You have data, now what?

A free interactive webinar being held next week aims to answer that question, sharing the basics of how an organization can incorporate data-driven decision-making.

Brock data scientists Anteneh Ayanso, Professor of Information Systems, and Filippo Dall’Olio, Assistant Professor of Marketing, will share their knowledge during the session on Wednesday, July 14 at 11 a.m. as part of the Business Breathers series facilitated by Goodman Group, the Goodman School of Business’s community-focused learning and development services provider.

Aimed at analysts and decision-makers in public and private institutions, the session will address common questions along with audience questions moderated by Goodman Group Director Abdul Rahimi.

“As the technologies for storing, processing and disseminating data become more and more advanced, organizations need to build the capability and adapt to the data-driven decision-making culture to fully exploit their opportunities and address their challenges,” Ayanso said.

The webinar will explore what an evidenced-based decision-making environment entails; how businesses can start and evolve their decision-making culture, including how to get employees onboard; common challenges and constraints; and how to measure progress.

“We can’t predict the future,” Dall’Olio said. “At best, we can make educated guesses about it. Being capable of interpreting data and evidence at our disposal is the only way to make our guesses as educated as possible.”

Ayanso is the founding Director of Goodman’s Centre for Business Analytics and has spearheaded Brock’s program and research initiatives in data science and analytics. He has been a regular speaker, panelist and moderator in many academic and industry forums, including the annual Big Data and Analytics Summit, and has received professional certifications in AI Business Strategy and Application, Text Analytics, Production and Inventory Management, among others. His accolades include Goodman’s Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, Graduate Professor of the Year, and Departmental Researcher of the Year award as well as a Fulbright Scholarship.

Dall’Olio is an applied statistician and leverages advances in statistics and marketing analytics to gather managerially relevant insights on the effectiveness of marketing decisions. He’s been awarded an Insight Development Grant by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council  of Canada for his research on advanced advertising analytics.

Everyone is welcome to attend the Business Breathers webinars. Topics focus on leadership, management and innovation as well as the financial and social impacts of trending topics.

Interested participants are asked to register online here. A confirmation email will provide a link to access the webinar at the date and time of the event.

For people interested in further developing their skills in data-driven decision-making, Ayanso and Dall’Olio will be leading seminars in Goodman Group’s Data-Driven Decision-Making online professional development series.

The series has seminars on data-driven decision-making: fundamentals, Sept. 14 and 15; effective marketing, Oct. 19 and 20; and optimizing human resources, Nov. 23 and 24. Each seminar includes two half-day sessions and is $745 plus HST. Registration and more details are available on the Goodman Group website.

Upcoming Business Breathers:

Manage Self to Coach Others
Caren Burt, Principal, Coach and HR Consultant at C Burt & Associates
Wednesday, July 28 at 11 a.m.