Last year you set the goal to finally stop guessing. You were going to test, experiment, and iterate your way to business success. Where did the year go? There were other priorities, you weren’t quite sure where to start, and all of the sudden, the year is over. If you’re serious about data-driven decision making, make that same promise to yourself and start with these 10 books.
Web Analytics 2.0: The Art of Online Accountability and Science of Customer Centricity
Avinash Kaushik
A how-to book that will get you out of the data bog and into the world of actionable insights. Web Analytics 2.0 is comprehensive, delightfully accessible, and 100% action-oriented.
Data Smart: Using Data Science to Transform Information Into Insight
John W. Foreman
A book to take the magic out of data science and put the…well…science back into it. The Chief Data Scientist at Mailchimp.com walks readers through techniuqes like outlier detection, optimization, and forecasting using only Excel.
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
Dan Ariely
We prefer to think of ourselves as rational beings, but this book reminds us just how susceptible we are to irrational thought. A great book for anyone interested in better understanding human behavior.
The Undercover Economist
Tim Harford
A crash course in basic economic principles that will engage the mind of any data-driven thinker.
The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More
Chris Anderson
For the many ecommerce marketers who are finding success tapping into a niche market, this book is for you. The revised edition adds an additional chapter with advice how to apply the book’s insights to online marketing.
The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses
Eric Ries
The data-driven approach to creating something new in an environment of uncertainty. Whether it’s a startup, a marketing campaign, or a new product – this is the book to read if you’re looking for a more scientific approach to testing what is and isn’t working in your organization.
Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning
Thomas H. Davenport, Jeanne G. Harris
An overview on what it looks like to run a company based on data and analysis – from the attributes of a data-driven company to advise on managing analytical people.
Doing Data Science: Straight Talk from the Frontline
Cathy O’Neil, Rachel Schutt
A collection of presentations made by various people to a Columbia University class – Introduction to Data Science. This is a technical book providing a solid introduction to the world of data science.
Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative
Edward R. Tufte
The third book in Tufte’s series on information display focuses on information that changes over time. It’s by no means a textbook or comprehensive guide, but rather a loose collection of observations and ideas from a pioneer in the field of data visualization.
Now You See It: Simple Visualization Techniques for Quantitative Analysis
Stephen Few
The perfect book for anyone responsible for using data to communicate. Now You See It explores a variety of methods of using data more effectively and in what scenario they are most effective.
This list is hardly comprehensive. What other books would you recommend for people looking to get serious about making data-driven decisions?
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