Looking to be Data Literate? Begin with Curiosity!
Data literacy is everywhere, but don’t know where to begin? Start with a curious mind.
It has been said that curiosity killed the cat, well, in the case of data and analytics, curiosity brings success.
In the world of data and analytics, we are hearing a lot more about data literacy, and the reality is, data literacy is vitally important to companies and their cultures to succeed, but most people are asking: where do we begin? There are many steps and things that can be done to build the right data literate culture, infusing success in data literacy throughout an organization, but there is a certain mindset that needs to permeate throughout the organization: curiosity. What does it mean to be curious within analytics? Why is curiosity such a vital mindset to have within the world of data literacy?
If one were to look at the definition of the word curiosity, we would find the following: desire to know. What does this mean within data and analytics? Well, what is the first thing we are trying to do with data and analytics? We are trying to find answers! We want to be data driven businesses, making decisions based on facts and what is truly happening within our organization. We should be asking questions constantly on what is happening within our business, being data skeptical. How can we ensure we are finding the right answers? We need to be curious about our businesses and what is truly going on within the business. A lot of times we are stuck in silos, only seeing the forest below the tree line, when in reality, we should be asking questions all the time on what is going on: why did this happen in this line of business? Why are trends leading in this direction? What is happening here, and how can we mirror it along other parts of the business?
One key theme that you should see within curiosity is the question of why. Asking “why?” helps us to drive questions around what is happening in the business. Why is the essential question of curiosity. Start having people throughout your organization ask “why?” on so many different things going on. This will help foster the spirit of curiosity within your business. As you do so, you can get to the true answers that will help your business succeed!
