Podcast appearances and mentions of sam knowles

We've reached 51 episodes and wrapped Season 7 of Data Malarkey! In this greatest hits episode, host Sam Knowles shares the most powerful moments from a season packed with insights—from AI ethics to data puppets, from psychology and kindness to practical business transformation. Revisit brilliant guests like Sylvie Delacroix, Julie Holmes, Cecilia Dones, Robin Banerjee, Adam Davidson, and Scott Taylor, all of whom shared their real-world, often surprising, insights on how to use data smarter. What You'll Learn: How to rethink AI through the lens of humility and uncertainty The ethics of online trust and virtual relationships Why businesses need to upgrade soft skills, not just systems The power of kindness in society and psychology How satire and puppets explain data better than PowerPoint ever could Special Mentions: Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard Guest Application Form Subscribe on YouTube: Data Malarkey     Minimal Thumbnail Text Suggestions:

In this energising episode of the Data Malarkey Podcast, Master Data Storyteller Sam Knowles speaks with Julie Holmes, entrepreneur, inventor, and AI advisor. Julie shares her insights into how businesses can make AI work with their people – not instead of them. She dives into creative automation, ethical AI, and the dangers of dabbling without direction. From her practical UPGRADE Framework to her “intern not genius” approach to creating effective prompts for LLMs, Julie delivers a candid, actionable masterclass on the human side of AI. What You'll Learn: Why AI should be seen as an intern – not a threat. How to scale creativity and automation. What most businesses get wrong about AI readiness. The ethical responsibilities we must now embrace. How to build smarter prompts that actually deliver results. Resources Mentioned: Julie Holmes' website: https://www.julieholmes.com Julie's AI readiness assessment for businesses: https://julieholmes.com/ai-readiness-assessment-2025/   The AI prompt library and archive https://julieholmes.com/prompt/   Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com The Insight Agents' website – Sam Knowles' business, including the archive of Data Malarkey podcast episodes: https://insightagents.co.uk   Rate, Review, and Follow! If you found this episode valuable, please rate and review on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube, and don't forget to follow and subscribe for a new episode every fortnight!  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey Podcast, host Sam Knowles welcomes Scott Taylor, The Data Whisperer, to break down why data storytelling is the missing business skill in the world of AI, analytics, and business intelligence. Scott shares why he believes in Truth Before Meaning, the idea that businesses need clean, structured data before they can extract meaningful insights. He also explains why tech jargon is holding the data industry back, why business leaders don't care how data works, and how he's making the world of data more relatable through Data Puppets. What You'll Learn in This Episode: The biggest mistakes data leaders make when presenting to executives Why data management is the foundation for AI success How to tell data stories that business leaders actually understand The origins of Data Puppets and why humour matters in data Resources Mentioned: Scott Taylor's book: Telling Your Data Story (Amazon) Scott's YouTube Channel: The Data Whisperer Data Puppets: www.datapuppets.com Scott's 2024 Big Data London keynote – “Data is the new bullsh*t” www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LRVF-1nGPQ “The Little Red Data Hen” www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBFwiGN3XK0 The DataVengers: www.datacated.com/datavengers Data Storytelling Scorecard: data-storytelling.scoreapp.com Join the Conversation: Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: data-storytelling.scoreapp.com Follow the podcast for more insights on data, storytelling, and business communication. Connect with Us: Scott Taylor: LinkedIn | MetaMeta Consulting  Sam Knowles:  https://insightagents.co.uk Rate, Review, and Follow! If you enjoyed this episode, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. It helps us reach more people who care about data and storytelling!  

Is kindness just a “soft” concept, or is there real science behind it? In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, Master Data Storyteller Sam Knowles is joined by Professor Robin Banerjee, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global and Civic Engagement at the University of Sussex. Robin's research explores the psychology of kindness, empathy, and human connection, revealing how data can unlock powerful insights about our social world. From leading the BBC Kindness Test – a groundbreaking study with over 60,000 participants – to his work on how fiction and television shape empathy, Robin shares fascinating insights about the science of human connection. He also explains why he finds joy in data – a phrase that might just change how you see statistics forever. What you'll learn in this episode: The psychology behind kindness—what drives it, and how we measure it Surprising insights from the BBC Kindness Test How fiction and TV shape our ability to empathise The joy in data and why it's more than just numbers Why understanding human behaviour through research is so important Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 01:27 - Robin Banerjee's career and research focus 07:43 - What makes someone kind? 13:53 - The BBC Kindness Test: Key findings 20:02 - The psychology of human connection 30:36 - Finding joy in data 39:07 - Empathy and storytelling: fiction vs reality 45:00 - What TV tells us about our emotions 50:30 - Where to find out more about Robin's research About our guest: Professor Robin Banerjee is a leading researcher in developmental psychology and the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global and Civic Engagement at the University of Sussex. His work focuses on kindness, empathy, and social development, and he is the founder of the Sussex Centre for Research on Kindness. Robin's research has been featured widely, including his collaboration with BBC Radio 4 on the Kindness Test, the largest study of its kind, exploring how people experience and perceive kindness across different cultures and communities. Resources mentioned: Sussex Centre for Research on Kindness on the University of Sussex website BBC Kindness Test: BBC Radio 4 Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com Sam Knowles' website: https://www.insightagents.co.uk Join the conversation: Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com Follow the podcast for more insights on psychology, data, and human behaviour. Connect with us: Robin Banerjee: University of Sussex profile  Sam Knowles: LinkedIn profile  Rate, Review, and Follow! Enjoyed the episode? Please take a moment to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Your support helps us bring more thought-provoking discussions to you!  

In this engaging episode of the Data Malarkey Podcast, Master Data Storyteller and host Sam Knowles welcomes Cecilia Dones, a thought leader in data, AI, and human connection. Ceci explores how technology shapes the way we interact, trust, and build relationships—both online and offline. She shares insights into AI ethics, uncertainty in machine learning, and why trust is the cornerstone of all our digital futures. From her work in AI ethics to her philosophy on leadership and adaptability, Ceci provides fresh perspectives on the best ways to navigate the ever-evolving world of artificial intelligence. Tune in for a thought-provoking discussion on data, trust, and what it means to be human in the age of AI. What you'll learn in this episode: Why trust in digital interactions is becoming harder to establish The role of AI in shaping human relationships and decision-making How uncertainty in AI responses from LLMs may be an advantage not a weakness The power of adaptability and why labels limit creativity Why leaders need to embrace ambiguity in the AI era Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 01:27 - Cecilia Dones on connections and human-centred technology 07:43 - Why trust in digital spaces is complicated 13:53 - How AI influences our relationships and decision-making 20:02 - The challenge of uncertainty in AI models 30:36 - Leadership, adaptability, and embracing ambiguity 39:07 - No Labels: Why Ceci avoids definitions and fixed roles 45:00 - The ethical dilemmas of AI, privacy, and consent 50:30 - Where Cecilia Dones is sharing her work and insights   About our guest:   Cecilia Dones is a data and analytics practitioner-academic, founder of 3 Standard Deviations, with expertise spanning Fortune 500 companies and academia. She specialises in AI applications, technology's impact on human interactions, and bridging data insights across sectors. Currently, she is completing her doctoral studies on interpersonal trust in digital environments. She holds degrees from NYU Stern and Columbia University. She has taught at top business schools and authors the "Authentic Interactions" newsletter on Substack exploring technology, data, authenticity, and trust.   Resources mentioned: Cecilia Dones' Substack: Authentic Interactions Ceci's LinkedIn newsletter “What is a CMO to do with AI?”  Data Storytelling Scorecard: data-storytelling.scoreapp.com   Join the conversation: Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: data-storytelling.scoreapp.com Follow the podcast for more insights on AI, data, and leadership Connect with us: Cecilia Dones: LinkedIn | Substack blog – https://authenticinteractions.substack.com Sam Knowles: LinkedIn Rate, review, and follow! Enjoyed the episode? Please take a moment to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Your support helps us bring more thought-provoking discussions to you.  

In this thought-provoking episode of the Data Malarkey Podcast, master data storyteller Sam Knowles sits down with Sylvie Delacroix, the inaugural Jeff Price Chair in Digital Law in the Dickson Poon School of Law at King's College London. Sylvie shares her insights into data ethics, the vulnerabilities we face in a data-driven world, and the transformative potential of generative AI. She also introduces the Centre for Data Futures, her initiative to build participatory data infrastructure that empowers individuals and communities. This is a conversation about ethics, identity, and the future of AI that you won't want to miss.   What you'll learn in this episode: The hidden vulnerabilities of our daily data leaks. How AI can both limit and empower personal reinvention. Why participatory infrastructure is essential for ethical AI development. The concept of ‘humility markers' in AI and their potential to transform conversations. How Sylvie's work bridges the gap between theory and practice in digital law and data ethics.   Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 01:27 - Sylvie Delacroix's journey and research focus 07:43 - The vulnerability of self in the data-driven age 13:53 - Building participatory data infrastructures 20:02 - Rethinking AI and conversational models 30:36 - The importance of humility markers in AI 39:07 - The future of ethical AI: aspirations and hopes   About our guest: Sylvie Delacroix is a leading expert in digital law and ethics. As the Jeff Price Chair in Digital Law at King's College London, Professor Delacroix directs the Centre for Data Futures, focusing on participatory data infrastructure and ethical governance of AI. Her work on data trusts and habitual ethics has shaped policy initiatives worldwide. To learn more about her work, visit  https://delacroix.uk Resources mentioned: Sylvie Delacroix's home page https://delacroix.uk The Center for Data Futures https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/centre-for-data-futures The Dickson Poon School of Law at King's College, London https://www.kcl.ac.uk/law Sylvie's book, Habitual Ethics?, available via Bloomsbury (open-access) https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?docid=b-9781509920440 Sam Knowles' book, Asking Smarter Questions: How to be an Agent of Insight https://asksmarterqs.com Find Out What Kind of Data Storyteller you are: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com/   Join the conversation: Take the Data Storytelling Scorecard: https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com Follow the podcast for more insightful conversations on data and AI   Connect with us: Sylvie Delacroix: King's College London Profile, LinkedIn profile Sam Knowles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samknowlesdatastory   Rate, review, follow, and share! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an update!  

In this special wrap-up episode of Data Malarkey, host and Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, takes us through the standout moments from Season 6 of the podcast. From neuroscience-driven storytelling to data privacy law, this compilation showcases some of the smartest and most impactful ways people are using data to improve communication, branding, and societal outcomes. Featuring insights from a diverse lineup of experts, this episode is packed with lessons and strategies for anyone curious about making data work smarter. Key Highlights: The Neuroscience of Marketing (00:02:10): Cristina de Balanzo discusses how to avoid the pitfalls of “neurobollocks” in neuroscience-driven market research. Data-Backed Simplicity in Storytelling (00:07:02): Natalia Talkowska explains how neuroscience and behavioural science enhance storytelling effectiveness in data-heavy communication. Breaking the Curse of Knowledge (00:12:26): Mike Ellicock shares tips for simplifying data communication, especially in utilities and financial services. GDPR: A Force for Good (00:18:09): Alice Wallbank defends the GDPR and unpacks its hidden benefits and costs. Levelling the Playing Field for Women Scientists (00:27:22): Ylann Schemm highlights how Elsevier uses data to advance inclusive research and health. The Science Behind Accurate Exit Polls (00:34:05): Professor Sir John Curtice reveals how academic methods have transformed election night predictions. Barbarians Rugby's Data-Driven Rebrand (00:42:00): Branding guru Bill Wallsgrove showcases how data informed a fresh, digital-first identity for the iconic club. External Links: Using Data Smarter guest application form: Submit a Guest Follow Sam Knowles on LinkedIn: Sam Knowles Catch full episodes and video content on YouTube: Data Malarkey YouTube Channel Subscribe and Stay Connected: New episodes drop every other Wednesday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Music. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review! To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard.

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, master data storyteller Sam Knowles is joined by Bill Wallsgrove, Head of Ideas at Brighton-based communications and design agency, Brandad.   Bill has more than 30 years' experience working in business strategy, brand creation, and communications development. He trained at the London College of Printing and cut his teeth at the legendary design agency, Coley Porter Bell. Bill's worked in 3D design and packaging design. He is also the man responsible for the creation of the McCoy's brand of crisps.   Throughout his career, Bill has been keen to share the tools of his trade with succeeding generations, both through academic and industry bodies. These include the Design Council and the University of Brighton, where today he is an honorary lecturer in the school of Art and Media.   Through his wittily-named consultancy, Brandad, Bill today brings his decades of experience to a wide range of businesses and third-sector organisations, with a particular focus on start-ups in his adopted home city of Brighton, the start-up capital of Europe. Indeed, it was one of his start-up clients that named his business for him.   But Bill's expertise is just as relevant to centuries-old institutions, as evidenced by his data-driven development and activation for the rugby football club, the Barbarians.   Bill's approach to data-driven design is well captured by his son's description of his role as “a fashion designer for businesses”. And though he's into his fourth decade of advising brands on how to stand for something meaningful in their consumers' lives – and trading as Brandad – his tools and techniques couldn't be more contemporary.   An early adopter of AI – and particularly Midjourney for “30-second mood boards that might have taken days or weeks before”, provided the prompts are right – Bill advocates the use of artificial intelligence. “It makes the research process more effective,” he says, “it makes our jobs more focused.”   EXTERNAL LINKS   The Brandad homepage – https://brandad.co.uk   Bill's LinkedIn profile (and Bill is quite prolific on the platform) – https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-wallsgrove1/     To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, master data storyteller Sam Knowles is joined by Alice Wallbank, a professional support lawyer for the law firm Shoosmiths, whose clients include Mercedes-Benz, Octopus Ventures, and Travelodge. The company also specialises in working for businesses in both the property and banking sector.   The Financial Times has garlanded Shoosmiths as “one of Europe's most innovative law firms”, and Alice's pioneering role at the company – focused on privacy, data, and increasingly AI – is symptomatic of a business in the vanguard of a profession catching up with the broadest implications of technology.   At the start of this year, Alice co-hosted an excellent ‘data insights' conference – naturally hybrid, both in the room and online – which featured a keynote from Austrian activist and lawyer, Max Schrems. Schrems is famous for his successful campaigns against Facebook (and Meta) for their violations of European data privacy laws.   Before joining Shoosmiths, Alice spent six years as the principal legal counsel for the cyber and information security division of the leading technology business, QinetiQ.    Alice is a passionate advocate of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), describing it “as a good thing for data privacy – without a shadow of a doubt”. Although first introduced in 2016 and in place since 2018, it has its origins in a 1995 directive, designed to protect the rights and freedoms of individuals from Big Tech. Alice believes this showed “remarkable foresight”.   One of the very few people in the UK, Europe, and the world to have read all 90,000 words of the EU's AI Act, artificial intelligence gives Alice that fabled reaction to trench warfare of “a combination of boredom and terror”. There are huge potential upsides – such as radiography diagnostics – and massive downsides from a system that is “at heart a self-limiting black box” dealing in “biases in, biases out”.   And in a Data Malarkey exclusive, Alice is our first guest in more than 40 episodes … to sing. She dons her white stilettos, dances round her handbag, and turns the clock back to 1984 for a tuneful rendition of Rockwell's dancefloor smash, Somebody's Watching Me – for Alice, an insightful foreshadowing of data privacy issues 40 years into the future.   EXTERNAL LINKS   Shoosmiths home page – https://www.shoosmiths.com   Alice's profile on the Shoosmiths' site – https://www.shoosmiths.com/people/cvdetails/alice-wallbank   Alice's article on Ashley Madison – https://www.grip.globalrelay.com/could-the-ashley-madison-data-breach-happen-today/   Another blog from Alice, this time on the environmental credentials of GDPR.   The EU AI Act – all 90,000 words of it – here   Rockwell's Somebody's Watching Me from 1984 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YvAYIJSSZY     To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

