Twenty-five years ago, I remember taking the Myers-Briggs Personality test. I vaguely remember that I was an INFJ at that time. I went through all the processing that goes with it, remember listening to the person who was trying to unpack it for me, understanding myself and some of the things that stood for being an INTJ, and all of that. Over the years, it has helped me understand myself. It has brought a sense of self-awareness to me. Then in 2003 I did another personality test called the DISC and that again helped me understand myself even more.
As I looked back on it, I realized that, while I was able to understand myself and what it meant, at that time I didn't do anything about some of the things I found out about myself in terms of strengths, weaknesses, understanding how I would be as a parent, or as a spouse. It was just self-awareness rather than any attempt at self-improvement.
Data Analytics is a buzzword these days. What you do with data is beginning to be important. Companies, especially, are realizing that you can mine for data, but unless you are able to take that data and start translating it into effective processes that will bring change and enhance the process or product, it's of no use. So they're doing that and more with huge budgets. As Louis Columbus says in Forbes Tech, "Data analytics continues to accelerate as the most preferred solutions for gaining greater business insight and value from data, with this category increasing in importance 55% from a 2014 survey results." That's how important data analytics continues to be to companies.
