Zoom into data sets without lassoing or mouse scrolling
  • Launch dynamic pop-up messages like you see on a web site
  • Explore dual axes to create new types of combination charts

Grammar : Level 1

Imagine teaching someone the features and functions of Microsoft Word but they haven’t learned the basics of their language. This is exactly what's happening as Tableau sprawls across your company. How can someone author a powerful visual if they haven’t learned the foundation of visual language?! They can’t.

  • Draw the reader's attention directly to what you want them to see
  • Write efficient visuals to preserve precious screen real estate
  • Protect users from Tableau operations that can complicate analysis
  • Deliver high impact with a program customized to your data terms
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Not convinced yet?

Stop designing to show data.  Design to Act™

You might be thinking this idea of Design to Act sounds great in theory, but unconventional and risky in reality.

But here’s the exciting truth:

My clients put their trust in me and my ideas.  And then, it WORKS.

  • It works for local companies with 50 members to global companies with 100,000s of employees
  • It works for small data and big data visualization
  • It works for healthcare, finance, manufacturing, social media, and non-profits

Design to Act can — and will — work for you,
if you’re willing to learn a better way to do data visualization

READ WHAT MY CLIENTS HAVE TO SAY...

You have packaged an awesome set of Storytelling and Communications best practices!

Thank you for your work with the Valassis Analytics team - helping us take our communication, telling Analytic Stories™, to the next level.   Excellent and practical ideas for every consultant, analytics expert or sales leader attempting to communicate with data, analytics and insights.  Looking forward to working with you more in the near future!

GREG GREEN  //  Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Harland Clarke Holdings

Lee's webinars and training solutions helped us drive action through data and can help your organizations as well.

Lee is one of the most passionate & ambitious thought leaders in the business intelligence and visualization communities. Lee's approach to visualization is both unique and effective. Lee has helped several of my colleagues and myself in being able to better leverage Tableau software to find the insight contained in our data. 

KEVIN TAYLOR  //  Sales Consultant, Tableau Software (formerly Cisco)

Let’s have a conversation over the phone, so you can tell me what you’re trying to change or improve at work, and together we can explore how it makes sense for us to work together.

Just pick a time with my easy booking page
   BOOK 30 ON LEE'S CALENDAR
Sign up to know when we have new blog posts and updates to help you Become a Great Communicator of Data