Join master data storyteller, Sam Knowles, for an enlightening conversation with Sir John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde and senior research fellow at the National Centre for Social Research. As we navigate 2024 which has been dubbed "the ultimate election year," Sir John shares his insights on polling accuracy, political volatility, and data-driven decision-making in the UK and US elections. We explore the intricacies of his more-accurate-than-most exit polling methodology, the challenges of interpreting voter behaviour, and the future of electoral systems. Plus, Sir John reveals his secrets for communicating complex data effectively.   Key Takeaways: - Sir John Curtice's approach to accurate exit polling - Analysis of the 2024 UK General Election results - Challenges of predicting the outcome of the 2024 US election - Insights on communicating data clearly and avoiding the Curse of Knowledge Thoughts on the future of first-past-the-post and proportional representation in the UK   EXTERNAL LINK: https://bit.ly/4hij0FG - University of Strathclyde   To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, we join master data storyteller Sam Knowles, in conversation with Cristina de Balanzo, PhD, Founder and Board Director at Walnut Unlimited, as she delves into the fusion of neuroscience, behavioural science, and strategic insights to unlock human behaviour. In this engaging discussion, Cristina shares practical examples of how neuroscience informs communication strategies and marketing, and the role of creativity in human understanding. Learn how insights, human behaviour, and neuroscience come together to shape the future of marketing and communication. Neuroscience has been a constant drumbeat of Cristina's career. Before founding Walnut more than a decade ago, she was global head of neuroscience at TNS, following a nine-year stint as a strategic planner with McCann Erickson.   EXTERNAL LINKS   Cristina's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristina-de-balanzo-ph-d-1693694/   Cristina on X – https://twitter.com/crisbalanzo   Cristina's article on WARC – “The science of laughter: Why humour is serious business” – https://bit.ly/3zoTtK9   ResearchGate profile for Cristina – https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cristina-De-Balanzo     To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, master data storyteller Sam Knowles is joined by Mike Ellicock, Founder and Chief Executive of The Plain Numbers Project. Plain Numbers says of its purpose: “We enable clear communication of numbers everywhere so that people can better understand the choices they face in life.” This matters, because about half the adults in the UK have the numeracy skills expected of a primary school child. And one in five suffers from “maths anxiety”.   Plain Numbers works with all sorts of organisations to help them communicate the numbers that matter in ways that are clear, fair, and never misleading. Organisations like banks and building societies, insurers and utility companies, national and local government. Plain Numbers trains, assesses, and accredits individuals, teams, and whole organisations to communicate their data more effectively and transparently.   The company's approach is both deeply practical – developing the skills that businesses need for clear and simple communication of numbers – and deeply strategic, going and gaining access to the most senior decision-makers (often Government ministers) to effect meaningful, systemic change.   The progress Plain Numbers has made in just a few years has been accelerated by the introduction of the Financial Conduct Authority's rules and guidance on Consumer Duty which “sets high standards of consumer protection across financial services and requires firms to put their customers' needs first”.   Before founding Plain Numbers, Mike was the Founder and Chief Executive of the charity National Numeracy, which he ran throughout the twenty-teens. Prior to that he ran Numicon, an innovative, multi-sensory approach to teaching maths at primary school level, up to the time when Numicon was acquired by Oxford University Press.   For seven years either side of the millennium, Mike was a Captain in the Parachute Regiment. Outside of the day job, he still takes fitness and the realisation of what's possible physically to new heights – and always through a data-driven, evidence-based lens.   In 2015, Mike broke the world record for running a marathon wearing a 20lb back-pack, shaving ten minutes off the previous best by clocking a time of just 2h 56m 39s, a record that stands to this day. Next year he's aiming to row around the British Isles in under 40 days.   EXTERNAL LINKS   Plain Numbers home page – https://plainnumbers.org.uk   The Plain Numbers in Practice report from June 2024 – https://bit.ly/4c2e0Bv   Mike's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-ellicock/   FCA Consumer Duty – https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/consumer-duty     To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, master data storyteller Sam Knowles is joined by Ylann Schemm, Vice President for Corporate Responsibility at the leading academic publisher, Elsevier, home to almost 3,000 academic journals, specialising in scientific, technical, and medical content. Elsevier describes itself as “an information analytics” business – so right up our alley here at Data Malarkey.   In a career with the publisher spanning almost two decades, Ylann has been on a remarkable journey of both personal and corporate development, moving from communications to corporate relations and from there into corporate responsibility. And for more than a decade, she has been a leading figure in the Elsevier Foundation, first as Program Director – running the Foundation's New Scholars program designed to expand the participation of women in STEM – and since 2017 as its Director.   Under Ylann's leadership, the Foundation is taking pioneering steps and making a tangible difference. This is manifested most clearly in the organisation's regular, data-driven reporting into gender and diversity in research. The latest, 2024 report showed that, although as many as 41% of all academic researchers today are women, this is much lower in STEM subjects. At the current rate of change, parity is not expected to be reached until 2052.   Ylann was allowed to lay the – shall we say? – foundations for the Foundation's work in “a climate of benign neglect” as she found her feet and built networks and partnerships inside and outside of Elsevier. But it was with the 2019 arrival of the company's first female CEO, Kumsal Bayazit, that Ylann's work moved front and centre of the publisher's strategic vision.  EXTERNAL LINKS   Ylann's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ylann-schemm-a5a3632/   Elsevier home page – https://www.elsevier.com/en-gb   The Elsevier Foundation – https://elsevierfoundation.org   2024 Elsevier Foundation gender and diversity in research report – https://www.elsevier.com/en-au/insights/gender-and-diversity-in-research     To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

Using data smarter is an attitude of mind. It's characterised by those who choose to communicate simply, clearly, and effectively, by making sense of the signals and cutting out the noise. Above all, it's about empathy, humanity, and appreciating the likely data tolerance of your audience.   After our fifth collection of six great guests, it's a wrap for Season Five of Data Malarkey – the podcast about using data smarter. Your host, master data storyteller Dr Sam Knowles, picks out common themes and chooses his highlights from a lively series of conversations – recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, between February and May 2024.   Thanks as ever to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   In Season Five, our guests included:   Sir David Spiegelhalter, Emeritus Professor of Statistics at the University of Cambridge.   Olivia Jensen, Deputy Director and Lead Scientist at the Institute for the Public Understanding of Risk based out of the University of Singapore.   Sorin Patilinet, Senior Director for Marketing Effectiveness at Mars (who's also the Marketing Engineer).   Ian Whittaker, founder of Liberty Sky Advisors, the award-winning city analyst specialising in media and marketing.   John Hibbs, Co-Founder of CoEfficient, a software as a service company that helps organisations grow by measuring performance from the human perspective.   And Sir Simon Baron-Cohen, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at Cambridge University, and director of the Autism Research Centre.   Data Malarkey is taking an extended summer vacation and is having all of August off – and then some. We'll be back with Season Six on 11 September 2024 with another eclectic group of guests from an ever-more diverse set of professions. We'll be hearing from women and men at the top of their game from the worlds of publishing, consumer goods, political punditry in the wake of the U.K. General Election, journalism, neuroscience, and numeracy. As usual, their common approaches to using data smarter have lessons for us all. And we start with Ylann Schemm who is both the Vice President of Corporate Responsibility for Elsevier, the world's leading scientific publisher and data analytics company, and Director of the Elsevier Foundation.   To find out how you rank as a data storyteller, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes to answer 12 questions, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles is joined by Sir Simon Baron-Cohen, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the University of Cambridge, where he also runs the Autism Research Centre. Simon has been working in the field of autism for approaching 40 years and is one of the world's leading authorities on the subject.   Since the mid-1980s, the research he's led and undertaken has led him to advance several different, complementary theories of the condition including: the mind-blindness theory, the prenatal sex steroid theory, and the empathising-systemising theory of autism and typical sex differences.   Some corners of autism research have a somewhat shady and disreputable reputation for their misuse of data; for drawing conclusions about the general population from tiny sample sizes that the data could not warrant. Indeed, it was in the wake of the MMR scandal that the charity Sense About Science was founded in the early 2000s – to encourage researchers to present their findings responsibly and the media to report them responsibly – and Sense About Science's director, Tracey Brown, was a recent guest on Data Malarkey.   By contrast with the shady stuff, Simon's research has been a shining light of empiricism and evidence-based, data-driven truth, with sample sizes sometimes in the tens or hundreds of thousands. His 2018, empathising-systemising study famously collected data from 36,000 autistic people and 600,000 non-autistic people.   Described by the medical journal The Lancet as “a man with extraordinary knowledge … his passionate advocacy for a more tolerant, diverse society, where difference is respected and cultivated, reveals a very human side to his science” it is our honour to welcome Simon to Data Malarkey. A very fitting, very high-profile end to Season Five, a season bookended by two great Cambridge minds, as we started with Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter.   To secure Simon as a guest on Data Malarkey, I'm delighted to say I had to drop my son Max's name. At the time of recording, Max had recently hosted Simon at an excellent event run by the recently-reborn Cambridge Psychology Society, of which Max is now President. At the university, he is studying Psychological & Behavioural Sciences. #proudfather   EXTERNAL LINKS Profile of Simon on The Lancet – Psychiatry site https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(15)00461-7/fulltext   The Autism Research Centre https://www.autismresearchcentre.com   The extraordinary output of 750+ articles from the Autism Research Centre on PubMed https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=simon+baron-cohen&sort=date   Auticon, the social enterprise on a mission to improve the employment prospects of neurodivergent people, whose board Simon advises https://auticon.com/uk/     To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles is joined by John Hibbs, the Co-Founder of CoEfficient, a company that helps organisations grow from the human perspective. It does this by gathering genuinely useful feedback from those who work for an organisation and then deploying this intelligence in the most productive way possible, to drive both individual and organisational growth.   Founded on the principle that businesses are simply groups of people, CoEfficient gives hearts and minds that make up a business a voice, ensuring that they feel heard and are valued. This – John believes – is what enables businesses to serve as creators of positive change within society. CoEfficient serves all sorts of different clients right around the world, and today John is based on his native island of Guernsey.   But his journey to becoming a pioneer in using data smarter to help companies grow is neither traditional nor expected. 25 years ago, he was running a personal training business that he was struggling to scale. A chance meeting with a business mentor first opened his eyes to the power of data, measurement, and evaluation. This set him on course to develop both his Monergy Flow model of growth and a thriving, scalable business that few – least of all John himself – would ever have predicted.   EXTERNAL LINKS Make friends with John on LinkedIn, his preferred social media platform https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-hibbs-coefficient/ There's more about CoEfficient at https://www.coefficient-solutions.com John explains his Monergy Flow model – including the hand-drawn, periodic table version – at https://www.maddyness.com/uk/2023/08/09/the-monergy-flow-by-john-hibbs/     To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles is joined by Ian Whittaker, one of the leading financial and commercial analysts covering the media and advertising sector. Ian is the managing director and owner of Liberty Sky Advisors, has twice been the City AM Analyst of the Year – first in 2014 and again in 2019 – and he writes regularly for both the media and the financial press. He helps marketers speak the language of the CFO – the Chief Financial Officer – and is the go-to guy for understanding how the media, digital, and marketing world is performing.   Ian takes a no-nonsense approach to explaining how the media category makes its money, and in a sector that's often very much at home to spin and storytelling, takes an evidence-based, data-driven approach to cutting through the hype and telling it how it is. This means he's particularly good at understanding which innovation is just a shiny new toy and which has the potential to revolutionise the world of media and marketing.   Understanding whether you should invest in a media company – be it one of the mega advertising agency holding companies, one of the big tech platforms, or a streaming service – demands a knowledge of more than just the media sector. Ian tells us why understanding macroeconomic trends and geopolitics matters just as much as being able to read a balance sheet.   An Oxford historian by training with an MBA from London Business School, Ian is currently studying for an MA in the History of War at King's College, London. His analytics and evidence-assessing skills from all three degrees enable him to sort the signal from the noise. “Data is the bedrock, but data is neutral,” Ian says, “though there does come a time when the data talks to you and reveals the hidden truth.”   A hypothesis-tester and very definitely not a hypothesis-prover, he's very much against trying to force fit data into a pre-ordained world view. Ian is also a fan of the “data is the new oil” analogy – provided we realise that oil is useless in and of itself and that the value comes from what we do with it once we've zoned in the right area, mined it, and refined it.   We learn the surprising truth about why Meta (Facebook's parent company) is doing so well. There's been no great recovery in its previously dominant US and European markets, which grew just 2-3% in the last quarter of 2023. The stellar performance in that reporting period was down to massive investment from just a couple of Chinese gaming companies, meaning Meta's sudden surge in value is almost certainly built on sand.   EXTERNAL LINKS Ian's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianwhittakermedia/ Liberty Sky Advisors: https://ianwhittakermedia.com Learn the Language of the CFO for Success in the Boardroom – JC Decaux podcast on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnYV7JuId1g   To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, your host Sam Knowles is joined by Sorin Patilinet, Senior Director of Marketing Effectiveness at Mars. Sorin is also known as the Marketing Engineer.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 4 April 2024.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   Sorin took an unusual route into marketing and has an unusually scientific approach to making every last marketing dollar count. Trained as a telecommunications engineer at university in his native Romania, Sorin applies the rigour of engineering to the not always substantial world of marketing science. In the dozen-plus years he's worked at Mars, he's routinely and rigorously put into practice the theories of the How Brands Grow marketing professor, Byron Sharp.   Liverpool and Anderlecht fan, Sorin, is based in Belgium, Brussels. He's currently writing a book from the perspective of the marketing practitioner, showing how structured, systems thinking can make the “colouring-in department” label sometimes levelled at marketing a thing of the past.   Marketing has changed out of all recognition compared to where it was when Sorin started his career, from 80% of ad spend on linear TV to 27 creatives on 35 platforms with no reliable or consistent, cross-platform means to control reach or frequency. Amid all this complexity, his evidence-based approach to marketing measurement is a breath of fresh air.   So, too, is the ad testing methodology (Agile Creative Expertise or ACE) that Mars has developed under Sorin's stewardship, based not on claimed intention but instead rooted in actual consumer behaviour. Eye-tracking, attention, and emotion have been found time and again to trump declarative survey findings. This really works at scale, too, with insights derived from more than 800 creative executions a year.   Sorin's an enthusiastic sceptic when it comes to AI, but he's keen to point out that the November 2022 appearance of ChatGPT is just the tip of the iceberg. Mars has been using AI – in the form of machine learning and deep analytics – for years.   An enthusiastic modern-day Stoic and fan on Everyday Stoic, Ryan Holiday, in ten years from now Sorin hopes to be applying the rigour he's developed for marketing effectiveness to communicating the importance of grand projects such as the European Union or the United Nations to disaffected citizens.   Sorin is a board member of the Attention Council and a guest lecturer at Wharton Business School.   EXTERNAL LINKS Sorin's blog: “Engineering Marketing” – https://www.sorinp.com Sorin's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/patilinet/     To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, your host Sam Knowles is joined by Olivia Jensen, Director of the Institute for the Public Understanding of Risk (IPUR) based at the National University of Singapore.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 13 March 2024.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   IPUR is a research institute that seeks to narrow the gap between people's perceptions and real-world risks, focused on the data and technology, environment and climate, and health and lifestyle. The Institute brings together basic science, engineering, social sciences, and the humanities.   Olivia Jensen is a passionate advocate and deeply pragmatic practitioner in the art and science of closing the gaps that exist between expert knowledge about risk and public perception of risk. IPUR and the global risk community of which it forms an integral part aims to empower citizens and societies to make better decisions about risk.   Olivia believes that risk-evidence communication is as much about getting experts to understand how and why citizens make decisions as it is about experts explaining the evidence to those citizens.   In considering risk evidence communication under uncertainty, we inevitably talk about Government communication under COVID. Olivia believes that the Government in Singapore got things “just about right”, clearly communicating regularly-updated data and basing its policy decisions on evidence. Sam is rather less complementary about the British Government's over-politicised use of data in its pandemic communication.   One of the real challenges of risk evidence communication is looking back on events, with narratives constructed that fall victim to hindsight bias. Just because something was possible and it happened doesn't mean it was inevitable.   Outside of the world of risk, Olivia is a passionate dancer, and in 2024 is learning to tango.   EXTERNAL LINKS IPUR home page https://ipur.nus.edu.sg  Olivia's IPUR profile https://ipur.nus.edu.sg/team/olivia-jensen/ IPUR's EdX course “Understanding and Communicating Risk” https://bit.ly/4dcqQip Understanding Risk https://understandrisk.org Risk Know How – a joint venture with Sense About Science https://riskknowhow.org     To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, your host Sam Knowles is joined by one of the world's finest data storytellers, David Spiegelhalter, the statistician and public communicator of his generation. Although he claims to have been retired for five years, the Emeritus Professor of Statistics from Cambridge University is working harder than ever.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 6 March 2024.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   If anyone can be said to have had “a good pandemic”, it was David. “At least I had something to do!” he quips, sharing how he quickly set up a studio at home and gave countless interviews about what the data meant and what we should do as a result.   While he believes that the Chief Scientific and Medical Officers of the U.K. National Health Service usually presented complex information simply and straightforwardly to a willing and receptive public – hungry for evidence of what they might choose to do and why – Government ministers (to the very top) and their Special Advisors (SPADs) had little clue.   Nothing gets David more irritated than wilful misuse of data, and several times during our lively discussion he vents considerable fury at peddlers of misinformation, under COVID and otherwise. We talk a lot about communicating risk (relative and absolute), particularly under uncertainty, with uncertainty the theme of David's imminent new book, The Art of Uncertainty (to be published by Penguin in September 2024).   Away from the stats lab, we learn how David applied his data-driven smarts to winning the inaugural (and to-date only) Loop World Championship; Loop is pool played on an elliptical table with only one pocket at one of the foci of the ellipse. He also took an evidence-based approach to qualifying for the second round of Winter Wipeout, recorded a dozen years and more ago in Argentina, where David adopted the persona of Professor Risk.   In addition to uncertainty, we also focus on trustworthiness. For David, those using data and statistics to communicate need to earn and constantly re-earn a reputation for being trustworthy. And just as no-one laughs at a comedian who says “I'm funny” at the start of his set, no-one trusts a person using data to communicate complex topics who says “Just trust me!”. Being seen as trustworthy is a consequence of being honest, competent, and reliable.   David introduces Sam and the audience to the skill of “pre-bunking”, and several times warns against building data-driven narratives that push emotional levers or buttons. Data storytellers should present the evidence simply and fairly and then allow the audience to draw their own conclusions. “Treat them as if they're intelligent, but also as if they don't know anything.”   EXTERNAL LINKS Cambridge University personal profile page https://www.statslab.cam.ac.uk/~david/ David on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Spiegelhalter     To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

