Digital Strategy, Global Insights, Innovation, Leadership

Lessons from Collecting – What Happens When We Don’t Own?

27 Sep , 2023  

Recently, I caught up with a friend that I have known for 30 years. Today, we are both raising our children. In the 1980’s, we were teenagers in Florida collecting football and baseball cards, going to coin shops to find “rare” or different foreign coins, and of course we were listening to music on records […]

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Global Insights, Innovation

Recession in 2019 or 2020? Yield Curve Might Say So!

14 Dec , 2018  

By now, you have probably heard that the yield curve has got flatten and will likely invert in 2019. What does this mean? Specifically, economists and investors look at the yield of the 10 year treasury note and subtract that rate from that of the 2 year treasury note. Rationally, investors want higher rates for […]

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Digital Strategy, Innovation

Instacart: How ’bout them Carrots?

1 Nov , 2018  

Instacart recently announced a round of funding that evaluates the firm at some $7 billion. That is amazing for a firm whose drivers are presumably not employees and that holds no real inventory but sells food. It may seem like a naïve question, but what does Instacart do exactly? I know it delivers food, but […]

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Digital Strategy, Innovation

Finally, A Disruptor to Uber…Maybe

11 Oct , 2018  

Google’s Waze has been making waves by using its data about cars on the road to assemble the largest carpooling platform ever. This has the potential to disrupt Uber. On Waze, you can schedule a ride with a driver going the same direction as you. You can see reviews of riders, drivers, and make a […]

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Big Data, Big Data and Analytics, Digital Strategy

Digital Disruption: Are you Netflix or Blockbuster?

15 Sep , 2018  

Are you Netflix or Blockbuster?

A great focus for many startups, investors, and entrepreneurs is creating the next Netflix, Amazon, Uber, or Airbnb – namely to be a digital disruptor. Netflix conquered the analog and physical model of Blockbuster by bringing a digital layer to measure customers, movies, and even brand placements. Before Netflix, Blockbuster was the media channel of preference. It died a rather quick death when media and media consumption became digital.

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Analytics, Big Data, Big Data and Analytics, Innovation

Dangers of Facebook Banking and the Convergence of the Internet

7 Aug , 2018  

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Facebook approached multiple, major US banks, including Chase, Wells Fargo, and US Bank with a proposition to include customer financial data on Facebook.

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Digital Strategy, Innovation

Big Food…Big Problems

21 May , 2018  

Big Food…Big Problems This week, the CEO of Campbell’s announced that she is stepping down. The storied firm of 149 years also announced a review of its portfolio, including soup, and its future as a stand-alone company. The challenges at Campbell’s are also being seen in other Big Food firms, like Kraft, Mondelez, PepsiCo, Coca […]

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Analytics, Big Data, Big Data and Analytics, Career Advice, Digital Strategy, Innovation, Leadership

5 Career Tips & Outlooks for Analytics Professionals

14 May , 2017  

1.  Analytics has Moved from Manual to Machine-Driven – Don’t Become a Robot! Most people in the field of analytics can remember writing their own analytical code. Today, our Data Scientists in the MSiA program at Northwestern, can produce analytical models from regression, decision trees, support vector machines (and more) – all with more or […]

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Analytics, Big Data, Big Data and Analytics, Digital Strategy, Innovation

Digital Lessons from Netflix: When is a Customer a Fan?

25 Nov , 2016  

Netflix has long been heralded as a leader in the use of analytics and even the creation of novel big data. That is all true. Nobody knows more about movie tastes than Netflix, with its some 1 billion reviews in its database. The graphic above shows that Netflix can use such data and customer behavior […]

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Become a Digital Disruptor: Lessons for Startups, Investors, Innovators, and Entrepreneurs

Digital Strategy, Innovation

Becoming a Digital Disruptor

4 Oct , 2016  

A great focus for many startups, investors, and entrepreneurs is creating the next Uber or Airbnb. I have examined how both Uber and Airbnb have leverage data in powerful ways. A great deal of their success comes from their superior digital platforms, so let’s examine what principles are at work in becoming the next digital disruptor. […]

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