Just because you can say it doesn’t mean that you can do it

Martyn Jones, New York, 25th September 2024

Narrator: There is a fascinating famous saying, “Just because you can write something, draw something, or say something, doesn’t mean that you can do it”, that I think could be further explored in the context of data and analytics. It seems to go hand in hand with expressions such as “It must be true because I read it on the internet”. Also, it can be pretty surprising how many businesses expect their people to lie where it’s practical and commercially beneficial.

Dud: It’s terrible! But they talk a good game of football, Pete.

Pete: The trouble is, Dud, is that it’s all bar-room fantasy, trivial pursuits and zero strategy. Talking the talk, as laudable as it might be, is not walking the walk. It’s not exactly a compelling test of credibility or capabilities. It only demonstrates competence in communicating.

Dud: The IT industry seems to be plagued by this nonsense.

Pete: It is indeed terrible nonsense, too. Charlatans are two a penny. Funnily enough, we can also see it as a pernicious form of bearing false witness. That is, giving false testimony, making false statements, or simply lying. As for intentionality? The intentionality is absolutely palpable.

Dud: One perennial fraud that comes to mind is the flogging of half-baked, incohesive and very underdeveloped frameworks as if they were robust, valuable and proven solution blueprints. Yes, they are usually accompanied by fraudulent claims and fictitious success stories.

Pete: And don’t get me started on “proven” paradigms.

Dud: What’s the antidote for all of this, Pete?

Pete: Honesty, excellent communication skills and unsullied professionalism. It’s as simple as that. If only.

Dud: Exactly. It doesn’t mean you can do it just because you can say it.

Pete: The difference between words and actions. Analysis, opinions and reflections. Between wishful thinking and executable and funded strategies.

Dud: You get a lot of that on LinkedIn, Pete. Massive claims of bountiful gains are backed up with no evidence.

Pete: It’s like Mathew, Dud. Remember the saying, “By their deeds, you will know them. Does a person gather grapes from thorns or figs from briars?”

Dud: Or cheese from a brewery?

Pete: Or wine from a dairy?

Dud: All they have are gestures, banal vanity and flim-flam sauce.

Pete: Combating all this nonsense in data and analytics will require a massive reeducation campaign. Are we prepared to pay the upfront costs?

Dud: Where to start, Pete.

Pete: It starts with awareness, then excellence in education and then converges on demanding levels of quality control.

Dud: Bring it on, Pete. Bring it on.

Pete: Quite, Dud. Don’t make extravagant claims unless you can actually pony up the announced outcomes. Anything else is just fraud. So we always have to keep a discerning mindset, Dud. As the Russians used to say, “Trust and taste the Beef Stroganoff”.

Dud: Eh?

Pete: Precisely.