"The hardest nut to crack in any type of analytics is getting our decision makers (bosses, leaders, marketers) to take action based on data," writes Avinash Kaushik at Occam's Razor. So you do you get over this hurdle? It might be as simple as changing how you present the information.

To make his point, Kaushik recounts a learning moment with the CardioTrainer on his Nexus One android phone. At first, he focused on a data-rich dashboard that provided in-depth information on his bike rides and runs—for instance, miles covered and calories burned. He admits, however, remembering only fragments of data that didn't contain much meaning.

"Remind you of something?" he asks. "Perhaps your web analytics dashboard. Or perhaps your 'data summary report.' Or, hopefully not, the data puke that goes to the entire management team."

He then switched to a more streamlined view that provided a short summary of the information. "This view felt better. It seemed like less data. Bit easier to remember the Calories," he notes. "More data did not make life any more data driven."

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