Data. For the last 25 years in finance and technology I have used data to explore, uncover facts, and understand narratives about what is happening in different business environments and the world. Data has answers. It can tell stories and is an immensely powerful tool. Everything from simple facts to incredible sagas can all be discovered and learned from a myriad of data sources.

Just as with business problems, data can be used to understand COVID-19, identify issues, and develop solutions.. We can find answers using the same frameworks of knowledge and skill sets developed from the business world. At the fundamental level, the analysis is basically the same.

I was propelled into data analytics working at an overburdened call center during the dot-com heyday. One reoccurring question management constantly asked was: “Why are our call volumes up?”…or rather “What’s hitting us?!?!!!!”. They wanted answers to fix things that were broken…and improve service, now! They would hear about issues from the floor of associates and supervisors shouting heads-ups, or exchanging comments and notes. But it was chaotic…it was a mess. Management was shooting in all directions. There had to be a better way.

When I began as a broker in 1997, the company was experiencing hyper-growth. We were breaking volume records every other day. Business was booming and the call center was constantly playing catch up. We couldn’t hire and train people fast enough. Hold times were atrocious. Within the midst of ticker tape light boards and screens showing hour-long phone queues, I and other front line reps were tackling new customer issues every five or ten minutes throughout an entire shift…plus overtime. We did all this while dealing with a bubbling cauldron lottery of frustrated and abusive customers – any one call could single-handedly ruin your day.

At one point in the chaos, a director pulled me aside and tasked me with getting answers and developing solutions to improve the customer experience. “Figure it out” was the marching order. The relief of being off the phones was awesome…no more aggravated customers directly venting frustrations all day. I had a project – to find answers and fix things.

Fortunately, management was also driven to find solutions. They wanted to solve problems…but were often overwhelmed and needed ammunition. What’s hitting us? .What is happening? What can we do to solve this issue? …and these service delays? If they could inform Systems and Operations of issues, fix problems, and slow inquiry volumes, the staffing and service issues could be mitigated. At the time, initiatives were developed and championed on the fly, based on gut instinct. They didn’t have time for multivariate observational studies, surveys, or interviews…or detailed research projects. Answers were needed yesterday.

I wanted to help get answers…. I also wanted my project to succeed to stay off the phones. So I had to prove results – quickly. My first goal was to understand the scope and nature of the inquiries coming in. If we had 5,000 calls in a day, how many of those were operations related? …systems related? …deposit related? …password issues? …complaints?, etc. No one had any idea. We had hands-on experience talking with customers and understanding those issues at the most granular level. However, we couldn’t see the big picture.

I knew data could help us scope and understand the real customer impacts and opportunities to improve the situation. Armed with the facts, I could develop reports, get answers, and develop logical narratives about what was happening. This would enable management to allocate resources and promote initiatives with the highest impact.

I was fired up for the challenge.

I dove into whatever data I could find…beginning with the thousands of emails we were receiving each day. I developed queries to scope issues and segment emails….and discovered more and more insights. The first few days of the project turned into weeks, months, and years. I learned about call center reporting, databases, email systems, call routing, and workflows. Query tools and analytics became second nature. I worked with incredible engineers to develop pattern matching text queries to flag complaints, categorize, rank, and spot variances in email inquiry trends. We built call tracking to segment calls and provide real-time transparency and visibility to the front line managers. We created new workflows and service level dashboards to monitor and improve operations. Ultimately, I was able to build powerful forecasting tools to accurately predict inquiry volumes and staffing needs weeks and months ahead.

Over the years, I have worked with some incredible people and gained a broad understanding of call centers, customer service, marketing, operations, finance, technology, and business in general. I have become a business and data/analytics expert…and have been doing it for the last 20+ years. About half of that was with the original company, and then several startups in Silicon Valley and overseas.

The COVID-19 pandemic emerged as I was taking a break while recovering from a torn bicep and spine surgery. In late January, I recognized the potential severity of the COVID-19 outbreak as I followed the horrific stories out of Wuhan. I then discovered the Johns Hopkins dashboards and some other limited data sources. Given my experience working with analytics and recognizing the challenge ahead, I was compelled to dig deep into COVID-19 data, research, and focus my efforts to help.

Tragically, there have been over 22 million cases and almost 800,000 worldwide fatalities as I write this. One side benefit is there is now a mountain of data about cases, testing, treatments, hospitalizations, and deaths. However, it is messy and the data accuracy is constantly a consideration as I research. Countries and jurisdictions can distort numbers and even falsify reports to satisfy or communicate narratives. Sadly, the World Health Organization only uses reported numbers and does not have authority to validate any data. We missed an opportunity to stop it early – in China. We can and should do better – globally.

Over the past few months, I have spent countless hours digging through data, reading reports and listening to the medical and scientific experts. Stories have been uncovered… new narratives have emerged, and facts continue to surface.

On the news each night, broadcasts show the big numbers and we watch and listen hopelessly as things never seem to improve – and we must continue lockdowns, wear masks, and close businesses and schools. This should not be the case.

Societies and the world will be better off dealing with COVID-19 by seeing the big picture and calibrating initiatives and responses accordingly. Filtering through fearmongering headlines, the information overload can be overwhelming. However, there are answers in the data. We will get through this crisis by learning – understanding and developing solutions to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and any future viruses to our health, well-being, and societies. I hope to help by uncovering and sharing facts and narratives, and providing answers and solutions. We will be better prepared next time. The story will end well.