'Big Data Doesn’t Make Decisions, Leaders Do'

Paul Dailing

Imagine being a CFO and telling your boss that you don’t know how to read a balance sheet, but someone on your team can?

That analogy was at the core of Kellogg Professor Florian Zettelmeyer’s panel to a packed alumni audience at November’s Kellogg Insight Live event at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.

“I know many chief marketing officers who, without blinking an eye, will say that to their CEO today about analytics,” said Zettelmeyer, the Nancy L. Ertle Professor of Marketing. “It is absolutely essential to get managers and future leaders to embrace analytics as something that is part of their normal business.”

Zettelmeyer led a discussion with Facebook CMO Gary Briggs '89, Marketo CMO Sanjay Dholakia '97, Norwest Venture Partners Senior Managing Partner Promod Haque '83 and Professor Brian Uzzi. 

Professor Florian Zettelmeyer on Kellogg's data analytics philosophy

Facebook CMO Gary Briggs '89 on storytelling

Norwest Venture Partners' Promod Haque '83 on the future of analytics

Marketo CMO Sanjay Dholakia '97 on how to make data a tool

Professor Brian Uzzi on marrying marketing and data

Further reading:

• Six steps to growing muscle in data analytics
• Big data on the move
• Data analytics at IBM
• Professor Moran Cerf takes neuromarketing to Nielsen