After our fourth collection of six great guests, it's a wrap for Season Four of Data Malarkey – the podcast about using data smarter. Your host, master data storyteller Dr Sam Knowles, picks out common themes and chooses his highlights from a lively series of conversations – recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, between July and December 2023.   Thanks as ever to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   In Season Four, our guests included:   Tracey Brown, director of the charity, Sense About Science.   Mark Montgomery, Vice President and International Head of Integrated Insights at Novartis.   John McFall, military and civvy street logistics expert, and the founder of Supply Chain Wise.   Kieran Maguire, leading football finance academic from the University of Liverpool's Management School, and co-host of The Price of Football podcast.   Ian Makgill, founder of Spend Network, a database keeping tabs on the worlds' Governments' $13tn spend.   And Mike Bell, data visualiser extraordinaire, who uses the iconography of the London Underground to tell the stories of bands, albums, films, and political careers at his eponymous business, Mike Bell Maps.   Data Malarkey will have its usual, between-season break for a couple of weeks. We'll be back with Season Five on 8 May 2024, and there's another glittering array of guests from an increasingly diverse set of professions. We'll be hearing from women and men at the top of their game from the worlds of statistics, risk management, consumer goods, academic publishing, financial analysis, and autism research. Their common approaches to using data smarter have lessons for us all. And we start with the blockbuster guest, Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, a man who had perhaps the best pandemic of any data storyteller in the public domain.   To find out how you rank as a data storyteller, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes to answer 12 questions, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles is joined by Mike Bell, the first data visualiser to feature in almost 30 episodes of the podcast. Mike is the Founder and Owner of a thriving new business called Mike Bell Maps which describes itself as “Tube maps of bands and other stuff”.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 13 December 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   Mike's had a long career in creating and running tours for bands, a blend of logistical and strategic planning to the power of Excel. “I see tours in Excel!” he told me when we first met. He moved from arena and stadium tours for bands to production of live events for corporates, staging major conferences and exhibitions right around the world.   A combination of the first COVID lockdown – not a good couple of years for anyone in the live entertainment and production business – and a diagnosis of Parkinson's some years ago convinced Mike he had to “use it or lose it” when it came to his highly creative, data-driven brain. He started out by trying to represent the career of one of his favourite bands, The Fall, using the iconography, lines, and stations on the London Underground.   Once he'd got The Fall right – to the satisfaction of the brand's vocal and perhaps a little pedantic fanbase online – Mike's applied his unique and beautiful way of visualising the world of band line-ups and album contributors to many different spheres. These include films and film genres and even – in perhaps my favourite example – disgraced former Prime Minister Johnson's political career, with a special line for all those lockdown-breaking parties.   Mike's encouragement to keep mentally active from his neurologist has paid dividends. Though diagnosed several years ago, his “using it” strategy means he's not yet been medicated for Parkinson's. A tale almost as extraordinary as the beautiful manifestations of how he thinks that he now sells, both online and from a new shop in my hometown of Lewes, East Sussex.   Towards the end of our discussion, Mike gives one of the most lyrical and elegiac descriptions of his stock-in-trade, the humble spreadsheet. Once asked to describe them to his grandmother, he said: “They're like boxes floating in the air that you can connect, tied together with data strings, that allow you to magically make things make sense.” Beautiful!   EXTERNAL LINKS Mike Bell Maps – https://mikebellmaps.com Mike's experiential design business – https://www.freelancevisuals.co.uk 10,000 poems – Mike's project to take him to 85, writing a poem a day – https://mikebellpoems.com     To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles is joined by Ian Makgill, the Founder of Spend Network. Ian and his company are on a mission to improve the global public sector procurement market. Spend Network's website boldly claims that it can help users to “Unlock the $13 trillion global procurement market through the world's leading tender, contract, spend and grant data”. That's about 13% of the total global economy.   Throughout his career – building databases for 20 years and working with AI for six – Ian has been a passionate believer that data can shape our world for the better. While it often feels as if data is used to point at bad stuff that has happened or show where everyone is failing, Ian is committed to telling stories of how his organisation is using data to shape the future.    Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 29 November 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   As the driving force behind Spend Network, Ian's ambition is to level the playing field of Government procurement – from “haircuts in Mexican prisons to airports in China”. As a consequence, every moment of his every working day is steeped in data. Unruly, different, misaligned, fundamentally different data that very definitely is not “apples with apples”. At least when the Spend Network team get their hands on it, bringing together more than 700 diverse sources each day.   “All data is bad; all data is dirty!” observes Ian, “though most of it can be made to be useful”. His sentiment echoing the maxim from the British statistician, George Box, that “All models are wrong; some are useful.” Ian also has elements of the forensic scientist about him, with his observation that “the absence of data is a data point in himself”, bringing to mind our 25 October guest, Professor Angela Gallop, and her encouragement to go looking “when the dogs DON'T bark”.   Spend Network has so far analysed, cleaned, augmented, validated, and verified 220m lines of spend data from hundreds of Government departments around the world. And he and his data wranglers don't just apply data science smarts to their heavyweight data. They've been using AI since 2017.   For Ian, The Financial Times' John Burn-Murdoch – the paper's Chief Data Reporter – is a hero of data storytelling and data visualisation, skills that he honed during the pandemic. Burn-Murdoch was the first to conceptualise and visualise excess mortality as the key indicator of Government success (and otherwise) in measures to tackle COVID. Jacob Rees-Mogg is his data devil, thanks to the politician's imperial measures consultation that provided no option to object (reported here in The Guardian).   EXTERNAL LINKS Ian's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianmakgill/ Spend Network – https://spendnetwork.com OpenOpps – https://openopps.com Spend Network on Twitter / X – https://twitter.com/SpendNetwork     To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles welcomes Kieran Maguire, an acclaimed expert in football finance. Kieran's a chartered accountant, academic, author, and podcaster. For the past decade, he's been a lecturer in football finance at the University of Liverpool's Management School. He often appears in print and particularly broadcast media, making sense of the often bewildering and often chaotic world of football finance. He has a reputation for his “clear-headed and rigorous analysis of the financial imperatives and challenges facing football”.   Kieran's the author of the critically-acclaimed, award-winning book The Price of Football, the second edition of which was published in 2021. The Price of Football is also the name of his twice-weekly podcast which – since 2019 – has clocked up more than 400 episodes. Kieran presents the podcast alongside the comedian, Kevin Day. He truly is a multi-media expert in football finance.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on Transfer Deadline Day at the start of the 2023-24 football season, 1 September 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   A Brighton & Hove Albion fan, chartered account Kieran argues that he doesn't have the communications and networking skills required to pursue a career in finance. He spends his days obsessively updating spreadsheets of football clubs' finances, ably assisted by more than 250 alerts from the Companies House website. As well as teaching.   The most egregious act of data malarkey Kieran's observed in the many years he's been following football finance was the attempted (and still not-dead) breakaway European Super League; “an attempt to steal the heart and soul of football”.   For Kieran, the three biggest myths in football finance are: 1. Spending other people's money – recklessly – is a good thing 2. Footballers' wages are too high 3. Tickets for the Premiership are too expensive   The Premier League's broadcast deals generate 60% of the 20 top flight clubs' revenues, and the league is the world's most popular, with live broadcasts and highlights packages sold in 190 countries. And while women's football is enjoying its highest profile and a surge in popularity thanks to the Lionesses' ongoing success, Kieran doesn't think that there will be wage or playing budget parity at elite men's and women's clubs (outside of Lewes FC) any time soon.   Manchester City's men's team generated £610m in revenue in the 2022-23 season; its women's team generated £6m. That 100:1 ratio is reflected in the £20m its (injury-prone) midfielder, Kevin de Bruyne, trousers as an annual salary, compared with the highest-paid England women's player, Leah Williamson, currently on £200,000 a year (or about half of what Harry Kane receives each week from Bayern Munich).   EXTERNAL LINKS The Price of Football – podcast, books, merch – https://priceoffootball.com Kieran on Twitter (X) - https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire Kieran's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/kieran-maguire-a085033/ A Memorable Gov.uk blog on how Kieran uses Companies House data to keep track of football finance     To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just a couple of minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles welcomes John McFall, a master of logistics and Founder of the business SupplyChainWise. Logistics – a term that originated in the military – is defined as: “the process of coordinating and moving resources – people, materials, inventory, and equipment – from one location to storage at the desired destination”.   John, too, originated in the military, and he has deep and broad logistical experience of in both the military and business. He spent more than 15 years in the Royal Air Force, including tours of duty in some of the world's toughest hotspots and under the most extreme conditions. These included active service in both Kandahar in Afghanistan, and Basra in Iraq.   John's transition to civvy street saw him bring his logistics skills and know-how to the world's fifth biggest business, Amazon, whose market capitalisation as of October 2023 – when we're recording this episode – was $1.3 trillion. At Amazon, John looked after operations, supply chain, transportation, and logistics. Until the middle of last year, he was the Head of the Global Speciality Practice looking after those core disciplines for Amazon Web Services.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 9 October 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin. John teases out what he believes to be the similarities and differences between logistics in the military and civil domains. At a definitional level – and the end-to-end journey from extraction of raw materials, through manufacture, distribution, use, and recycling – logistics are the same whether you're making jets or trainers. Tier 1 relationships are best; tier 3 and 4 usually the most tenuous and troublesome. Funding, tendering, and the typically-analytical individuals are also the same, as is the ubiquitous deployment of Excel.   Differences feature in purpose (profit vs defence) and also the Just On Time mantra of business logistics. Because of the sheer number of unknowns in the military theatre, Just On Time won't cut it and the creation and storage of bulk inventory – “just in case” – is a characteristic of the military that business cannot tolerate. The operational certainties of business are often very different from the fluid operations of military logistics.   John's detailed description of the interconnectedness of hardware, personnel, and systems in the military – across air, sea, and land – trigger two analogies for host Sam. The first – of the Wood Wide Web; the mycorrhizal network of fungi connecting all trees, so eloquently described in Merlin Sheldrake's book Entangled Life – is perhaps a little poetic. But the second – of a market with competitors doing unpredictable things, imperfect knowledge, and the importance of taking decisions and not being paralysed by over-analysis – rings truer.   John identifies three magic numbers – the ‘Judas number' of 12-14: the number of people who can be influenced by a charismatic individual; up to 100: the limit of one person's direct influence by virtue of the number of connections and relationships we can hold in the human brain; and, 1,200-plus: the moment at which systems need to be in place.   Jeff Bezos' legendary six-page memo – tabled at the start of Amazon meetings and read for 30 minutes before discussion – is John's key for creating an effective, data-driven culture. It trumps charisma, extroversion, flashy slides, and emotional appeals every time and roots decision-making in evidence.   EXTERNAL LINKS John's business, SupplyChainWise – https://www.supplychainwise.com John's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmcfall5/   To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just a couple of minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles is joined by Mark Montgomery, Vice President and International Head of Integrated Insights at Novartis, a role he's held for the past three years. Mark has a rich and varied career in pharma, having served as the Global Head of Commercial Analytics and Insights at GSK before joining Novartis, following a seven-year spell at AstraZeneca in digital, data, and strategic planning. Before working in pharma, Mark spent a decade in creative, content strategy, and brand management in three different agencies.   Mark holds both a Batchelor's in marketing and an MBA in organizational leadership from the Southern New Hampshire University. Indeed, his resumé more than hints at a love of life-long learning, with recent qualifications in AI and behavioural economics from Yale School of Management, the Chicago Booth School of Business, and Kellogg Executive Education. He's also been a guest lecturer at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania for the past decade.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 28 November 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   Mark describes his job at Novartis as “the best job in the world” – particularly for someone as driven as he is by curiosity to find things out and answer challenging questions. He brings together Novartis' data science practice, some of the smartest market researchers he's ever worked with, and a crack team of business analysts. As their work is focused on strategic decision-making to change both attitudes and behaviour, this is often overlaid by the learnings of behavioural science.   Mark's rich and resonant definition of insight is a “meaningful, intuitive understanding of a person or thing that compels action or brings about change”. Insight, for Mark, answers the questions “What?”, “Why?”, and “What to do?” Among Mark's favourite tools for moving from data to insight and insight to action are the Root Cause Analysis (those famous Five Whys) and Design Thinking.   More than once, Mark says that insight is a “team sport” requiring a collaborative approach to foster success, one that requires us to bring a beginner's mind and park our biases and prejudices at the door. In a memorable analogy, Mark compares building a cross-functional team to solve genuine business problems with insight to rugby, that most inclusive and ‘c' catholic of games that finds a role for everyone, no matter their shape, size, or speed.   Mark is in the enthusiast camp when it comes to AI, pointing out the irony that human cognition – rather than technology, data processing speed, or computer power – is now the rate limiter on problem solving. Our role is to ask smarter questions and organise data better for AI to use. With scientific progress set to double every seven years thanks to AI – a seven-fold acceleration in just a couple of decades – Mark gives us a tantalising glimpse of the future of personalised medicine.   EXTERNAL LINKS Novartis – https://www.novartis.com Mark's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mdmontgomery01/     To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles is joined by Tracey Brown, the director of Sense About Science, a role she's held since its founding in 2002. Scientific evidence can be a powerful tool for insight, accountability, and change. Yet in public life – particularly in politics and the media – debate often revolves around claims based on shoddy or misrepresented evidence.   Sense About Science exists to change all that. The charity challenges the misrepresentation of science and evidence in public life and intervenes – often in partnership with others. It holds those responsible to account, and runs highly impactful, evidence-based campaigns. Under Tracey's leadership, Sense About Science has assessed the transparency of many government departments, and championed peer review beyond academia – especially with the public, helping people make sense of science and evidence. In June 2017, Tracey was awarded an OBE for services to science.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 26 July 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   Tracey reveals how the role of Sense About Science has evolved in the past 20 years. It started life with a baptism of fire and a cauldron of front page stories, with academics, activists, companies, and government departments battling it out. The issues it tackled included Andrew Wakefield's bogus claims on the links between MMR and autism, mobile phones apparently frying your brain, and GM crops said to be accelerating the demise of healthy food. The truth, in each case, was rather different, and Sense About Science was in the vanguard of sharing real evidence, calmly and dispassionately.   We focus on data science and what can and should be done to make it not only palatable but also comprehensible to an uninformed lay public, starting the Sense About Science's 2018 guide on the topic. The guide asks (and answers) three key questions: where did it come from, on what assumptions does it rest, and can it bear the weight of the expectations we heap upon it?   Tracey contends that statisticians and researchers need a change of perspective. They need to think of themselves less as producing evidence and more as answering questions that matter to society. This requires them to reframe their perspective and put themselves in the public's shoes. She also argues – elegantly and persuasively – that Big Data is often not better data, and highlights both huge potential positives (and equally huge potential negatives) offered by the new generation of AI tools. The negatives are less ‘Skynet' and more banal error, rolled out at scale.   Tracey also details her organisation's global AllTrials campaign, designed to ensure that data from  every study conducted are reported in the public domain, not just those that bring benefits and advantages to the company, research institution, or compound that benefit from positive research outcomes. The campaign highlights researchers' legal, moral, and ethical responsibilities and is bringing about genuine change.   EXTERNAL LINKS Sense About Science website – https://senseaboutscience.org The charity on Twitter – https://twitter.com/senseaboutsci Tracey's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracey-brown-42b2788/     To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

