Hub & Spoken.

What's in this podcast?

In this episode, Jason discusses strategic decision-making and how it impacts data.

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One Big Message

It is widely known that data is all about helping organisations make better decisions through factual information; however, our current approach to data literacy rarely covers strategic decision-making.

[00:14] The context in which we make decisions, and how it affects every aspect of our life

[00:55] Making decisions in data

[02:20] Why we need to transform our thinking from just data literacy to also thinking about strategy 

[03:00] A look at the definitions of decision making – and how the business definition of  decision-making is different from the psychological definition

[04:15] They different types of decisions that people in data need to make both personally and professionally

Decision making is omnipresent

Making decisions is essential to our life. We make decisions every day, several times a day. Sometimes, these decisions are small, like what we will wear today or what we will eat for breakfast. Other times, the decision might be bigger, such as what job to take or whether to move to a new city. No matter how big or small the decision might be though, it’s important that we make them correctly and efficiently.

Unfortunately, many of us struggle with making good decisions. It’s easy to get stuck in analysis paralysis and we can’t seem to make a choice. Or we make bad choices because we’re not thinking things through properly. This can lead to all sorts of problems in our lives, from missed opportunities to wasted time and money.

Data is key to making good decisions

Data is key to making good decisions. It helps us understand what’s happening in the world around us and figure out what might happen in the future. Data comes in many forms – from research studies to customer surveys – and can be used to inform nearly any decision. That’s why it’s so important for everyone to be able to access data and use it effectively. 

The state of current data literacy curriculums

As technology advances, so does the way that data is collected and used. The need for individuals who are data literate–able to understand and use data in decision making–has never been greater. 

While many data curricula and literacy programs cover the fundamental skills such as coding and technical know-how, there is still a gap when it comes to translating these skills into the real world. 

The move to strategic decision-making

In previous years, data literacy was seen as a tool that helped individuals make better decisions in their personal lives or in specific work tasks. But times have changed. Corporations and governments are now recognising the value of data literacy and its importance in achieving success. In order to meet the needs of these larger organisations, data literacy needs to evolve into teaching data experts how to think critically and strategically too. By doing this, data experts will be able to provide more insights and become an even greater asset to organisations.

To summarise

Most of us think about strategic decision making in terms of big, sweeping changes to our organisations and are generally thought of as a C-Suite or managerial process. However, tactical decisions made on a daily basis by experts within an organisation are also important and can have a big impact on our success. 

How do you think the current state of data literacy curricula helps or encourages data experts with strategic and critical thinking? Let us know your thoughts.