Data has become extremely valuable, with projections of 163 zettabytes of data generated annually by 2025. However, data is only useful if it is effectively communicated to decision-makers. There is a pressing need for more business leaders who can make decisions based on analyzing data. While managers should not attempt to analyze raw data themselves, it is their responsibility to clearly communicate the insights and implications derived from data analysis to diverse audiences in an accessible way. Frameworks like George Roumeliotis's can help structure effective communication of data insights.

1. DATA IS
WORTHLESS IF
YOU DON’T
COMMUNICATE IT
By THOMAS H. DAVENPORT
ANALYSIS BY SHLOKA

2. A new commodity spawns a
lucrative, fast-growing
industry. A century ago, the
resource in question was oil.
Now similar concerns are
being raised by the giants
that deal in data, the oil of
the digital era.
DATA IS THE
NEW OIL

3. credit: https://www.comfyapp.com/blog/d-data/
GROWTH OF DATA

4. 163 ZETTABYTES
OF DATA A YEAR BY 2025

5. WHAT IS THE NEED OF
THE HOUR?

6. There is a pressing
need for more
businesspeople who
can think
quantitatively and
make decisions based
on data and analysis,
and businesspeople
who can do so will
become increasingly
valuable.

7. According to a
McKinsey Global
Institute report on big
data, we’ll need over 1.5
million more data-
savvy managers to take
advantage of all the
data we generate.

8. WHAT NOT
TO DO?
As a manager, it’s
not your job to
crunch the numbers;
but it is your job to
communicate them.

9. Never make the
mistake of
assuming that
the results will
“speak for
themselves.”

10. Make them understand in
the language they know.
Using curriculum specific
terms will not help in
raising awareness.

11. If you’re going to spend
the better part of a
decade on a research
project, also put some
time and effort into
disseminating your
results.
MAKE IT
ACCESSIBLE

12. COMMUNICATE

13. GEORGE
ROUMELIOTIS'S
FRAMEWORK
FOR
COMMUNICATION

14. MY
UNDERSTANDING
OF THE BUSINESS
PROBLEM
HOW I WILL
MEASURE THE
BUSINESS IMPACT
WHAT DATA IS
AVAILABLE

15. THE INITIAL
SOLUTION
HYPOTHESIS
THE SOLUTION
THE BUSINESS
IMPACT OF THE
SOLUTION

16. Tell everything in a
way don’t let it get in
the way of telling a
good story with your
data — starting with
what your audience
really needs to know.
TAKE CARE
OF THE
DETAILS

17. Make Your Story
Heard