After our third set of six great guests, it's a wrap for Season Three of Data Malarkey – the podcast about using data smarter. Your host, master data storyteller Sam Knowles, picks out common themes and chooses his highlights from a lively series of conversations – recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, between April and September 2023.   Thanks as ever to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   Les Guessing, Emmy Award-winning copywriter and Zombie Data Hunter.   Sabrina Shadie, diversity and inclusion expert, founder of the D'Rose Development Consultancy.   Professor Angela Gallop, the forensic scientist's forensic scientist.   Andrew Cooper, political pollster, and President of Yonder Consulting.   Digital marketing maven, Shai Reichert, the co-founder of XDS – The Experience Design Studio.   Alexis Kingsbury, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of AirManual. Data Malarkey is back with Season Four from 17 January 2024, and there's another glittering array of guests from an increasingly diverse set of professions. We'll be hearing from women and men at the top of their game from the worlds of scientific research, pharma, supply chain logistics in both the military and on civvy street, football finance, public sector procurement, and our first data visualiser. Their common approaches to using data smarter have lessons for us all.   To find out how you rank as a data storyteller, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes to answer 12 questions, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles is joined by serial entrepreneur, business simplifier, and podcaster, Alexis Kingsbury. Alexis is the co-founder of AirManual, a company that helps businesses document their processes, onboarding, and training so that employees can take on new responsibilities and deliver high quality work more quickly and efficiently.   Indeed, on Alexis' LinkedIn profile, he says that he saves “thousands of hours of time for business leaders each year, reducing stress, and unlocking business growth”. He's been business savvy since before he became a teenager, and founded his first business while studying Management Science at university. From the ‘using data smarter' mindset, making better – business-focused – use of data is precisely what Alexis does to empower all sorts of organisations to grow faster, with less pain, while at the same time avoiding the common mistakes everyone seems to make.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 9 August 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   As a pioneer of working out what works in business processes – and then using validated, road-tested checklists to accelerate, simplify, and automate them – Alexis tells us that he is now able to spend most of his time working on the business and less and less actually in the business. And, in a classic case of no “cobblers' children's shoes”, he's applied this approach to his own companies.   Business leaders – particularly founder-entrepreneurs – who he works with often find themselves stuck working in rather than on the business, over-relied-upon, and stressed out. But even a simple intervention with AirManual can save a leader 15 hours a week. This removes bottlenecks to growth and at the same time drives down stress, in this way enabling leaders to lead – AND secure – a more meaningful life/work balance.   Alexis is a big champion of taking time out – real time out, not just working next to a pool for two weeks – and offers all his globally-distributed team 40 (yes, forty) days holiday per year. He also puts measures in place to ensure that his team don't under-take their holiday allocation – and fortunately means not nearly as draconian as Sam suggests (fining them a day's pay for every day's holiday not taken!).   To make a business run more efficiently, Alexis advises identifying the data that matter, summarising these in a regularly-updated dashboard, and the whole team discussing them at regular, at-least weekly meetings. This includes taking a weekly pulse of employee happiness. He also has a daily, ten-minute huddle for his global team. “Just because we are remote, it doesn't have to feel like that,” he observes.   Alexis is excited and terrified by AI in equal measure, but more importantly his businesses have started to use it – for instance ChatGPT – and his team is guiding clients through smart use of AI to accelerate laborious, repetitive processes.   EXTERNAL LINKS The AirManual homepage – https://www.airmanual.co Alexis' LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexkingsbury/ The Business Leader's Guide to Using AI and ChatGPT – https://discover.airmanual.co/resources/ai-and-chatgpt The De-Stress Your Business podcast, hosted by Alexis and his business partner, Paddy Mann – https://www.airmanual.co/podcasts/de-stress-your-business     To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles is joined by Shai Reichert, Co-Founder of XDS – a US-based business also known as the Experience Design Studio. Shai has almost 20 years' experience working in web development, user and customer experience. He has held senior roles on both the client side (for Comcast and Rosetta) as well as in digital marketing agencies. Shai spent six years in charge of all things technological at the specialist healthcare agency the W2O Group – now known as Real Chemistry.   Half-a-dozen years ago now, Shai co-founded XDS, where he focuses on the technology and operations necessary to build a positive and robust customer experience for its clients, which are mostly active in healthcare. XDS offers a heady mix of consulting, design thinking, engineering, marketing, and analytics. The company aims to enhance the customer – or patient – experience ‘beyond the pill' for pharma and healthcare companies.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 19 April 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   As a sports fan – to play, to watch, and to encourage his sometimes reluctant kids to take part – Shai spends a fair amount of his time outside of the office with his head deep in sport. That includes in the data surrounding sport – particularly his favourite, baseball – though he baulks at the real-time application of the Moneyball principles. Particularly if that means taking off a pitcher when he's only pitched a few balls because the next three at-bat have a great record over him. That's a bit much.   Shai's agency, XDS, makes extensive use of data to understand how its clients are performing in their digital marketing channels, learning from data how they could improve performance, and monitoring it for evidence of impact. XDS helps clients enhance analytics, web traffic, search engine optimisation, paid ads – all different components of digital marketing spend.   The company was founded pre-pandemic, but on principles and ways of working – it turns out – that were perfectly suited for a locked-down world. XDS associates are spread across the US and, even when team members travel overseas, Shai observes that “they never miss a beat”. He goes on: “COVID accelerated a lot of things we were doing – on Slack, Teams and so on – and actually created a huge number of opportunities for us and our clients.”   Shai is lukewarm about the potential of mass-availability AI such as ChatGPT to transform marketing, but XDS finds it helpful in suggesting and elaborating copy and content strategy ideas. That said, Shai knows from experience that many businesses are not doing many of the seven critical website tactics he blogged about back in 2016, let alone embracing ChatGPT. EXTERNAL LINKS The XDS homepage – https://madebyxds.com Shai's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaireichert/ The evergreen, always-relevant post Shai first shared on LinkedIn on 4 January … 2016: “Forget 2016 ‘Digital Trends' – Here are 7 Website Tactics You Should Focus on Right Now” – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/forget-2016-digital-trends-here-6-website-tactics-you-shai-reichert/ Shai on Twitter – https://twitter.com/thesreichert     To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles talks to Andrew Cooper, President and Senior Advisor at Yonder Consulting. A research, data, and insights man through and through, Andrew founded the market research company Populus more than 20 years ago, which helped to reinvent the way polling is done in the wake of the 2015 UK General Election.   Andrew ran research and polling and then strategy and political operations for the Conservative Party, either side of the 1997 Labour landslide for more than three years, and served as director of strategy to David Cameron in the Prime Minister's Office for almost three years in the coalition government. Thanks to that service, Andrew became Lord Cooper of Windrush and has sat in the House of Lords for almost the last nine years. Today he splits his time between pollsters Populus, his new venture, Yonder, and the House of Lords.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on Friday 26 May 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   Two unexpected topics start this discussion: (i) Andrew and Sam's shared love of ironing (to which Sam adds washing up and mowing the lawn, as activities with a defined endpoint), and (ii) the fact that Andrew now sits as a politically non-affiliated member of the second chamber despite years of working for the Conservative Party. His decision to go independent was thanks to the Tories becoming increasingly hard line – the de facto Brexit Party – in the wake of the 2016 EU Referendum, and “with malice aforethought”.   Although he did a degree in economics at the London School of Economics, Andrew stayed away from the mathematical side of the subject. He only fell into working intensively with data when he started working in political polling. As US President Lyndon B. Johnson is said to have said, “The first rule of politics is that you need to be able to add up”.   Andrew explains his approach to making sense of political (media, and consumer) intentions and choices by building a geodemographic model that brings together: census data, historical polling data, psychological archetypes from the BBC Great Personality Test, and a growing array of other sources. His Clockface model maps attitudes and behaviours on the two critical dimensions of security and diversity. The model explains the often bitter disagreements evident in politics everywhere and reveals “how Brexit broke the structure of British politics”. This reaction to the impact and realities of globalisation has been played out in countries around the world.   The TV programme that best sums up Britain – that appeals to all groups, irrespective of where they fall on the security x diversity axes – no matter whether they voted Remain or Leave in the EU Referendum – is … Love Island. Peep Show and Black Mirror are in Remain heartland, while Mrs Brown's Boys is slap-bang in the middle of Leave's core support.   Andrew unpicks the success of Leave's chief architect, Dominic Cummings, and his “£350m a week to the NHS” trap, contrasting it with Remain's inability to find a credible alternative number with a positive spin that captured the reality of the benefits of Britain's membership of the EU.   EXTERNAL LINKS Andrew on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcooperpopulus/   Yonder Consulting and the Clockface – https://yonderconsulting.com/clockface/   Lord Cooper of Windrush – https://members.parliament.uk/member/4327/contact   To find out how you rank as a data storyteller, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles meets Professor Angela Gallop, CBE, the forensic scientists' forensic scientist. Over the past four decades, the teams she's led have solved some of the most complex, difficult, and intransigent cold cases in British criminal history: Rachel Nickell on Wimbledon Common, Roberto Calvi under Blackfriars Bridge, and Damilola Taylor in Peckham. And perhaps most notoriously of all, Stephen Lawrence, stabbed by a gang of racist thugs on the streets of Eltham.   The details of how Angela and her teams cracked these cases – often bringing pioneering new techniques into play – are recorded in (ahem!) forensic detail in all manner of media. They're in Angela's 2019 book When the Dogs Don't Bark, her 2022 book How to Solve a Crime, and in any number of TV documentaries and specials. Most recently, this included the three-part ITV1 series, Cold Case Forensics, in February of this year. Not to mention Angela's appearance on the legend that is BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs last November. Links below.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on Friday 15 September 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   Angela tells us how her interest in solving crime was perhaps first kindled by the lurid stories in the now-defunct British tabloid Sunday newspaper, The News of the World, and her love of science was enflamed by an inspirational, sixth-form biology teacher at school “just in the nick of time”. This passion for working things out combined with an intense sense of natural justice saw forensic science take over her life after she joined the Home Office Forensic Science Service in 1974.   As her skills developed and as she founded and scaled some of the country's first and most successful private forensic science businesses, Angela became an international expert in blood and other bodily fluids – who they could and couldn't have come from, and the patterns they make and leave behind at crime scenes.   Forensics cover so many different areas in “offences against the person” – bodily fluids, of course, but also weapons, clothing – textiles, fibres, and fragments – toxicology, drugs, footwear, documents, and firearms. Increasingly, criminals leave digital traces of their activity, but the biggest single development in Angela's long and stellar career has been the rise to prominence of DNA evidence.   In perhaps the most memorable, moving, and intricate part of our discussion, Angela details how – after repeated examination and failures to identify the killers – she and her team unpicked the evidence that led to prosecution in the Stephen Lawrence case.   Angela also maintains that real forensics is much more subtle, time-consuming, interesting, and collegiate than the CSI TV drama series are ever able to portray.   EXTERNAL LINKS Angela's books https://www.waterstones.com/author/professor-angela-gallop/4009171   A ‘Long Read' on Angela's career, from The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/mar/24/queen-of-crime-solving-angela-gallop-forensic-science   Angela on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs from 4 November 2022 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001dmpl   2023 ITV1 series Cold Case Forensics covering how Angela and her team cracked the Rachel Nickell, Lynette White, and Stephen Lawrence cases https://www.itv.com/watch/cold-case-forensics/10a1535/10a1535a0002   --   To find out how you rank as a data storyteller, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles meets Sabrina Shadie, a multi-award winning ethics and equity change maker; a diversity and inclusion advocate; and, a resilience champion. Sabrina's the founder of the D'Rose Development Consultancy, a company that aims to simplify ethics and equality regulations so that caring business owners can deliver inclusive and sustainable strategies. She's a catalyst for change not only through her own business and the impact it can have on its clients, but also in the networks and associations she creates, from Change the Balance to the Diverse Business Network. In the often challenging, threatening, and sometimes toxic atmosphere that characterises many public debates today, Sabrina stands out for the calm, informed, evidence-based approach she brings to issues of diversity and inclusion. She doesn't only help organisations build ethical business practices because it's the right thing to do; she helps them understand how embedding positive actions increases productivity, sustainability, and compliance, and is essential to good governance. And to do this, Sabrina is no stranger to identifying powerful and persuasive data and then using that as the underpinning for really persuasive storytelling.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on Monday 15 May 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin. Sabrina describes herself as having always loved facts, been up for an argument, but only an argument based on evidence; an informed debate. When helping organisations to become more equitable, she's always cautious to ensure they're not just doing it as a tick-box exercise and then moving on. “There's no point being tokenistic,” she observes. “That benefits no-one.” At her consultancy, D'Rose, Sabrina uses data to find where an organisation's baseline performance is, to set targets, and to project into the future. In some of the many intersectional debates her work requires businesses to have – be they focused on racism, sexism, or ableism – there often isn't much data on which to build a baseline. In Sabrina's experience, this is particularly true for disability.   When challenging deeply entrenched views – often held of generations and based on little more than irrational prejudice – Sabrina has an awesome and impactful hack that empowers those whose attitudes she's working with to become more equitable. She uses approaches taken from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to actively dismantle and then rebuild those whose identity is based on their misperception of superiority. Now that's genuinely inspired, lateral, and impactful data storytelling. EXTERNAL LINKS Sabrina on LinkedIn – where she's very active, particularly on video – https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabrina-shadie/   D'Rose Consultancy – https://droseconsultancy.com   Change the Balance CIC – https://www.change-the-balance.org   Diverse Business Network – https://www.diversebusinessnetwork.com   To find out how you rank as a data storyteller, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles is joined by Les Guessing, a 360-degree creative and marketer. Les is an Emmy Award-winning copywriter, video virtuoso, and self-professed data fool. He describes himself as a creative director “with a passion (some would say ‘personality disorder') for using aspects of data, data science, machine learning, and AI … to make advertising creative better and more impactful”. On his website is, perhaps, one of the longest and most impressive resumés (CVs to British listeners) ever written, a full, 34-page PDF.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on Good Friday, 7 April 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   After an unsuccessful stint in Hollywood – “I was a wildly unsuccessful screenwriter” he observes with typical humility and wit – Les has 20 years under his belt as a creative director in advertising. His penchant for humour won him fans among the client community and awards from judges. But his past decade has been very unlike many of his peers in the creative and copywriting world. He's steeped himself in AI, data science, natural language processing, and neuro-linguistic programming. An “auto-didact addict”, he's become more and more data savvy at just the point that data has become the new oil – the new gold – in marketing communications. And how it's paid off.   An experienced improv performer – so often the hallmark of a generous, lateral, insightful thinker – Les is fascinated by the structure of jokes. His scripts often lead viewers in one direction, only for a switcheroo to confound expectations, cause initial confusion then laughter, and serve to make the ad more memorable as a result. We should expect a book from Les on the structure of many different sorts of jokes in the years ahead.   The race to AI may at last be opening eyes in Madison Avenue, but Les has been fluent in R, SQL, and Python for many years, helping machines to learn underlying truths of a market from big data sets. And then subverting expectations with a joke. His experience with a wide variety of different types of data – particularly large language models and tabular data – has convinced him that copywriters should only ever brainstorm and develop ideas having first steeped themselves in data.   But Les doesn't believe machines have insight – “they just do math over letters” – and it's no surprise to him that ChatGPT struggles with metaphors and puns. “ChatGPT is like a junior copywriter, producing B or C grade content. Useful, but not making star performers redundant. Far from it. They'll be more in demand than ever before.” Les sees copywriters and AI tools working together as the modern equivalent of ad guru Bill Bernbach putting copywriters and the art department together in the middle of the 20th century.   How very refreshing!   EXTERNAL LINKS Les' homepage – https://lesguessing.com Two of Les' projects - https://zombiedatahunter.com and https://creativealgorithm.org Les' LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesguessing/ Les on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/lesguessing/   To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.    

After our second set of six great guests, it's a wrap for Season Two of Data Malarkey – the podcast about using data smarter. Your host, master data storyteller Sam Knowles, picks out common themes and chooses his highlights from a lively series of conversations – recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, between March and May 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   Steven Pinker, Professor of Psychology at Harvard University   Tim Jobson, Consultant in Internal Medicine at Somerset Foundation NHS Trust and Medical Director of Predictive Health Intelligence   Sam Michelson, Founder & CEO of Five Bocks – Intelligent Digital Reputation   Elizabeth Press, Creator & Owner of the D3M Labs (Data-Driven Decision-Making) blog   Stijn Gimbrère, MD of Media Futures Market   Jean-Baptiste Bouzige, Founder & CEO of Ekimetrics   Steve Pinker gives a brilliant explanation of the Curse of Knowledge – the difficulty in imagining what it's like not to know something that you know – from its origins in experimental psychology. Digital reputation management expert, Sam Michelson, shows how dangerous the Curse can be in business.   One of the main challenges for using data smarter is that ‘data people' speak a different language – and are motivated and remunerated for different reasons – from others in a business or organisation. D3M Labs blogger, Elizabeth Press, details the consequences of failing to address this.   AI is changing how many organisations work, and Ekimetrics' Founder & CEO, Jean-Baptiste Bouzige, is already applying AI tools among his 400-strong army of data scientists. Pinker is more sceptical – about how it works and whether it will solve the world's biggest, thorniest problems.   Using data smarter accelerates performance in every sector, and in this season – and this season wrap-up episode – we also hear from health software pioneer, Tim Jobson, and Stijn Gimbrère, a man on a mission to clean-up the often murky and fraudulent online advertising market.   Data Malarkey is back with Season Three from 27 September, and there's a glittering array of guests from an increasingly diverse set of professions. We'll be hearing from women and men at the top of their game from the worlds of screenwriting, diversity and inclusion, and forensic science; from market research, digital marketing, and AI. Their common approaches to using data smarter have lessons for us all.   To find out how you rank as a data storyteller, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes to answer 12 questions, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

Facing a mountain of business data and don't know where to start?   Tune into Episode 80 of the 'De-stress Your Business' podcast where we dive deep with master data storyteller, Sam Knowles. With a unique talent for breathing life into numbers, Sam uncovers the art and science of data storytelling.   From his best-selling trilogy on making smarter use of data, to the transformative power of asking the right questions, Sam shares real-world examples and stories that illuminate the path to impactful, evidence-based business decisions to identify and remove bottlenecks in our businesses.   Discover the six Golden Rules of data storytelling, understand the balance between emotion and data, and learn how to shift from mere data points to genuine, actionable insights.   Don't let data overwhelm you! Join me in this enlightening conversation with Sam Knowles and unlock the narrative hidden in your business data.   #destressyourbusiness #podcast #datastorytelling #businessinsights #dataanalytics #smarterquestions #businessgrowth ---   Helpful resources for today's episode: Insight Agents Narrative by Numbers How To Be Insightful Asking Smarter Questions Sam on LinkedIn ---   Want to learn more from Alexis? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles is joined by Jean-Baptiste Bouzige, the CEO of Ekimetrics. The company describes itself as “a pioneering leader in data science and AI-powered solutions for sustainable business performance”. Jean-Baptiste is one of the founders of Ekimetrics, a business he launched in 2006 after starting his career at the ad agency DDB. At DDB he was in charge of developing analytics and modeling methodologies.   Jean-Baptiste is passionate about finding innovative ways to deliver simple insights from complex methods for better decision-making, and Ekimetrics is increasingly focused on helping businesses become sustainable for the long term. He teaches “Data for Marketing” at the HEC business school in Paris on the Executive MBA program. Jean-Baptiste is a graduate of both the École Polytechnique and the École des Mines de Paris, where he specialised in applied mathematics and micro-economics.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 11 April 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   Although he spends much of his time managing and building the 400-strong Ekimetrics team of data scientists and engineers, Jean-Baptiste takes most pleasure from writing. His writing focuses on the impact of the data-driven models his team builds to help the company's clients enhance their business decision-making. “Smarter use of data all starts with well-informed, key business questions,” he tells me.   Jean-Baptiste believes that the most important encounter data scientists and engineers can have with the data sets they're working with is the very first exploration of raw, unfiltered information. This initial encounter sets the tone for how the data will be used and enables everyone in a business to start speaking the same language. For Jean-Baptiste, the failure to find a common lexicon across different functions is one of the main reasons why data doesn't solve the problems it can.   Ekimetrics brings together algorithms and data, technology and core business functions with the single-minded goal of securing competitive advantage. The company aims to deliver transformational impact and invests its time here rather than in piecemeal, micro-optimisations. This is particularly important for legacy businesses which are forced to evolve because of societal change, consumer pressure, and legislation; businesses including automotive and consumer goods. Hence Ekimetrics' current and future focus on sustainability.   The rapid evolution of powerful AI engines which are widely-available at no or low cost – engines such as ChatGPT – excites Jean-Baptiste, provided they're used at the right time and in the right way. He agrees with Bill Gates that AI is the most important innovation in business in the past 35 years.   We end our conversation talking about Jean-Baptiste's 2022 interview with his hero, the Princeton psychologist Daniel Kahneman (link below). He was so impressed with Kahneman's thoughtful, considered response to his questions, as if considering them for the first time.   EXTERNAL LINKS Ekimetrics website – https://ekimetrics.com Jean-Baptiste's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jean-baptiste-bouzige-6aaa242/ Jean-Baptiste interviewing Daniel Kahneman – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMLujEsoxoM   To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

