gap intelligence is a big fan of Simon Sinek. We have read many of his books in our book club and gapU’s gapMBA . In fact Simon Sinek’s Start with Why ties in with everything that gap intelligence is about and our purpose. Lately I have been giving a lot of thought to figuring out how the principles of “Why,” “How,” and “What” apply to me here as a gapper.
Why
One of our top priorities this year has been all about professional development. Professional development is in line with our gap intelligence purpose of “Do Great”. I decided pursuing a 24-week-long data science and visualization boot camp will help me do great for myself and for our clients. Knowing that gap has my back and is in full support is a splendid feeling. In fact, gap even allocates an education fund for gappers specifically for these sorts of professional development.
For most people, boot camp means strenuous physical labor and a drill sergeant ready to yell at you at any second of the day. A data science coding boot camp is nowhere near the physical stress needed nor has the drill sergeant that gets up in your face but still incurs the mental exercises as you go through an extensive and rigorous course to learn all of the toolsets and software needed for success for a data scientist. My particular boot camp goes through tools like VBA, Python, SQL, a variety of databases, statistical software, as well as data visualization software. From head-to-toe this boot camp provides training in the different skills needed to be well-versed in data science.
How
Our “How” is data analysis. Over the past few years, data science has been an emerging field that has been taking all industries by storm. The demand for a workforce knowledgeable in data science is immense. The term “data science” is more of a buzzword to encompass data mining and business intelligence analytics. In application, data science is truth-telling and story-telling, both of which are goals of gap intelligence. I’ve realized that the “How” of gap intelligence from the very beginning has been data science. There just wasn’t a term for it yet. Data science would be how we would develop our products and services, and ultimately lead to our “What”.
What
Like we do here at gap intelligence, many businesses often store data and information in databases and use various other methods to query and access that data. And in order for businesses like gap to build strong products and services around data and information, we need to be know what goes on under the hood and to be able to the work with the data at its core. The Data Science and Visualization Boot Camp provides me with technical expertise and skill sets in order to meet those requirements.
As a company that sells and works with data, gap intelligence prides ourselves on GFD (great freaking data). We specialize in Product, Price, Positioning, and Promotions; these 4Ps make up our great freaking database (GFDB). Working with and towards GFD provides me with many insights on several levels. It is important to note that our data empowers not only our clients but us gappers as well. In harnessing our data, we’ve been able to develop the tools and products we now have, such as the Dashboard, our gapTCO tool, and our Data Center to name a few. With my progression and completion of the boot camp, the “What” of gap intelligence can grow and take on new forms as we continue to discover new arcs of growth and possibilities for future products.
Pay It Forward
As I embark on this 24-week boot camp, one thing that I am most excited for is the opportunity to share what I’ve learned through gap intelligence’s Lunch and Learns. Haven’t heard of a Lunch and Learn? Lunch and Learns provide gappers with opportunities to share things that they are passionate about and educate their fellow gappers on topics like coffee and Star Wars all the way to the changing landscape of retail and Supply Chain. After completing my data boot camp I not only get to present to fellow gappers what I’ve been learning but these lunch meetings also create the opportunities for dialogue about possible applications or future projects that further improve gap intelligence’s services and products, and gap intelligence as a whole.
For more than 15 years, gap intelligence has served manufacturers and sellers by providing world-class services monitoring, reporting, and analyzing the 4P’s: prices, promotions, placements, and products. Email us at info@gapintelligence.com or call us at 619-574-1100 to learn more.
