Overcoming The Analyst Curse: DON’T Show Your Math!

If I could give one piece of advice to an aspiring analyst, it would be this: Stop showing your ‘math’. A tendency towards ‘TMI deliverables’ is common, especially in newer analysts. However, while analysts typically do this in an attempt to demonstrate credibility (“See? I used all the right data and methods!”) they do so at the expense of actually being heard.

The Cardinal Rule: Less is More

Digital measurement is not ninth grade math class. So by default, analysts should refrain from providing too much detail about how they arrived at their conclusions and calculations.

What should you show?

• Your conclusions / findings

• Any assumptions you had to make along the way (where these impact the conclusions)

• Your recommendations

• An estimated revenue impact

• A very brief overview of your methodology (think: abstract in a science journal.) This should be enough for people to have necessary context, but not so much they could repeat your entire analysis step by step!

What shouldn’t you show?

• Detailed methodology

• Calculations or formulas used

• Data sources

• Props / vars / custom variables / events used

• That’s not to say that this stuff isn’t important to document. But don’t present it to stakeholders.

But Of Course: “It Depends”

Because there is never one rule that applies to all situations, there are additional considerations.

How much ‘math’ you show will also depend on:

1. The level of your audience

   • Your manager should get more detail. After all, if your work is wrong, they are ultimately responsible.

   • Executives will typically want far less detail.

2. The individual

   • Some individuals need to see more detail to be confident in relying upon your work. For example, your CFO may need to see more math than your Creative Director. Get to know your stakeholders over time, and take note of who may need a little extra background to be persuaded.

   • Note: We commonly hear the argument “But my stakeholders really want more details!” Keep in mind there is a difference between them hearing you out, and truly wanting it. To test this, try presenting without the minutiae (though, have it handy) and see whether they actually ask for it.

3. Your findings

   • Are you confirming or refuting existing beliefs?

   • If what you are presenting comes as a surprise, you should be prepared to give more detail as to how you got to those findings.

In Your Back Pocket

Keep additional information handy, both for those who might want it, as well as to remind yourself of the details later. A tab in the back of a spreadsheet, an appendix in a presentation or a definitions/details section in a dashboard can all be a handy reference if the need arises now, or later.

[Credit: Thanks to Tim Wilson, Christopher Berry, Peter O’Neill and Tristan Bailey for the discussion on the topic!]