Using Data To Make Better Business Decisions

Joe Sova, President of Ideal Payroll Service, hosts a podcast that helps businesses make more informed decisions.

Recently Joe interviewed our own Nate Watson about making data driven decisions. Listen to the full podcast through the link below:

Get more great content from Joe from their site. www.joesova.biz/

CAN at InfoTec 2019

Contemporary Analysis had not one, but two of our guys speaking at InfoTec 2019!

Nate Watson, President of Contemporary Analysis, gave a talk about how to hire and retain Data Scientists. Data Scientists are some of the hardest people to find on the planet currently. Video of Nate talking to “Spaceman Tom” below:

Gordon Summers, our Chief Data Scientist, spoke about his book “Leading a Data Driven Organization: A Practical Guide to Transforming Yourself and Your Organization to Win the Data Science Revolution“. Gordon does a great job framing the importance of data driven decision making in today’s business setting.

The book is available on Amazon in both paperback and digital versions below:

CAN realized this years ago and that’s why we built the Omaha Data Science Academy. (ODSA) The Academy allows up and coming talent access to not only our cadre of instructors but a growing community of Data Scientists.

We had a great time meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends. AIM continues to put on great events to support the tech community in Omaha. We’re honored to be a part of it and looking forward to next year!

CAN Spring Sale

Contemporary Analysis First Ever Spring Sale!
These offers won’t last long so take advantage of these prices while you can!
 

CAN sponsors St Patrick's Day Float for Crawl for Cancer

March 16th 2019 – Contemporary Analysis (CAN) sponsored the St Patrick’s Day Parade float for the Omaha Crawl for Cancer. Nate Watson, President of CAN, helped bring the Crawl for Cancer to Omaha and has been helping organize it ever since.

Here are just a few of the photos from the parade this weekend. Needless to say, we got into some Shenanigans and gave away over 5000 pieces of candy in the process!

A look at the parade float in all its splendor.
st pats t rex
We even had a t rex in the parade!
the float
The float in all its splendor!

Special thanks to all of the “Crawlenteers” who showed up to walk in the parade and hand out candy! See you this summer for the crawl!

Contemporary Analysis at Infotec 2019

Contemporary Analysis (CAN) will be presenting not one but TWO segments at this years Infotec Conference. Held at the Embassy Suites LaVista on April 1st & 2nd CAN will be hosting a workshop and a breakout.

Gordon Summers

Leading a Data Driven Organization Workshop.

Gordon Summers

Lead Data Scientist for CAN

April 1st – 8:30 am – 12:30 pm.

This is a workshop designed after the book of the same name. It is onsite, in-person learning designed for all levels of leaders within an organization. Filled with stories and real-world examples, the workshop will walk through the concepts of data science with an eye for what leaders need to know. From “What Data Science Does” to “Organizational Challenges,” the workshop makes sure you “Know if the Answers are Right.” With sections titled, “How Data Science is Done” and “Time is Not Your Friend” you get straight talk about business challenges and opportunities. Whether you are faced with your first data science project or you are just thinking about how to use the latest data science tools for your company’s benefit, this workshop is for you.

Click Here for full details about the workshop.

Click Here to download or purchase a copy of the book “How to lead a data driven organization” by Gordon Summers

Nate Watson

How to hire a Data Scientist: A guide for those tasked with finding the hardest people on the planet

Nate Watson

President of CAN

April 2nd – 2:15pm – 3:00pm

Understand parallel skill sets that potential employees might have that aren’t exactly what you have in the job description, and

Understand the cultural makeup of a data science team, how that may vary from your current culture, and how to combat this to attract the talent you want and need.

Click Here for full details about the breakout

One Million Cups Presentation

Earlier this morning our President, Nate Watson presented to a group. The group was a part of One Million Cups. If you’re not familiar with them, they are a community based movement to get entrepreneurs together to educate, engage and inspire others and otherwise grow small business.

Contemporary Analysis launched Inventory Batch Tracker earlier this year. The software helps small to medium sized manufacturing facilities to track elements of their manufacturing process. In the event of a recall, they can quickly and accurately generate reports and pull only the protected products.

