The Implications of Using Data to Advance Your Cause

On Thursday, October 15, 2015, an elegant woman wearing her signature black turtleneck, icy stare, and stringy blonde hair sat in front of cameras to defend her company.  She spoke articulately, never once giving into Jim Cramer’s prods about misleading statements and questionable documentation.

In a string of comments reminiscent of her idol, the late Steve Jobs, she told CNBC’s Cramer, “This is what happens when you work to change things.  First they think you’re crazy, then they fight you, and then, all of a sudden, you change the world.”

Just hours earlier, the Wall Street Journal had published a scathing article questioning the entire validity of her business, a $9 billion startup working to upend the diagnostics industry.

Starting in 2003 as a Stanford sophomore, this superstar CEO had raised over $750 million from some of the highest profile investors in the world and compiled a board of US government hotshots with names like Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, and James Mattis.

This woman is Elizabeth Holmes.  Her company is Theranos.

We now know, of course, that Theranos’ technology was a sham.  The blood test data Holmes and her company were touting to the world simply did not paint an accurate picture of the capabilities of their proprietary diagnostics equipment.

Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos eventually got caught.  But what they did is all too common.

Want to keep real estate prices high?  Don’t bother listing all of the excess inventory you have in condo buildings that are sitting empty (looking at you Miami).  Not making money?  Base your company’s success on something like “user acquisition” instead of revenue.  Refuse to accept the reality of global warming?  Focus on a smaller window of temperature fluctuations.

Data can tell any story you want it to.

Every day we are bombarded with data, narratives, and opinions, primarily through the endless forms of media we consume.  Just because someone makes a claim backed up by data doesn’t mean it’s true.

Data stories can propel your career to new heights as Nate Silver has accomplished with FiveThirtyEight.  However, they can just as easily take you from a net worth of $4.6 billion to $0 overnight in the case of Elizabeth Holmes.  Who knows?  Data stories might even cost you the presidency.

Question relentlessly, my friends.  Don’t take anything at face value.

See you next week at 8:30pm.  🙂

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About Me

Hi, I'm Austin.

After graduating from Elon University, I moved to Miami, FL through the Venture For America Fellowship Program.

Miami has since become my home where I spend my free time running, biking, taking pictures, and trying to become friends with Pitbull.

I'm always looking for the next challenge.  That's exactly why I started my own business-to-business sales company, launched the Miami Talent Pipeline, and most recently committed to sharing 52 ideas with you for the next year.

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