From the President's Desk: Lean on the Data

Is it budget season for anyone else? Many of us are on a fiscal calendar, but I have to believe that there is someone who is in the trenches with me as we confront a communicator’s least favorite subject: numbers.

It’s no secret that math and I have an uneasy truce, fueled mainly by knowing my way around a calculator and Google. While I’m a huge fan of checking in with your gut – or your instinct, I respect what the numbers, fueled by data, have to tell us. The well-honed intuition that comes from years of experience, expertise, or making a wrong choice (or watching someone else make it) is a valuable tool in the communications profession. Many of us simply have an inkling of what will happen in our careers and why.

But I also believe in what the data says, and making decisions that are inspired by our intuitions and confirmed with data. As comms professionals, I wanted to remind us of a national PRSA resource that I have found helpful. Search back in your emails for “What the Data Say” subject line, which gives us statistical gems about topics like kids and their phones, how people are expected to shop during the upcoming holiday season, what women are worried about, and a peek into what Gen Z has to say about skilled trades. 

The numbers may surprise you, or confirm what you already know. Making data-driven decisions can only help your initiatives or campaigns and offer credibility to your strategies. You don’t have love numbers to respect them and to appreciate what they have to tell us. If you’re not already subscribed, do yourself a favor and sign up here.

For budget season and beyond, lean on the data.

Wishing you a success rate of 100 percent,
Bridgette

Bridgette Russell, APR
President, PRSA Chicago