Fundamentals of Business Analytics: Why-First Thinking, the Golden Circle, and Four Data Buckets

Given 'double customers next year', the typical answer lists campaigns, new geographies, more spend, repeat-customer programmes and affinity models. Flip to why: is the goal new customers or more transactions (very different inputs)? where does growth come from? is it feasible (population extrapolation fails on purchasing power)? Only then the how: affinity models, campaigns, calendarise, execute, optimise. This is Sinek's Golden Circle - why at the centre, then how, then what (people buy Apple because it 'challenges the status quo'). A defined objective stops 'why are we doing this?' three months in.

Qualitative data cannot be added or subtracted (gender, nationality, grades); quantitative can (sales, headcount, units). In practice: structured (defined columns, spreadsheet-ready - most daily work), unstructured (free text, social posts, sentiment analysis), semi-structured (emails with a structured header and a free body; XML, JSON), big data (volume, velocity, variety - Netflix tracks what, when, where, device and pause points to recommend and to commission shows; Amazon tracks browsing and clicks).