The Analytics Power Hour #289: The Imperative of Developing Business Acumen
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Jan 20, 2026 The discussion dives deep into the importance of business acumen for analytics professionals. It outlines two types of acumen: general concepts and company-specific knowledge. The hosts emphasize the need to understand decision-making processes and highlight common pitfalls, like biases stemming from over-familiarity with a business. They also share practical strategies for developing acumen, including stakeholder interactions, public filings, and cross-training. Ultimately, the episode stresses that everyone on data teams should grasp business fundamentals to drive impactful results.
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Data Craft Without Business Link Fails
- Analysts often get lost in data craft and lose sight of business impact.
- Without linking work to revenue or churn, great models and dashboards mean little.
Two Flavors Of Business Knowledge
- Business acumen has two flavors: general business concepts and company-specific context.
- Both concepts and context are necessary and they overlap when making analysis useful.
Map Decision Processes First
- Learn how decisions actually get made in the company and who the key decision makers are.
- Use that knowledge to frame recommendations so stakeholders can act on them.