It's fair to say that one of the markets that has become most complex and least transparent in the digital age has been advertising. The market was described in 2016 by Marc Pritchard – the Chief Brand Officer of Procter & Gamble, both the world's biggest consumer goods business and the world's highest-spending advertiser – as “murky at best, fraudulent at worst”.   In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles talks to Dutch media entrepreneur Stijn Gimbrère, Founder and CEO of Media Futures Market. Media Futures Market is an innovative platform that directly connects buyers – that's brands and their agencies – with high-quality media owners and publishers selling advertising inventory. In a market that's been weighted for too long against advertisers – whose budgets fund every link in the chain – Media Futures Market's mission is to provide buyers and sellers with the same information; simply, clearly, and transparently .   Before founding his current venture in June 2020, Stijn cut his teeth at the Dutch media network, RTL Nederland, before holding a variety of strategy and corporate development roles at advertising platform SpotX. he identified the gap in the market for his new venture while on a round-the-world trip with his wife, just pre-pandemic.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 4 April 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   For too long, middlemen who only erode value have squandered advertisers' marketing budgets. Stijn is driven by a desire to bring transparency to the advertising market. One of the ways Media Futures Market does this is by enabling buyers to “compare apples with apples” and understand what an investment on one media property will deliver compared with any other.   Meta (Facebook, Instagram) and Alphabet (Google, YouTube) make it easy – though not totally transparent – for buyers to know what they're buying. By making it easy, they account for up to 80% of the online ad market. But there's huge value in other properties and platforms, and Media Futures Market makes it straightforward for buyers to know where the value is for them.   As a data storyteller, Stijn appreciates the need to “read the room” and understand the likely data tolerance of those you're speaking to. You need a different type of narrative – and a different blend of narrative and numbers – if you're talking to a CEO compared with a Finance Director. Knowing your audience is, for Stijn, a critical dimension of being a better data storyteller.   Media Futures Market first attracted media attention – from the Dutch equivalent of the Financial Times – by telling a data-driven story which showed the numbers in the advertising market don't add up; that demonstrated the poor value many buyers were getting. This was particularly true of the unregulated, automated, programmatic advertising market. That – Stijn says – was the Wild West. Thanks in no small part to businesses committed to transparency and information symmetry like Stijn's Media Futures Market, the days of the Wild West are rapidly becoming history.   EXTERNAL LINKS Media Futures Market – https://mediafuturesmarket.com/en/ Stijn's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/stijn-gimbrère-830b852a/   To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes to answer 12 questions, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles talks to Elizabeth Press, the creator and owner of D3M Labs – “the Data-Driven Decision Making Blog”. Elizabeth is an experienced data leader, having held data and business intelligence leadership roles with a variety of different businesses in Europe, particularly Berlin, including more than five years with Dell and the same period running her own consultancy. Originally a journalist, it's to these roots that she's recently returned with the Data-Driven Decision Making blog.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 4 April 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   In our discussion, Elizabeth paints a bleak picture of the state of data leadership and data usage within most businesses today.   In part this is the result of “data people” and the rest of the business failing to speak the same language and – as a consequence – failing to understand what each other does and how they can be useful to one-another. Businesses fail to treat data as an asset, and data people are often unable to demonstrate quite what an asset it can be. Elizabeth puts this down to a ‘human centricity problem'.   In part, it's the result of the hyper-technical focus of data teams, looking to solve technical and data problems before business problems. Any amount of ad hoc coding, making elegant data pipelines, and subscribing to yet another platform or dashboard is unlikely to solve any real business problem.   And in part it's the result of the siloed nature of businesses and a failure of leadership to invest in the planning tools and structures necessary to make data more useable by and useful to businesses.   “Genius doesn't scale,” observes Elizabeth. “But neither should management treat the data team as a concierge service.” Without the application of empathy, techniques such as Design Thinking, and listening to the voice of the customer, she's not optimistic many organisations will be able to successfully bridge this divide. And there are responsibilities to address this on both sides.   Sam draws two analogies – that great academics don't necessarily make great administrators, however close they may be to a Nobel Prize or being the most widely-respected individual in their field; and, data visualisation is a great skill, but working out the story has to come before any application of Tableau, PowerBI, or any other graphical software. In the same way, the best programmers don't necessarily make the best data leaders.   Elizabeth concludes by focusing our attention on the unintended consequences of the “banality of evil”; of factoring in religion, gender, sexuality into algorithms and those factors being used to deny groups access to healthcare, finance, or housing. Sam compares this with the Chinese Citizen Score, parallels of which are being built into code serving (and categorising) citizens right across the world.   EXTERNAL LINKS D3M Labs blog – https://d3mlabs.de Elizabeth's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethpress/ To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes to answer 12 questions, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles talks to Sam Michelson, Founder & CEO of Five Blocks – a technology and a consulting firm specialising in digital reputation management. He and his team of more than 50 truly do make smarter use of data to understand what the world says and thinks about companies, brands, and corporate executives – and if their opinions really matter or are just froth, bluster, and noise. The company is based in both Jerusalem, Israel, and New York City.   A psychology graduate from Yeshiva University, New York, Sam is also a Master of Science in Management from Boston University. He founded Five Blocks in 2009, and says that the company uses “proprietary technology and big data analysis … to empower top brands and prominent individuals to tell their best story, via search, to the audiences that matter most”.   Sam believes it's very easy for corporations and their leaders to get very hung up on signals and content online that don't matter. His company collects time series data from Google (and Bing) search results in dozens of markets all round the world, covering more than 100,000 companies. It also collects Wikipedia data, not least because Wikipedia searches often rank so highly in natural search, plus also – recently – Bing AI, ChatGPT, and Google's Bard. The data is ingested into Five Blocks' proprietary IMPACT tool which gives search data proper context, comparing ongoing results with those from peers and what's normal, what's exceptional, and what's volatile.    Five Blocks' clients tend to engage with the company when there's an opportunity or a threat. Sam and his team don't have data quality challenges so much as data over-abundance issues. They're like “kids in a candy store”, he notes. But it's the firm's data-driven approach that takes the emotion out of digital reputation management.   Because the business was boot-strapped and not venture-backed, this has given Five Blocks the opportunity to test and learn and move more slowly than it might otherwise have been forced to. It also started early (2009) and benefits from having no team members with a big consultancy background – though unusually in this market, Five Blocks is both a technology AND a consultancy business.   When looking for insight, Sam is an advocate of mapping out the current situation, identifying what you'd expect to see, and then zeroing in on what's missing. Like a great forensic scientist, he's as keen to explore “when the dogs don't bark” – as the forensic scientist of her generation, Professor Angela Gallop put it in the title of her 2019 book – as when they do.   Sam finds distraction, centres himself, and finds time for reflection away from Five Blocks through his eight (yes, eight) children – not all of whom are still at home – a daily prayer service, and mountain biking in the countryside outside Jerusalem.   EXTERNAL LINKS Five Blocks – https://www.fiveblocks.com Sam's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/sammichelson/ Five Blocks on Twitter – https://twitter.com/5blocks   To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes to answer 12 questions, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles talks to Tim Jobson, a consultant gastroenterologist at the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust in South West England. Tim truly is a product of Oxbridge, having studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge for three years and then Medicine at Oxford for a further three. He went on to take a PhD in Medicine from Nottingham University, and he is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.   Tim is an expert in what's sometimes rather unglamorously known as “internal medicine”, and one of his specialist organs is the liver. Since 2021, he's been the Medical Director and Chief Investigator of a pioneering, data-driven business called Predictive Health Intelligence which is taking a fresh approach to analysing historical blood test data and identifying patients at risk of liver disease.   As he considers the role that data plays in diagnosis of different chronic and acute medical conditions and diseases, Tim zooms in from the stories patients tell their doctors to the results of specific tests and biopsies. By accumulating relevant evidence, healthcare professionals can identify the relative risk or probability that a particular patient is suffering from a particular disease.   We focus on metabolic syndrome – the cluster of conditions that result from the excess of modern life: cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. When we take in more fruit sugar – fructose – than we need, our liver store this as fat. This was fine as recently as 10,000 years ago, before agricultural, industrial, and consumer revolutions, when our ancestors lived a life of feast and famine. But when fatty, salty, sugary foods – particularly those laden with High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) – are so readily available, piled high and sold cheap in supermarkets, this sets us up for metabolic syndrome. Something that at least a third of the Western world suffers from today.   One major and silent killer in this cluster of conditions is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. As the clinical lead in a partnership with his local National Health Service Trust and healthcare IT experts, Tim and his colleagues at Predictive Health Intelligence have developed and are rolling-out a case-finding search engine (HepatoSIGHT) which uses the results from historical blood tests taken over a patient's life to predict whether – without them knowing it – they are suffering from this silent killer.   The annual toll of this disease is eye-watering: it costs £7-13bn a year, causes 30,000 premature deaths, and robs the UK population of more than 100,000 years of healthy life each year. We discuss how HepatoSIGHT could dramatically reduce these numbers and how the same, super-smart approach to using existing health data could help identify other, costly, silent killers, too.   EXTERNAL LINKS Predictive Health Intelligence – https://predictivehealthintelligence.co.uk Tim Jobson's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-jobson-0043934b/ PHI on Twitter – https://twitter.com/phi_comms   To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes to answer 12 questions, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.

To kick-off the second season of Data Malarkey, Sam Knowles talks to one of the all-time greats of academic psychology – Steven Pinker, the Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. An experimental psychologist interested in all aspects of language, mind, and human nature, Steve is one of the most important public intellectuals – and best-selling authors – of the past 30 years. He came to global attention with his 1994 book, The Language Instinct, and followed that three years later with How The Mind Works.   In the 2000s, Steve's interests – and popular-science best sellers – have flexed and grown to cover nature and nurture, human progress, violence (or otherwise) in society, and most recently, rationality. Many listeners will be familiar with The Blank Slate, The Better Angels of our Nature, Enlightenment Now, and – most recently – Rationality. A less well-known but important work is Steve's 2014 book The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century, and what it has to say about the Curse of Knowledge.   Garlanded by media, national and international associations, and academic institutions around the world, Steve is generally agreed to be one of the world's leading thinkers and most influential writers. He is that rarest of creatures – a serious, practicing academic who writes with great clarity for both his peers and an intelligent lay audience. Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 18 May 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   Steve spends his time reading, teaching, and writing – totally immersing himself when it comes to books. And when he's not doing that, he's walking, hiking, cycling, travelling and talking with his wife, the novelist and philosopher, Rebecca Goldstein. He also has a passion – and a real skill – for photography, a passion developed from his early-career research in visual cognition and his love of visual aesthetics.   This episode covers so much in just 45 minutes, from why the world is rather less violent than the news cycle might suggest to the replicability crisis in psychology; from our faulty belief that a sample will be representative of a population, to underpowered psychological research using too few experimental subjects. More than once, Steve refers to Amos Tversky's 1971 paper in Psychological Bulletin, “Belief in the law of small numbers”. As Steve points out: “He did warn us. We should have listened!” For those unfamiliar with this seminal, overlooked paper – here it is.   And while we're very much in the wheelhouse of an academic psychologist at the height of his profession, at all times Steve avoids the Curse of Knowledge, which he defines as “the difficulty in imagining what it's like for some else not to know something that you know”. As the Curse of Knowledge is a repeated target of Sam's in his data storytelling training, host and guest wig out about the Curse, which Steve also characterises as a lack of Theory of Mind. Other topics covered in this episode include: what insight is and how to move from data to insight; the very real power of analogy (like the solar system for atomic structure) in driving breakthrough innovation and understanding; the dangers (and shortcomings) of AI. While Steve suspects the dangers have been overstated, he's all for minimising deep fakes – on news in particular – and fraud.  EXTERNAL LINKS Steve's home page – https://stevenpinker.com Photos by Steven Pinker – http://stevepinker.com The Harvard Department of Psychology page for Steve – https://psychology.fas.harvard.edu/people/steven-pinker   To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes to answer 12 questions, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

