Better Business Decisions from Data

Introduction

The man who is denied the opportunities of taking decisions of importance begins to regard as important the decisions he is allowed to take. He becomes fussy about filing, keen on seeing that pencils are sharpened, eager to ensure that the windows are open (or shut) and apt to use two or three different-coloured inks.

—C. Northcote Parkinson

Statistics are not popular. One might even say they are disliked. Not by statisticians, of course, but by the millions who have to cope with the steady flow of statistics supporting all kinds of assertions, opinions, and theories. Received wisdom harrumphs, “You can prove anything by statistics”—and then sneers, “Lies, damned lies, and statistics.” My sympathies do not lie with these sentiments, ...