'Foil the 3 Villains of Data Viz' with This Quick Read

Want to foil the three villains of data visualization? All you need is this quick read from Lee Feinberg. Lee is a data-viz expert, Tableau Ambassador, and founder of DecisionViz.

Want to foil the three villains of data visualization? All you need is this quick read from Lee Feinberg. Lee is a data-viz expert, Tableau Ambassador, and founder of DecisionViz.

Lee has put together a humorous and visually-rich guide to help people climb out of the data deluge. The key, says Lee, is to conquer the three villains: the tragedy of tables, the tyranny of pie charts, and the treachery of averages. Then and only then can people enter the enlightened age of visual analytics. (The good news is with Lee’s guidance, the entire odyssey takes just 10 minutes from start to finish.)

Lee likens this evolution to the age of the dinosaur. Back then, the caveman survived by developing the ability to recognize and differentiate between threats and non-threats. In the modern era, this is no longer about discerning between what can kill you or not, but to know what is good and/or interesting and what is not, especially from a data perspective.

The caveman developed the fight-or-flight response. In modern context, this relates to how we handle new information. The fight response is to engage and listen. Flight is to disengage; an example is pulling out your phone or laptop in a meeting “to multitask.”

In his book, Lee talks about the trouble in recognizing good (engaging) data and which data you should run from. Visualization, when used correctly, vastly accelerates the ability and desire for people to engage with data. Good visualization will promote debate, learning, personal growth—all of which improve your business!

I hope you enjoy the book as it's written well, with humor, and most importantly, practical know-how when it comes to helping organizations adopt data visualization. Some people see the need and opportunity to evolve behaviors around data and sense-making. If you're one of those people, you're likely going to give this book to someone you care about helping see the importance of visualizing data—the new survival skill.

To download a free copy of the book, visit Lee’s website.