After six great guests, it's a wrap for Season One of Data Malarkey – the podcast about using data smarter. Your host, master data storyteller Sam Knowles, picks out common themes and chooses his highlights from a lively series of conversations with his mixed bag of academics, marketers, a leading voice in clearing down space junk, and a coach helping bring balance to our data-rich, digital lives.   Our conversations were recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, in February and March 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   Professor Ana Adi, Quadriga University, Berlin   Professor Rusi Jaspal, University of Brighton   Katherine Courtney, Steering Board Chair of GNOSIS – the Global Network on Sustainability in Space   Laetitia Zinetti, RVP Southern Europe at DoubleVerify   Mark Evans – NED, coach, advisor, and former Chief Marketing Officer at Direct Line Group   Anastasia Dedyukhina, Chief Inspiration Officer, Consciously Digital   Three guests (Anastasia, Laetitia, and Ana) discussed both how they spend their time and how they manage to bring balance to their lives, taking active steps to avoid being overwhelmed by data; how they stay on the side of data common sense and avoid data malarkey.   Katherine showed herself to be a stellar data storyteller, talking about both the risks space junk presents, why it could easily take us back to the 1950s if it's not cleared out of the path of satellites, and how to convince primary school children we are not alone in the universe.   Rusi introduced us to Brains at the Bevy, a Brighton University initiative in which academics share their research findings and impact in a local community pub, demanding that they – too – are great data storytellers for the locals in the audience.   And Mark revealed why and how he champions neurodiversity in the workplace – and then owned up to his biggest, personal, data-driven blunder. It's all about cat food, and Quincy the office cat makes an on-cue appearance, swishing his ginger tail.   Data Malarkey is back with Season Two from 21 June, and do we have a guest for you. One of the world's leading public intellectuals and best-selling authors. Tune in again soon to learn who it is.   To find out how you ranks as a data storyteller, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes to answer 12 questions, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles talks to Anastasia Dedyukhina, the founder and Chief Inspiration Officer of Consciously Digital. Consciously Digital is a coaching, training and development company – it's more than that; it's a movement – that's looking to build a world in which technology brings out the best in humanity. And very definitely not the worst, as many of the apparently “free” social and digital platforms have done with such negative impact. When their currency is our attention, we and our mental and physical health are the losers. Herself a digital marketer for more than a decade, Anastasia has first-hand experience of what it's like to constantly battle the dopamine hit of another like, share, or retweet. She rose to prominence and public attention in 2016 with her TEDxWandsworth talk titled “Could you live without a smartphone?”, which currently has almost 400,000 views on YouTube. She followed this two years later with her powerful book, Homo Distractus – Fight for your choices and identity in the digital age, and is today one of the world's leading digital wellbeing coaches through her consultancy, Consciously Digital, which she founded before both the TED talk and the book came out. Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 16 March 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   Anastasia's business, Consciously Digital, is not anti-data or anti-tech. The company has 100-plus digital wellbeing coaches, all providing guidance to people of all ages so that they can get proper balance in their life when it comes to data, social and digital media platforms, and digital devices. Anastasia often finds herself outside, in the garden, and moving; walking, playing volleyball, and above all dancing. When doing any of those things, digital devices and social media don't have a chance to get in the way.   With a PhD in media and communication, Anastasia is very familiar with data and statistics, but in her current role she seeks to blend data-driven decision-making with softer skills. This hybrid – narrative AND numbers, stories AND statistics, shared with humanity and empathy – is her preferred mode of making sense of the world. A world which seems to have found a new god in Data.   The data we collect helps us to create more or less imperfect models of the world, and with a nod to the British statistician George Box, we agree that while “all models are wrong”, nevertheless, “some are useful”. Collecting data affects the data – just like particles being observed in physics change behaviour – and Anastasia shows herself to be very skilled at citing, reporting, and explaining the meaning of scientific (particularly psychological) studies. The one about wearables reporting on sleep patterns is worth the entry fee for this podcast alone.   In terms of practical advice for bringing balance into our digital lives, Anastasia recommends: Never looking at your phone (let alone doom-scrolling) when eating Keep your phone out of the bedroom Prioritise activities that give you energy – including movement and being in nature When you lose energy from too much time exposed to digital content, take a break Remove social media apps from your phone and only use them on less mobile devices   Very wise advice from someone who knows, who's been out of balance with digital and data, and now spends her time advising people how to find and enjoy the balance she's found for herself.   EXTERNAL LINKS Anastasia's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/anastasiadedyukhina/ Consciously Digital – https://www.consciously-digital.com/ Anastasia's TEDxPeterborough talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOul_7qAOws&feature=youtu.be   To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes to answer 12 questions, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles talks to Mark Evans, one of the most successful marketers of his generation. Mark worked for ten years at Mars, rising to be Brand Director of Petcare Europe, before spells at 118118 Media UK and HSBC.   In 2012, Mark joined leading UK insurance business Direct Line Group where he helped to transform the business and the fortunes of its brands. Perhaps most notably – and in the teeth of stiff competition from the price comparison websites – he relaunched and reenergised the company's flagship Direct Line brand. In that time, as well as championing the role of data and analytics in the company's decision making, he even persuaded Harvey Keitel to reprise his role as Winston Wolf from Pulp Fiction, and in the process to drive the brand to new heights.   In 2023, Mark's gone plural, and is a non-executive director, coach, speaker, and podcaster. Indeed, he's the regular co-host of “The Places We'll Go Marketing Show”, now WITH well over 100 episodes. Guests have included many of the great names in modern marketing, from Unilever's Paul Polman to Professor Philip Kotter, from Mark Ritson to Byron Sharp – though for those who know these academic luminaries, they won't be surprised to hear Ritson and Sharp didn't appear together.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 14 March 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   Mark describes his route into marketing as neither typical nor traditional. An economics graduate with a Masters in corporate finance, the job he was due to take up at Hill Samuel disappeared “in a puff of smoke”, thanks to a corporate merger.   Throughout his career, he's brought the rigour, analytical skills, and test-and-learn approach of financial markets to a wide variety of different marketing roles. Every decision he's taken and encouraged his teams to take has been driven by the evidence. This has helped him to elevate marketing and marketing decision-making up the food chains in corporate hierarchies. It's driven by his desire to test, prove or disprove hypotheses, a skill he cut his teeth studying high school science.   We talk at length about the way that Direct Line Group uses the Net Promoter Score (NPS) – a measure of how likely customers are to recommend products and services to friends and family – as the single metric everyone in the business was measured against. This unified, simplified approach made it clear to everyone in the business how important both measurement and measurement of customer experience is to the top and bottom line. For the better experience customers have with a business, the more likely they are to remain customers – and recommend the company to others.   Mark details the transformation journey he led from 2019 to turn Direct Line into a properly agile business, as well as his passion for building and championing “whole brain teams” across the full spectrum of neurodiversity. Many on the systemizing end of the autistic spectrum are brilliant at solving analytical challenges but at the same time find the interview process difficult. This means that many who could be hugely valuable to all sorts of businesses remain outside the workforce. Mark details his experience of working with the social enterprise Auticon – whose purpose is to help businesses “become a destination for neurodivergent talent” – to address this.   EXTERNAL LINKS Mark's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/markevans2/ The Places We'll Go Marketing Show – https://open.spotify.com/show/3zajAP9qA031znCniJnHuV   To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes to answer 12 questions, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles talks to Laetitia Zinetti, Regional Vice President for Southern Europe of software company DoubleVerify. The company is on a mission to build a better advertising industry, helping brands to improve the effectiveness of their online ad spend, giving them clarity and confidence in their digital investment.   Sam first met and worked with Laetitia more than a decade ago when she arrived at Ebiquity – the independent media investment analysis business – to run the Paris office. In almost 13 years with the company, she rose to be Ebiquity's MD for Europe. Before that, Laetitia held senior media, marketing, and communications roles in two global transport businesses, first for the Australian national airline, Qantas, and then for the Nissan Motor Corporation.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 7 March 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   Laetitia describes herself as a typical multi-tasking woman in business, juggling her career, partner, and children, meaning that she always has a “to do” list on the go. Delightfully, on Laetitia's list, there's always a blank box, a box that often gets filled but – while it remains blank – promises opportunity and possibility. In running DoubleVerify in markets across Southern Europe, the stuff of Laetitia's data life are billions of impressions generated by online ads, tracked and captured by pixels on these ads. The pixels are invisible to users and are used assess who (or what – as still too often, it can often be bots rather than real humans) sees the ads, the context and environments in which the ads are served. A key focus for DoubleVerify is the concept of brand suitability. This goes several steps beyond the now-outdated concept of keywords and blacklists. Suitability is assessed by rigorous and complex semantic analysis of the context alongside which ads are served, and DoubleVerify employs more than 40 expert linguists to assess and advise on suitability.   Time and again during our discussion, Laetitia emphasises the importance of combining artificial or augmented intelligence with irreplaceable human intelligence as the key to cleaning up the digital ad business; of helping brands secure better and ultimately optimal business performance through ever-better marketing investment. This AI x HI combo is best evidenced in DoubleVerify's quarterly business reviews it creates for its clients: no more than 20 slides, and a human/empathetic narrative supported by genuine, data-driven insights.   With her feet more than firmly under the table, those in digital marketing should keep their eyes on the European conference agenda, where Laetitia will be sharing new research and thought leadership content commissioned by DoubleVerify, during the course of the year. The best place to find out where she'll be speaking? Laetitia's LinkedIn profile.   EXTERNAL LINKS Laetitia's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/laetitiazinetti/   Announcement of Laetitia's appointment on MR Web - https://www.mrweb.com/drno/news34747.htm   To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes to answer 12 questions, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In this episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles talks to Katherine Courtney, Chair of the Steering Board of GNOSIS, the Global Network on Sustainability In Space. Katherine has had a significant career in business, public life, and public service. After a decade in telecoms and communication, Katherine had a series of high profile civil service jobs – at the Home Office and Departments of Work & Pensions and Business, Innovation, & Skills. In 2016, she became Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 28 February 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   Having been “in the right place at the right time” to become head of the UK Space Agency in 2016, the final frontier has remained a passion, driver, and employer ever since. From being a STEM (Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics) ambassador in U.K. primary schools, encouraging tweenagers to nurture their passion for space exploration, to heading the Global Network for Sustainability in Space, Katherine very definitely looks up – above the atmosphere and into the great beyond.   The GNOSIS Network brings together industry and academic experts to tackle the leading challenges facing the “man-made night sky” circling our planet, where the number of satellites has mushroomed five-fold to more than 10,000 in just 20 years. Space is becoming more congested, contested, and commercialised, just as the skies within the atmosphere did post-World War II with the explosion of international air travel.   In addition to thousands of satellites, there are also 130 million pieces of uncontrollable debris orbiting Earth, 29,000 of which are sized between an orange and a double-decker bus, all travelling at almost 18,000 mph. From these brief notes, it's clear that Katherine sees a critical role for data in storytelling – provided the numbers, which she claims to find hard to recall, are put in context.    Katherine tells a fabulous story of work she did while Director of Customer Insight at the U.K. Government's Department of Work & Pensions. She transformed her 600-strong team of rear-view-mirror-gazing number crunchers into an army of predictive analytics experts. By blending qualitative and quantitative data – as Professor Rusi Jaspal was discussing in the previous episode – and adopting techniques of consumer market research including customer journey mapping and personae development, she massively upped the DWP's insights game. This work enabled senior colleagues to walk in their customers shoes, to inhabit the lives of benefit claimants.   For Katherine – a dual U.K. / U.S. national – the worst misuse of data in living memory was POTUS45's refusal to accept the results of the November 2020 election, encouraging and fomenting his supporters to storm the Capitol. And while she's optimistic that U.S. democratic structures were able to withstand this wilful riding roughshod over what the numbers were saying, it was a salutary moment in the country's history.   EXTERNAL LINKS Katherine's LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/kcourtneybis/ Katherine on Twitter – https://twitter.com/kcourtneybis GNOSIS – the Global Network for Sustainability In Space – https://gnosisnetwork.org. Delightfully, gnosis is the Ancient Greek for knowledge GNOSIS on Twitter - https://twitter.com/GNOSIS_Space   To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.  

In the second episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles talks with Professor Rusi Jaspal. Rusi is the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange – and a Professor of Psychology – at the University of Brighton. He's in charge of both the REF and the KEF – the university's preparations for the UK Government's seven-yearly Research Excellence Framework as well as its Knowledge Exchange Framework. This means that data and evidence, insight and impact are central to everything he does.   His own research is focused on psychological and physical health outcomes, especially in minority groups, including HIV prevention, care, and mental health. From psychological wellbeing among gay men to management of identities in conflict, from prejudice and discrimination to the psychological impact of the COVID pandemic.   Our conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 27 February 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   With Rusi's work split between his role as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange and as a Professor of Psychology, data, evidence, and data-driven decision-making is at the heart of everything he does. We talk more than once about the pioneering “Brains at the Bevy”, a Community University Partnership Programme at which Brighton academics present their work at the Bevendean Community Pub in Moulsecoomb, the suburb of Brighton where the main campus of the University is located. The Bevy is the first community-owned pub on a housing estate in the UK, and the programme requires Brighton academics to explain the meaning and impact of their research to the local community in layman's terms. No opportunities for getting bogged down in too much data there, for sure. No role for the Curse of Knowledge.   Rusi talks about the mutually supportive role and value that qualitative research data has for quantitative data, and vice versa, as well as the difficulties of capturing elusive human qualities such as “self-esteem” in a single number. As a psychologist and member of the British Psychological Society, he feels a keen responsibility to ensure that his and his team's research findings are correct, clear, and easy-to-understand. To move from data to insight, Rusi often deploys theory – while always remaining aware that data must not be force-fitted to support a particular favourite theory. The moment of transition from data to insight requires honesty.   For Rusi, academic findings are best presented in the form of a story, though he urges caution in using the right type of data to draw conclusions about causation. While experimental data can allow us to generalise from the particular, cross-sectional survey data cannot and should not be.   EXTERNAL LINKS Rusi's Twitter handle – https://twitter.com/ProfRJaspal Rusi's Brighton University page – https://www.brighton.ac.uk/about-us/governance-and-structure/leadership/university-executive-board/professor-rusi-jaspal.aspx     To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.

The Small Data Forum podcast was created spontaneously and almost accidentally after your three co-hosts met on a panel at a media industry event in 2016, a few weeks before the EU Referendum. After a lively debate featuring sometimes radically-divergent views to keep our audience entertained well past the scheduled end time, seasoned podcaster Neville Hobson suggested to podcast ingenus Thomas Stoeckle and Sam Knowles that our ramblechats might work rather well in pod land. Who were we to argue? And so it came to pass – with Thomas' wry titling – that the Small Data Forum came into being, with the inaugural episode dropping on 14 June 2016. Since then, we've taken a more-or-less-monthly, sideways look at the uses and abuses of data big and Small in politics, business, and public life.  Continue reading -> https://www.smalldataforum.com/ 

In the first episode of the Data Malarkey podcast, data storyteller Sam Knowles talks with Professor Ana Adi, Head of the Department of Corporate Communications, and Vice President of Quadriga University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. Ana describes herself as a “digital humanist”, whose work focuses on online strategic communications. This includes both corporate social responsibility and activist communication, and she has a special interest and expertise in communication that features innovative and online-based research methods.   This conversation was recorded remotely, via the medium of Riverside.fm, on 24 February 2023.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   Our discussion touches on how Ana works with data and how she overcomes the challenges of working with incomplete data sets. In a current project, she's working with data from 25 countries in three languages. She's following a well-established (and always-evolving) playbook that sees her move from qualitative to quantitative research techniques to boil down data into themes and ultimately insights.   To get there, she pressure-tests data using five key questions: So what; what do the data mean? Is what we've learned different from current understanding? What's weird, different, or outlying? Who cares about these results? And what will those who care do differently as a consequence?   Ana's compelled by the art and the science of digital forensics and what data we leave behind reveals about us and our attitudes to data. In the maxim of the father of modern forensic science, Edmond Locard, “every contact leaves a trace”. As a digital humanist, Ana's interested in determining the value of every interaction we have with the digital world, every trace we leave.   When it comes to data storytelling, Ana is attracted to the approach taken by the brothers Chip and Dan Heath in their seminal 2006 book, Made to Stick, and their use of analogies, metaphors, epithets, and proxies. By keeping it simple and dialling up the emotion and humanity of data at the root of a story, we humanise it and make it relatable.   Outside of the day-to-day, Ana calls out the ways in which her perennial quest for balance informs her work and her life/work balance, with recent experience both painting and playing the piano.   EXTERNAL LINKS Ana's LinkedIn page – https://www.linkedin.com/in/anaadi/ Ana's “Women in PR” podcast – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/women-in-pr/id1484683946 Ana's personal page – https://www.anaadi.net/   To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.

Welcome to the pilot episode of Data Malarkey – the podcast about using data smarter.   Data Malarkey is a new, fortnightly podcast hosted by master data storyteller,  Sam Knowles. In each episode, Sam talks to leaders and leading thinkers in data storytelling. Guests will be from many and various different fields and categories – business, academia, sports analytics, charity and the third sector, and government departments. The first full episode will be available from 15 March 2023, when Sam will be joined by Professor Ana Adi from Quadriga University in Berlin.   Thanks to Joe Hickey for production support.   Podcast artwork by Shatter Media.   Voice over by Samantha Boffin.   To find out what kind of data storyteller you are, complete our data storytelling  scorecard at https://data-storytelling.scoreapp.com. It takes just two minutes, and we'll send you your own personalised scorecard which tells you what kind of data storyteller you are.

Welcome to another episode of Expert To Authority Show, brought to you by http://gtex.org.uk/, I am your host, Simone Vincenzi, The Experts Strategist, and this is the podcast for experts who want to become the ultimate authority in their niche while making an impact in the world. We have created the Webinar Conversion Kit where you will get access to: The High-Converting Webinar Framework BONUS #1: High-Converting Webinar Slide Template BONUS #2: Pitch and Follow Up Templates BONUS #3: High Converting Webinars Case Studies BONUS #4: Our Trello Webinar Checklist All of this for only £29.99 for a limited period of time. Click here to download. https://webinarconversionkit.com/ Today I have the pleasure to Interview Sam Knowles Sam Knowles is the Founder & MD of data storytelling consultancy Insight Agents. He's also the company's self-styled Chief Data Storyteller. He has spent more than 30 years helping businesses, charities, and third-sector bodies to use data smarter – in the questions they ask, in the insights they surface and articulate, and in the stories they tell using these insights. His purpose is to help all sorts of organisations sound like people and talk that rarest of dialects: ‘Human'. He divides his time between consultancy and writing, training and speaking. Originally a classicist, Sam holds a doctorate in psychology, the source of his understanding of human motivation and behaviour, as well as his passion for telling data-driven, insight-rich stories. He is a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Arts and the Professional Speaking Association, and a member of the Market Research Society and Public Relations & Communications Association. A sought-after speaker, coach, and podcaster, Sam is the co-founder and co-host of the Small Data Forum. The podcast takes a sideways and light-hearted look at the uses and abuses of data big and small in business, politics, and public life. He – and his fellow podcasters – are no fans of Facebook. In this episode, we talk about: The six Universal Principles of asking smarter questions How the professionals – from scientists to lawyers, Zen Buddhists to sales people, hostage negotiators to GPs – use questions to succeed. The best questions in the world to ask Connect with Sam Knowles Website: https://www.AskSmarterQs.com To become a GTeX Member, Apply here: https://gtex.events/call ------- To receive daily support in your coaching and speaking business, join our private Facebook Group EXPLODE YOUR EXPERT BIZ https://www.facebook.com/groups/explodeyourexpertbiz/ ------- Take a full business assessment for free to have absolute clarity on your business with the EXPERT BIZ CHECKLIST. http://bit.ly/expert-biz-checklist-podcast ------ Also, make sure you subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any other episode. If you want to reach out to me with your questions, you can email me at Simone@gtex.org.uk that comes right to my inbox. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/explode/message

