Be inspired
Subscribe to the Raizor’s Edge podcast series for practical and inspirational insights into entrepreneurship.
Do you find data intimidating? The Picture This: Data Visualisation for the Entrepreneur has been designed to help you generate, store and analyse data from your business, and shows you how best to use it to your advantage.
From basic techniques for building graphs in Excel to the more complex process behind creating a dynamic data dashboard, this course will teach you everything you need to know to effectively analyse your data for valuable, actionable insights that boost your competitive advantage. Plus, you’ll learn how to work the data into a compelling narrative when presenting to internal and external stakeholders.
| Module 1 | Introduction to Data Visualisation – In the first module, we focus on the nature, purpose and ethics of data visualisation, and how it can be used to improve your business. We also take a look at some common errors that result in misleading graphs, and how to avoid them. |
| Module 2 | Types of Data Visualisation – The second module explains some of the more common forms of data visualisation and when to use them. Our focus is on clarifying the purpose of your visualisation, selecting the right type of visualisation, and appropriate design choices to add clarity and visual appeal. |
| Module 3 | Building Basic Graphs – Our third module covers the basics of building graphs in Excel, but the concepts and techniques included here are applicable to whatever visualisation tool you choose to work with. The final unit of this module demonstrates how an entrepreneur might use these basic techniques to analyse their data for insights. |
| Module 4 | Building Advanced Graphs – In the fourth module, we move on to more advanced graph-building techniques, which require a little more input and know-how, as well as the occasional workaround to overcome Excel’s limitations. Once more, the specifics of Excel are kept to a minimum, so even if you prefer a different tool, you will find something of value in each unit of this module. |
| Module 5 | Data Dashboards – Our final module ties everything together with an exploration of data dashboarding. We’ll look at the types and purposes of data dashboards, and what to consider when designing a dashboard for your business. We conclude with a step-by-step case study which demonstrates what all of this looks like in practice. |
David Zidel is an experienced business coach, lecturer, motivational speaker and author of two books, including the best-selling Basic Business Calculations. He holds an MBA from Wits Business School, and over the years, has assisted thousands of students and entrepreneurs to wrap their heads around financial concepts and turn their data into meaningful visualisations and dashboards.
We live in a world where the concept of data-driven decision making is a hot topic. Many large corporations employ data analysts to sift through, organise and interpret the data they gather. Analysts accomplish much of this not by looking at reams of data tables, but by creating visual representations such as graphs and charts. This course is designed to help you, the entrepreneur, discover and benefit from the world of data visualisation, without the need for expensive consultants.
You may have a handful of go-to graphs that you use all the time. But how often do you pause to reflect thoroughly on your choice of visualisation? Do your graphs represent your most relevant data accurately and with maximum clarity? Do you use different visualisations for different audiences? This can be quite consequential, as misleading or misunderstood graphs often lead directly to poor decisions.
Picture This begins with an exploration of the nature, purpose and ethics of data visualisation, as well as some common mistakes to avoid. We go on to cover some of the more common forms of visualisation, and techniques for building basic and advanced graphs in Excel. Our final module brings all this together by guiding you through the process of creating a dynamic data dashboard that enables you to make fast, effective decisions.
Picture This is designed to help you analyse and present data from your business for a variety of purposes. If you are generating and storing data, but aren’t sure how to make sense of it and use it to your advantage, then this course is for you!
By the end of the course, you will be able to analyse your data for valuable, actionable insights that boost your competitive advantage, and to communicate these insights to internal and external stakeholders in the form of a clear and compelling narrative.
Subscribe to the Raizor’s Edge podcast series for practical and inspirational insights into entrepreneurship.