Inventory Batch Tracker will help companies deal with a few pallets of bad product, rather than several truck loads of bad product. If you haven’t checked out the site visit. www.inventorybatchtracker.com

Here’s the live stream from today’s presentation. Or feel free to drop us a line here: Contact Inventory Batch Tracker

Contemporary Analysis Welcomes our new Business Development Officer

 
 
Contemporary Analysis (CAN) is pleased to announce and welcome Justin Trowbridge as the company’s new Business Development Officer.  Trowbridge will be responsible for sales and marketing efforts as well as continuing to grow our Omaha Data Science Academy enrollment.
He joins CAN from PayPal located in Omaha Ne.  At PayPal he cultivated new partners, expanded a referral network to include the European Union, and developed solutions for companies of all sizes.  During his time at PayPal he also completed his Masters in Marketing from the University of Bellevue.
“We’re excited to have him on board.  He’ll be able to expand our capabilities and adds depth to our areas of real world experience.”  said Nathan Watson, President at CAN. “Justin has a track record of thinking outside the box and applying concepts in new and exciting ways.”

Upcoming: "Leading a Data Driven Organization" Lunch and Learn Seminar

We are excited to announce a partnership with Bellevue University,  the beginnings of which are data science leadership and data science learning seminars on their online platform. The first is an upcoming lunch and learn following our recent book entitled: “Leading a Data-Driven Organization.”

This online lunch and learn will be:

December 4th and 6th, 11am-1pm each day

The seminar will outline a practical guide you can use to transform yourself and your organization to Win the Data Science Revolution!

It is specifically built for those who are tasked, or are going to be tasked, with leading the philosophical change that is Data-Driven Decision Making. The seminar will include topics like:

  • what data science is
  • how data science works
  • how data science can drive better decisions
  • how to implement ideas, and
  • how to hire, train, and manage talent.

The seminar will also address some of the major barriers that leaders deal with when implementing data-driven decision making including:

  • the bias of inactivity
  • the bias of decision avoidance
  • ROI for “science” projects
  • acquiring resources
  • choosing the right projects, and
  • management’s ability to understand the results.

You will come away with a much better understanding of the people you are managing, the people who need their predictions, and how to stand in between both camps.

Register here

 
Bellevue University
Bellevue University is a private, non-profit, accredited university physically located in Omaha, NE but teaches students around the globe. They offer career-relevant bachelors, masters, Ph.D. degree programs including a Masters in data science and one in Business Intelligence.
CAN/Bellevue Partnership
CAN and Bellevue have decided to partner together in an effort to provide seminars and lunch and learns about relevant topics in data science. Our goal is to produce a monthly talk about relevant topics such as Data Science Legal, Practical Machine Learning, Data Science Leadership, Data Science Sales, Data Science Implementation, and hopefully, eventually, the entire Data Science Academy for Credit.
Author
Gordon Summers is Contemporary Analysis’s Chief Data Strategist. With 25 years experience helping companies from large Fortune 500 corporations to small not-for-profit companies, he is the region’s leading voice on the changes needed to implement and to change permanently the culture necessary to be data-driven. He also teaches data science and has helped many leaders understand and implement data science within their organizations. Feel free to reach out with questions about his book or other management related questions you might have.
 
Email Gordon. 

 

LinkedIn August Workforce Report

 
LinkedIn released their August workforce report today which revealed that the demand for data scientists has increased dramatically since 2015. Almost every large U.S. city has a shortage of data scientists in some capacity. This could be due to the fact that more industries are beginning to incorporate data science, from manufacturing to agriculture.   (more…)

Data Science on the Plains Meetup recap

Last Thursday, Data Science on the Plains hosted their first meetup event. The event started with peer to peer networking over pizza and beer followed by a presentation by Union Pacific’s Jason Hochwender who spoke about the multiple data analytic projects currently happening at UP and his own pursuit of creating a data driven culture. 25 attendees from a range of different companies across Omaha were able to brainstorm strategies on how to lead data science initiatives into our own organizations and navigate politics that may arise in the process. Come join us at our next meeting in early November and help us continue to build the data science community in Omaha.
(more…)

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