What are the best questions to ask, and when? How can we be more curious?  And why should we still heed advice from Socrates?   In this week's 5 Big Questions interview we talk to data-storyteller, experimental psychologist and marketing man DR SAM KNOWLES Twitter: @SamKnowles   Known for: Founder/Director - Insight Agents Host - Small Data Forum podcast Former Group Director (Strategic Planning) - WCG Europe Former UK Managing Director - Echo Research Author - Narrative By Numbers Author - How To Be Insightful Author - Asking Smarter Questions   The Big 5 Questions: How do you measure the impact of what you do? How should people/businesses be preparing for the future? How do we build the workforce we need for that future? How do you use creativity to solve problems? How do you collaborate?   Key quotes: “We are rewarded by answering. We live in an analytical culture and we are rewarded by providing answers — and I wanted to subvert that.” “I've stopped, by the way, this is the last book. Four is a list and two isn't enough but three is ‘friends, Romans', countrymen', the power of three.”   “Asking questions, start from a position that Socrates took: ‘all that I know is that I know nothing'. You start from a position of ignorance and you park your assumptions and your biases and prejudices at the door.”  “The most satisfying projects tend to be those that have the most chance of having impact.” "If you can tell people convincingly in an evidence-based way, the impact that you have had, then you'll get more money!” “By the time they are five, children have asked something like 40,000 ‘why' type questions and then progressively school and the world of work, and university, will beat that out of them and will say ‘we need answers, give us answers!'” "There are some organisations — commercial and non-commercial — that are getting better at harnessing and socialising the institutional memory.” “I'm not a failure fetishist.” "Actively rewarding questioning is important. It's about curiosity for all time, rather than just curiosity for the thing we're working on today.”  “Be more foxy and less hedgehog-y” “To move from ‘so what' to ‘now what' you need to ‘fill the hopper' — between all of our ears, the world's most brilliant bottom-up, top-down supercomputer exists, but the engine does need fuel.”   Useful links: Insight Agents — meet the agents page // insightagents.co.uk/meet-the-agents/ Sam Knowles — Narrative By Numbers (Amazon link) // amazon.co.uk/Narrative-Numbers-Sam-Knowles/dp/0815353146/ref=sr_1_1?crid=DRW1OAQWB95C&keywords=Sam+Knowles&qid=1657752300&sprefix=sam+knowles%2Caps%2C63&sr=8-1 Sam Knowles — How To Be Insightful (Amazon link) // amazon.co.uk/How-Insightful-Unlocking-Superpower-Innovation/dp/0367261707/ref=sr_1_4?crid=DRW1OAQWB95C&keywords=Sam+Knowles&qid=1657752402&sprefix=sam+knowles%2Caps%2C63&sr=8-4 Sam Knowles — Asking Smarter Questions (Amazon link) // amazon.co.uk/Asking-Smarter-Questions-Insight-Better/dp/1032111151/ref=sr_1_2?crid=DRW1OAQWB95C&keywords=Sam+Knowles&qid=1657752402&sprefix=sam+knowles%2Caps%2C63&sr=8-2 Socrates — Wikipedia // wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrates Financial Times / McKinsey's Business Book of the Year Awards // mckinsey.com/about-us/new-at-mckinsey-blog/2021-business-book-of-the-year-award Dan Pink — To Sell Is Human (Amazon link) // amazon.co.uk/Sell-Human-Surprising-Persuading-Influencing/dp/B00BCMHG5W/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=dan+pink+to+sell+is+human&qid=1657752976&sprefix=Dan+Pink+to+sell%2Caps%2C68&sr=8-1 ‘Doughnut' economic model // wikipedia.org/wiki/Doughnut_(economic_model) Ben & Jerry's Flavor Graveyard // benjerry.com/flavors/flavor-graveyard Isaiah Berlin's ‘The Hedgehog And The Fox' essay, written in response to Tolstoy's View of History (Wikipedia) // wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hedgehog_and_the_Fox and the full Berlin essay free-to-read online — // blogs.hss.ed.ac.uk/crag/files/2016/06/the_hedgehog_and_the_fox-berlin.pdf Simon Baron-Cohen (Wikipedia) // en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Baron-Cohen     This episode was recorded in May 2022 Interviewer: Richard Freeman for always possible Editor: CJ Thorpe-Tracey for Lo Fi Arts

The Small Data Forum started its side hustle of interviews with industry experts as an experiment almost exactly a year ago, but already we're onto our sixth. SDF co-host Sam Knowles spoke on Friday 4 March to Nick Manning, one of the most important, informed, and trenchant figures in media and marketing over the past 30 years. Nick founded the media agency Manning Gottlieb in the early 1990s. Sam and Nick worked together at Ebiquity in the mid-twenty-teens in various guises, as Nick – and then CEO Mike Greenlees – bought consultancies to expand the capabilities and geographical footprint of the media investment analysis consultancy. Nick now runs his own consultancy, Encyclomedia, and is a regular columnist for Mediatel. We spoke at the end of the first week of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading -> https://www.smalldataforum.com/ 

The Small Data Forum podcast is both delighted and honoured to bring seasoned campaigner, Gina Miller, to the latest in our occasional – but increasingly frequent – interview series. SDF co-founder and co-host Sam Knowles talked with Gina on 9 February, in the week in which British politics tumbled still further into disrepute. Two days before we spoke, Labour leader Keir Starmer and MP for Tottenham, David Lammy, were surrounded by a rag, tag, and bobtail coterie of anti-everything protesters. The potty-mouthed crew were apparently fired up with confidence by premier Johnson's “rough and tumble of debate” gibe at Starmer in the previous week's Prime Minister's Questions. During that session, in which Eton's finest rifle accused Starmer of failing to prosecute serial paedophile, Jimmy Savile, while the Labour leader was Director of Public Prosecutions. This attack – which the PM's advisors all recommended he avoid like the plague – took the low level of political discourse in the U.K. to new depths. Sam starts by asking Gina to explain to SDF listeners why she'd founded her new political party, True & Fair, and what she hopes to achieve with it. Gina believes that Britain's system of politics is outdated, no longer fit-for-purpose, and so in dire need of reform. The lack of systematic checks and balances mean our national politics lacks transparency, accountability, and good governance, and her objective in creating and launching True & Fair is to address these failings head on. Continue reading -> https://www.smalldataforum.com  

In the latest in the occasional series of Small Data Forum podcast interviews with industry mavens and thought leaders, SDF co-host Sam Knowles caught up with Christian Polman, UK MD of brand communications and publishing house Looping Group. To this content and creative-driven role, Christian brings a consultant's mindset (with years at Bain and an MBA) as well as digital marketing smarts (from Digitas and Google) and marketing analytics expertise (his role before Looping was with Ebiquity). Sam starts by asking Christian where the smart money is going in digital marketing. Christian's view is that digital marketing must rest on the twin levers of marketing optimisation and effectiveness, and that on this foundation brands need to build holistic customer experience. We are going through a period of renaissance, currently, for both research AND creativity and content. Continue reading -> https://www.smalldataforum.com 

Amy Rowlinson shares her reflections with actions from these recent podcast episodes: 227 Voyage of Discovery with Tom White 228 Using Data Smarter with Sam Knowles 229 Your Authentic Path with Kate Trafford 230 Recalibrate Your Thinking with Dr Lynda Shaw 231 Time Well Spent with Scott McArthur   KEY TAKEAWAY “Aristotle said that ‘we are what we repeatedly do' so living with authenticity really matters. Believing in what you do and why you do it matters. So what does an authentic life look like to you?”   BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS* Life On Purpose by Victor J Strecher - https://amzn.to/3lAmF6L Your Brain is Boss by Dr Lynda Shaw - https://amzn.to/3ottLvx   RESOURCES https://news.stanford.edu/2005/06/14/jobs-061505/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc ABOUT THE HOST - AMY ROWLINSON Amy is a Life Purpose Coach, Podcast Strategist, Top 1% Global Podcaster, Speaker, Mastermind Host and Property Investor. Through coaching and workshops, Amy works with businesses to Focus on WHY to create people-centred environments, by improving productivity and employee engagement by focusing on fulfilment, values and purpose.   WORK WITH AMY Amy inspires and empowers entrepreneurial clients to discover the life they dream of by assisting them to make it their reality through their own action taking. Helping them to focus on their WHY with clarity uniting their passion and purpose with a plan to create the life they truly desire. If you would like Amy to help you to launch your podcast or to focus on your WHY then please book a free 20 min call via www.calendly.com/amyrowlinson/enquirycall KEEP IN TOUCH WITH AMY Sign up for the weekly Friday Focus - https://www.amyrowlinson.com/subscribe-to-weekly-newsletter   CONNECT WITH AMY https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyrowlinson/ https://www.instagram.com/focusonwhy/  https://www.instagram.com/amy.rowlinson/ https://www.facebook.com/RowlinsonAmy/ https://www.facebook.com/focusonwhy/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/focusonwhy/ https://www.joinclubhouse.com/@amyrowlinson   HOSTED BY: Amy Rowlinson   DISCLAIMER The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. Please conduct your own due diligence.  *As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Living in the knowledge economy surrounded by data how do you filter out the noise to process and understand it? Helping people and organisations to ask better, smarter questions so that they can get the data they need to surface and articulate the insights to their customers is what Sam Knowles specialises in. Decades ago, Sam fell in love with stories, story structure and storytelling. Now through a journey of humanity, empathy and purpose he shows us how data storytelling is all about using data smarter.   KEY TAKEAWAY “Ask the questions to get the insights to tell the stories that balance in a human and an empathetic way the emotional with the rational.”   BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS* Narrative by Numbers by Sam Knowles - https://amzn.to/3r6beHn How to be Insightful by Sam Knowles - https://amzn.to/3nPgayy Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell - https://amzn.to/3l6Fe1Z Work by Lars Svendsen - https://amzn.to/30XtU1a Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman - https://amzn.to/30RfVdF Sense of Style by Steve Pinker - https://amzn.to/3oZOiXx Start with Why by Simon Sinek - https://amzn.to/3I1AULB   ABOUT SAM KNOWLES “Insight Agents are storytellers. Data storytellers. Our purpose is to help organisations sound like people and talk Human.”   Sam Knowles is the founder data storytelling consultancy Insight Agents. He helps organisations make smarter use of data – in their communication and in developing innovative new products and services. An established and sought-after speaker, trainer, and podcaster, he is co-founder and co-host of the Small Data Forum podcast.   Sam is the author of the 2018 best-seller Narrative by Numbers. He followed this in May 2020 with the critically-acclaimed sequel, How To Be Insightful. In the wake of Covid, insight will be critical for recovery, and the STEP Prism of InsightTM framework at the heart of this book shows how to unlock the superpower that drives innovation. Sam is currently working on the third instalment of his ‘using data smarter' trilogy, Asking Smarter Questions, to be published by Routledge in summer 2022.     CONTACT SAM   LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/samknowlesdatastory/   Personal Twitter @samknowles   Company Twitter @insightagents   Consultancy website https://www.insightagents.co.uk   First book https://www.narrativebynumbers.com Twitter @NarrativeByNumb   Second book https://www.HowToBeInsightful.com Twitter @H2BI3   Podcast platform https://www.smalldataforum.com Twitter @SDFPodcast     ABOUT THE HOST - AMY ROWLINSON Amy is a Life Purpose Coach, Podcast Strategist, Top 1% Global Podcaster, Speaker, Mastermind Host and Property Investor. Through coaching and workshops, Amy works with businesses to Focus on WHY to create people-centred environments, by improving productivity and employee engagement by focusing on fulfilment, values and purpose.   WORK WITH AMY Amy inspires and empowers entrepreneurial clients to discover the life they dream of by assisting them to make it their reality through their own action taking. Helping them to focus on their WHY with clarity uniting their passion and purpose with a plan to create the life they truly desire. If you would like Amy to help you to launch your podcast or to focus on your WHY then please book a free 20 min call via www.calendly.com/amyrowlinson/enquirycall KEEP IN TOUCH WITH AMY Sign up for the weekly Friday Focus - https://www.amyrowlinson.com/subscribe-to-weekly-newsletter   CONNECT WITH AMY https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyrowlinson/ https://www.instagram.com/focusonwhy/  https://www.instagram.com/amy.rowlinson/ https://www.facebook.com/RowlinsonAmy/ https://www.facebook.com/focusonwhy/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/focusonwhy/ https://www.joinclubhouse.com/@amyrowlinson   HOSTED BY: Amy Rowlinson   DISCLAIMER The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. Please conduct your own due diligence.  *As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

In the middle of delivering the report, he noticed that not only was she not really paying attention, but she was also playing Yahtzee on her phone. How did he know she was playing Yahtzee? The phone screen was reflected in her glasses.  There could not be a surer sign that the data was not connecting and was less interesting than a phone game of Yahtzee. Hear the full version of this story and a few more in this new episode of Speaking Influence which is about influencing with data stories with professional data storyteller Sam Knowles.In this episode:How to present data in an interesting and engaging wayWhat Sam did to annoy Naomi Klein in the 2nd edition of 'No Logo'Why we're all in the persuading businessWhy data can be persuasive with data storiesHow too much data works against youHow the BeeGees have saved many lives and continue to do soWhy you must gauge your audience data toleranceSam is the author of Narrative by Numbers and How to be insightful and is currently finishing his next book which will be called Asking Smarter Questions. He is one of the hosts of The Small Data Forum Podcast. His business is called Insight Agents and you can connect with Sam on LinkedIn.Join me for my next episode which will be all about creating national influence for positive change with the amazing Pam Warren who became a campaigner for rail safety after a horrific train accident and whose efforts have undoubtedly saved many lives. It's one not to miss.Remember, you can support Speaking Influence for as little as $5USD a month to buy me a coffee and keep me fully powered. If you can't do that, you can still help by sharing the show with your own network and making sure you are subscribed.Thanks for tuning in, I appreciate you listening to the show and hope you enjoy it. If you have suggestions for things you'd like to see improved or guests I should try and bring on, please contact me john@presentinfluence.comUntil next time, go and make great things happen.One-Stop online solution All the online services you need to sell online courses, products and coaching in one service. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show (https://speakinginfluence.supercast.tech/)

There was only one thing I knew for sure when I first connected with Brandon Eastman about him being a guest on Speaking Influence, which was that we were going to have an interesting conversation. In fact, I would say this episode is probably THE most conversational episode I've ever published and I felt like I was getting interviewed as much as I was interviewing, which is perhaps a testament to Brandon's natural skills as a podcast host himself.Brandon helps leaders and driven achievers break throughtheir limitations, perform at their peak and achieve their biggest goals. He is on amission to make a 1% difference in the world by empowering leaders to uncovertheir gifts and abilities and use them to positively impact others.He is the host of The Be Better Podcast which he kindly invited me on and clicking the link will take you to the episode of the show where we continued our conversation. He has many other great episodes to check out and is very active on LinkedIn, which some of my audience will know is one of my favourite platforms to hang out online.In this episode:Is college education a requirement for success?The dangers of modelling yourself on your heroesThe 'enthusiasm' factor and why it mattersThe energy of successHow a lack of authenticity can block your progressWhy you should not try to over curate your physical gestures when presentingand more besides.Brandon's book recommendations were Rhonda Byrne's 'The Secret' (and he distinctly says read the book rather than watch the film). Long time listeners will know I'm not a big fan of 'The Secret' but if you listen to our chat, you'll understand why I gave it a pass this time. He also recommends the book 'Your Next 5 moves' by Patrick Bet-David. You can connect with Brandon on LinkedIn and his website https://bebetterindustries.comMake sure you tune in to my next show with expert Sam Knowles who shares how to deliver technical information without boring the pants off everyone and making data fun. In the meantime, go and make great things happen. Support the show (https://speakinginfluence.supercast.tech/)

Ep 31 - Classical and data storytelling tips with Sam Knowles. Lee chats to Sam Knowles from Insight Agents about his love of classical stories and also the practical and big picture stuff around making data work in presentations. Data storytelling is something that is key to talks in the 21st century. You can find Lee Jackson the Keynote Speaker and Presentation coach at www.leejackson.org  You can contact Sam via his LinkedIn profile here  Some links story related to the discussion too helpfully provided by Sam:   Robert McKee - https://mckeestory.com. His book Story and Storynomics. Lots of really interesting evidence, from Aristotle to Joseph Campbell, he of the hero's journey.   For more on Jungian archetypes and how these underpin all myths around the world, Alexander 'Sandy' Dunlop runs something called the Cultural Myth School of Branding and can be found at https://www.alexanderdunlop.ie   The US podcast, The Business of Story, presented by Park Howell https://businessofstory.com/storytelling-podcast/   “The 5 Myths Trump Uses to Wield Power” (episode 234) https://businessofstory.com/podcast/5-myths-trump-uses/   “7 Marketing Lessons from the myth of the Plague” (episode 260) https://businessofstory.com/podcast/marketing-lessons-from-myths/   "A Practical Guide to the Story Cycle and Transformational Business Languages” (episode 33) https://businessofstory.com/podcast/a-practical-guide-to-the-story-cycle/   And finally, Sam's podcast, the Small Data Forum, is… https://www.smalldataforum.com. They describe it as “a sideways look at the uses and abuses of data big and small in politics, business, and public life”.  

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/samknowlesdatastory/Podcast:https://www.smalldataforum.com/Websites:insightagents.co.uk narrativebynumbers.com  orcid.org/0000-0002-5975-6414  Facebook:www.facebook.com/kareyoncoaching  Twitter:https://twitter.com/samknowleshttps://twitter.com/sdfpodcast?lang=en My social media links:Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/MuyiwaaPodcast:https://podcast.app/day-in-day-out-p832991Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/muui23LinkedIn page:https://www.linkedin.com/company/day-in-day-out-podcast/?viewAsMember=trueYouTube: 

Sam Knowles and Henish dive into thinking about thinking. How do we make the best possible decisions?

A book in 14 minutes! Fast! How To Be Insightful: Unlocking the Superpower that Drives Innovation is a book by Sam Knowles. How to be a more insightful person is what many would like to know.Available on Amazon, Click here: https://amzn.to/34Cgw0vOther great books recommended :Thinking, Fast and Slow By Daniel KahnemanOn Amazon: https://amzn.to/30KuDzRThe Art of Thought By Graham WallasOn Amazon: https://amzn.to/2GOokEhThe Eureka Factor By John Kounios and Mark BeemanOn Amazon: https://amzn.to/34BKfXsElastic: Flexible Thinking in a Constantly Changing World By Leonard MlodinowOn Amazon: https://amzn.to/3d7C9K0How do we advance? As individuals, families, and businesses? As societies, nations, and a species? In a world where it's said there is nothing new under the sun, we humans are remarkably resourceful at creating new things. The key to innovation is understanding, but not just by using facts, data, and casual observations. Progress demands the profound and useful understanding of a person or a thing, a situation or an issue. And profound and useful understanding that truly effects change is that most elusive of phenomena: insight.How To Be Insightful provides a novel and deeply practical framework that anyone can use to generate more powerful and impactful insights from the increasing volumes of data we all face every day, whatever we do. The framework – the STEP Prism of Insight – has been developed through decades of both practice and training, and the book includes many exercises designed to help strengthen and develop readers' insight muscles. The book explains the history, psychology, and neuroscience of insight and includes snapshots of insight from international experts in many different fields – psychology and neuroscience, music and acting, forensic science, and market research.https://howtobeinsightful.com/Reviews"Many books which claim to be about generating insight are really about managing evidence. This book puts the individual in insight and helps the reader understand how insight can be personally created."Jane Frost, CBE, Chief Executive Officer, The Market Research Society"Insight is the lifeblood of great marketing. But the really disruptive insights that springboard into great creative and commercial success can be frustratingly elusive. Sam has plotted a path to help us all to uncover those big insights that will power breakthrough thinking."Mark Evans, Managing Director, Marketing & Digital, Direct Line Group"In the insights business, data or casual observations often masquerade as insights. But genuine, data-driven insights that help shape decisions about the future are much rarer. The model at the heart of Sam's book will help reverse this imbalance in insightful thinking."Matt Painter, Managing Director, Corporate Reputation, Ipsos MORI"When an idea is rooted in true insights, it will always be more effective and deliver a better result. Sam Knowles' framework and model for generating these kind of insights more reliably is something I would urge people to take a look at, whatever kind creative or communications challenge you may be faced with."Andy Porteous, Chief Strategy Officer, Mavens of London"Sam is that all too rare creature – a numbers guy who communicates in plain English. As well as a storyteller, he is a compelling writer and his latest book will not only be of immense practical use for those looking to enhance the quality and frequency of insights. It's also quite fascinating."Karsten Shaw, Director of Analytics, Populus"Combining his experience in academic research and brand marketing, Dr Sam Knowles believes everyone has the power to be insightful. How To Be Insightful inspires readers to unlock their curiosity and unleash their insight potential, to reap the benefits of the data-led age."Annalise Coady, President, EMEA, W2O Group"Insight is one of the fundamental particles of the craft of successful marketing. Sam takes his typical forensic approach to this topic and creates a practical way of applying his wisdom in the workplace – great stuff!"Sean Gogarty, Former Global Divisional CEO, Unilever; founder of Verummundi"Anyone who knows Sam will not be surprised that he has written a book to help understand understanding. From Greek philosophy to modern neuroscience, he explores the physics and metaphysics of eureka moments. At the heart of every insight is a curious mind, and this timely and important book sprang from a very curious mind indeed."Thomas Stoeckle, Adjunct Professor, University of Florida"Insight is at the heart of human understanding - and Sam gives us a practical guide on how to understand the things humans often can't say, don't say, or won't say."Karnvir Mundrey, Host, The Future of Branded Content & PR podcastConnect with Atharva Marcom: www.atharvamarcom.com

As the world appears to become “curiouser and curiouser”, we could all do with some instructions as to how to make more sense of what is happening, connect dots, draw conclusions and make good – if not better – decisions. Thankfully, SmallDataForum co-founder and regular co-presenter Sam Knowles has written the book that has those instructions, and much more. In How To Be Insightful, Sam combines the experience of a career helping organizations communicate better with his training as a classicist and a doctorate in psychology to tell the story how insights work. As a true data storyteller, he does so with plenty of evidence. Published a few weeks ago, the book is Sam’s second – although as he’ll explain, Narrative by Numbers is in many ways the prequel – and so the SmallDataForum convened for its first ever Book Special to discuss with the author how learning to apply his STEP Prism of InsightTM helps us get to that “profound and deep understanding of a person, a thing, a situation, or an issue that we can use to help us advance...the very definition of insight.” Continue reading -> https://www.smalldataforum.com/

Five days after voting ended in the UK General Election, Thomas Stoeckle, Neville Hobson and Sam Knowles joined in live conversation recorded in London. We continue our conversation about the state of the UK informed somewhat by the outcome of #GE2019 where we have moved onward from the hung Parliament territory of the 2017 General Election to a government with a healthy majority. Our wide-ranging discussion started with our assessment of the 2019 election outcome, our opinions on the catastrophic situation the Labour Party now finds itself in, who might success Jeremy Corbin and what the way forward for Labour might be to become electable. We spent a little time picking over the entrails of the predictions we made for the election in episode 30 and looked ahead with further prediction for 2020. Continue reading -> https://www.smalldataforum.com/

As jobs become increasingly similar, there are two skills that everyone would need if they are to thrive. These are the ability to interrogate and make sense of data, and the ability to use insights extracted from data to pursuade others to act. Essentially - Analytics + Storytelling = influence.Humans are hardwired to respod to stories and story structure. Stories are how we make sense of and navigate the world. We respond best to stories based on evidence. But storytellers need to use data as the foundation of stories, not as actual stories themselves. To be truly impactful, rational facts need to be presented with a veneer of emotion. Sam Knowles is a guru in synergising data with stories. With a unbeatable and unique background of data, statistics and public relations; he presents some simple and effective rules of data-driven storytelling that helps everyone tell more compelling, evidence based stories, whoever they may need to convince.He discusses his book, Narrative by Numbers in this podcast.The podcast is in partnership with the BCMA. The BCMA is the global industry body for branded content practitioners, run by practitioners, promoting best practice, sharing knowledge and growing the branded content industry. To know more about the BCMA, go to www.thebcma.info CoPartnered with Atharva Marcom, India's smartest PR firm. Karnvir Mundrey, the Chief Ideation Officer of Atharva Marcom, is also President of BCMA India. Reach out to them at www.atharvamarcom.com or atharvamarcom@gmail.com.

Hosted by Sam Knowles, a personal trainer who has worked in the health and fitness industry for over 10 years. Sam is joined by Tom Chillery, a close friend and client. Together they tackle the simple things that people often overlook when looking to improve their health and fitness. This podcast is aimed at anyone interested in improving themselves but have yet to reach their end goal.

As jobs become increasingly similar, there are two skills that everyone would need if they are to thrive. These are the ability to interrogate and make sense of data, and the ability to use insights extracted from data to pursuade others to act. Essentially - Analytics + Storytelling = influence. Humans are hardwired to respod to stories and story structure. Stories are how we make sense of and navigate the world. We respond best to stories based on evidence. But storytellers need to use data as the foundation of stories, not as actual stories themselves. To be truly impactful, rational facts need to be presented with a veneer of emotion. Sam Knowles is a guru in synergising data with stories. With a unbeatable and unique background of data, statistics and public relations; he presents some simple and effective rules of data-driven storytelling that helps everyone tell more compelling, evidence based stories, whoever they may need to convince. He discusses his book, Narrative by Numbers in this podcast. The podcast is in partnership with the BCMA. The BCMA is the global industry body for branded content practitioners, run by practitioners, promoting best practice, sharing knowledge and growing the branded content industry. To know more about the BCMA, go to www.thebcma.info CoPartnered with Atharva Marcom, India's smartest PR firm. Karnvir Mundrey, the Chief Ideation Officer of Atharva Marcom, is also President of BCMA India. Reach out to them at www.atharvamarcom.com or atharvamarcom@gmail.com.

The Possibility Club podcasts are a window into the minds of people testing big ideas in business, culture and education. Richard Freeman's special guest this week is Sam Knowles. Sam combines long and varied careers in both public relations and analytics. Whilst he has more than 25 years in corporate and consumer communications for global clients, his real passion is in unearthing and telling the stories that can be found in the numbers around us. Before founding story-telling consultancy Insight Agents, Sam was Group Director, Strategic Planning at advertising agency WCG Europe, and before that the UK Managing Director of Echo Research. Sam has a doctorate in Experimental Psychology, a source of both his understanding of human motivation and behaviour and his love of telling stories with data. His new book, published by Routledge, is called 'Narrative by Numbers: How to Tell Powerful and Purposeful Stories with Data'. Richard and Sam first met at a business breakfast event in late 2017, but it was in mid-April 2018 when this conversation was recorded at Sam's house in East Sussex. They talk about the growing role of analytics in story-telling and education and the art of using numbers to move people - even when it is known the numbers are unreliable. Useful links: http://insightagents.co.uk/ http://www.narrativebynumbers.com/ http://senseaboutscience.org/ http://callingbullshit.org/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sell-Human-Daniel-H-Pink/dp/0857867202 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mind-Works-Penguin-Press-Science/dp/0140244913 --- If you've got a suggestion for a change-maker, revolutionary or big thinker that you would like Richard to interview, then email The Possibility Club at TPC@alwayspossible.co.uk This podcast is presented by Richard Freeman for always possible and produced and edited by CJ Thorpe-Tracey for Lo Fi Arts.

Thomas Stoeckle, Neville Hobson and Sam Knowles in conversation on big and small data. In this episode, we discuss the immediate aftermath of GDPR following its enablement on May 25, 2018. Continue reading -> https://www.smalldataforum.com/

Yet again, the Three SDF Podcasteers Neville Hobson, Sam Knowles and Thomas Stoeckle tackle a range of related themes, from trust in society to clarity in corporate messages, global attitudes towards news, and Silicon Valley's growing number of critical voices. The 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer finds China and the US poles apart, with the US in last place, experiencing its largest drop in the survey's history, and China on top with the strongest gains among all 28 surveyed countries. Now in its 18th year, the Barometer makes for an excellent chronicle of perceptions of trust around the world - and a time series that warrants more deep dive analyses, to glean insights, learn, and perhaps to lead to better informed decision-making. Continue reading -> https://www.smalldataforum.com/

As the Small Data Forum progresses through its early teenage years – our latest podcast is episode 14 already – regular co-hosts Thomas Stoeckle, Neville Hobson, and Sam Knowles are taking the opportunity to look forward by looking back. Patients of our own medicine, you might say, we’re using the year end and what we’ve observed and learned in 2017 to enter the predictive analytics business. We take our inspiration from Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, transitions, and time, after whom January is named... Continue reading -> https://www.smalldataforum.com/

Thomas Stoeckle, Neville Hobson and Sam Knowles in conversation on the history and function of PR, business and Big Data (and the ten Vs of Big Data), SNCR research initiative and survey into fake news, and more.

In the latest episode of the #SmallDataForum podcast, Sam Knowles, Thomas Stoeckle, and  Neville Hobson, subject the latest piece of Big News to their usual scrutiny. There’s lively debate about old vs new media, with the right-wing traditional media (particularly the press) apparently little more than an echo chamber of vitriol, as well as the fleet-footed use of social channels and influencers to target younger voters. The very younger voters who were largely ignored in 2016’s two seismic polls and whom traditional media finds harder and harder to touch.

A topic that’s dominated our conversation in recent episodes of The Small Data Forum podcast is fake news and related issues. In episode 7, hosted by Thomas Stoeckle in conversation with regulars Neville Hobson and Sam Knowles, we consider world wide web inventor Tim Berner-Lee’s call to action on what he sees as three big challenges for the web: Loss of control of personal data; Spread of misinformation; and Questionable political advertising. The second one in particular – spread of misinformation – offers another perspective on the fake news topic, part of the so-called post-Truth world, that speaks to a key aspect of this contemporary phenomenon: the dissemination of falsehoods and how can we address that. Thomas asks: Is it time for a new or updated Cluetrain manifesto? Cue lively discussion.

In episode 5 of the Small Data Forum podcast series hosted by LexisNexis – our Christmas and year-end edition – Neville Hobson, Sam Knowles and I reflect on fake news and their distribution networks, the alleged gaming of Google search rankings, the promise of augmented intelligence and broad questions of how civil societies deal with the emerging and evolving challenges. Do we need more regulation? And who will regulate the regulators?   In the last few weeks, there has been significant attention in mainstream and social media on how Google search rankings are being influenced by right wing propaganda (link) how the production of fake news has become a business model (link) how professional journalism is struggling with the phenomenon of fake news (link). Even Pope Francis joined the debate by denouncing the slander and defamation through fake news as sin (link).  The debate following the surprising outcome of the US Presidential Elections has shifted from highlighting the shortcomings of political polling, to a thorough examination of the circumstances and conditions that led to the election of Donald Trump. The media researcher and data journalism expert Jonathan Albright tested his hypothesis of a fake news ecosystem by crawling and indexing more than 300 websites known to be associated with fake news. He analysed more than 1.3m URLs and found what he described as a "micro propaganda machine".   Whilst it is possible to identify both 'left-wing', and 'right-wing' media ecosystems, the core of the matter is not about politics, but about trust in facts and accurate information. It is about the responsibility of stakeholders, including the large social networks such as Google, Facebook and YouTube. But how will such a responsibility be defined? How will it express itself? Can the claim of algorithmic neutrality still be upheld, or should it be replaced with algorithmic accountability? Is this a question of morality and ethics, or rather one of regulation and the application of the Rule of Law? How do we weigh the risks of policing and censoring the internet against the dangers of a manipulated anarchic swamp of bigotry and hatred? Listen to Neville, Sam and myself debating the various aspects of the current debate.  

Recent expressions of democratic political will – the UK referendum on EU membership, the US presidential elections – have surprised most observers and commentators. Both outcomes, i.e. Brexit and Trump, were not what most of the polling data indicated. This episode of the Small Data Forum is asking whether we should and could have seen this coming. Together with Sam Knowles of Insight Agents and Neville Hobson of IBM Social Consulting, I'm looking at some of the mechanisms at play: the psychology of predictions, the new phenomenon of fake news, echo chamber effects in the way people consume and share information, the way data was analysed and interpreted. Were the wrong questions asked? Are there better, more reliable ways of asking questions in order to get to more robust and reliable answers? And would those answers lead to more accurate predictions of outcomes? As academics, professional communicators, political commentators and others are trying to put the recent developments in context, to understand the future of our information economy and ecology, the Small Data Forum will continue to highlight and explore some of the big and small issues that big and small data both raise, and address.

Episode 3 of the Small Data Forum podcast focuses on the growing influence of data analytics in professional and elite sports. With Olympic news still fresh, Neville Hobson, Sam Knowles and Thomas Stoeckle discuss how advances in gathering and analysing data are being used to give athletes a competitive advantage. 

Episode 2 of the Small Data Forum podcast focuses on the role and use of data in the campaigns for the EU referendum vote in the UK. Neville Hobson, Sam Knowles and Thomas Stoeckle discuss the outcome of Brexit and the appearance of Regrexit; the so-called buyers' remorse of some leave voters, following an immediate change in the argument and presentation of facts, as well as data evidence of negative effects on currency, share prices.

How do you make Big Data less intimidating, more actionable and thus more valuable? That is the question at the heart of the Small Data Forum, an initiative by LexisNexis Business Insight Solutions to listen, learn, share and educate ourselves and others who grapple with the challenges of the information avalanche. This inaugural episode includes reflections from industry thought-leaders Neville Hobson, Sam Knowles and host Thomas Stoeckle: How do we make data valuable, How do we make it understandable and turn it into insights, How do we 'crack the nut' with an intelligent nutcracker, instead of a dumb sledgehammer, How do we achieve that effective symbiosis between machines and humans   

Sam Knowles, Founder and Managing Director of Insight Agents, joins the Business of Story Podcast to take us on a step-by-step adventure through the story cycle, and to share the dynamics of combining psychology and business languages. The Business of Story is sponsored by ACT!, Convince & Convert, Emma, and Oracle. ACT! helps individuals, small businesses, and sales teams organize prospect and customer details in just one place, ultimately driving sales. Visit http://actstory.com and enter to win a pair of BOSE noise-cancelling headphones. Emma helps marketers everywhere send smart, stylish email newsletters, promotions, and automated campaigns, and help us all rest a little easier knowing our marketing emailing is doing its job. Check out their newest publication at Myemma.com/click. Each day the team at Convince & Convert picks a topic and sends you the three best resources ever created about that topic. It's topical, it's timely, it's useful, so go to definitivedigest.com and subscribe to their email newsletter now. Oracle Marketing Cloud offers an introduction to marketing automation, with tips that marketers need to automate and optimize. In This Episode How story transforms from monomyth to fractal Key ways to move your audience to action How to personally break down the story cycle and apply it to your own life The stories buried in employee engagement surveys A transformative way of talking about products and services Identifying your purpose How to win a free story consultation with Park Howell Resources  Sam's LinkedIn Sam's Twitter Insight Agents David Ogilvy: The 8 Ogilvy Habits Freakonomics with Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner "Start With Why," TED Talk with Simon Sinek "What makes a hero?," TED-Ed Talk with Matthew Winkler "Propaganda," by Edward Bernays "Drive," by Daniel H. Pink "Predatory Thinking," by Dave Trott "One Plus One Equals Three," by Dave Trott "Vocational Guidance Counselor," Monty Python "How to Use Story and Humor to Rise Above Business Jargon," Business of Story Podcast with Kathy Klotz-Guest Bill Bernbach dunnhumby.com   Visit http://bit.ly/BizofStory for more insights from your favorite storytellers.