In today’s business environment, most teams are not struggling because they lack data. They are struggling because they have too much of it — and not enough clarity on what it actually means. Dashboards, reports, syndicated data, internal sales data, shopper data, retailer data... it all sounds helpful, and it is. But data on its own doesn't create action. It does not create alignment. And it certainly does not guarantee better decisions. That only happens when data is translated into insight. The challenge is that many people are taught how to pull numbers, build charts, and summarize results — but not necessarily how to turn those outputs into meaningful business thinking. That is where the REAL VALUE lies.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Category Management Association’s annual conference in Las Vegas, where category management and shopper insights professionals gathered to learn, share and network. It was particularly exciting for us at CMKG, because the CMA announced our new partnership at the conference. This venture will allow us to get our training into even more brilliant minds around the world. I facilitated 9 live training sessions over the course of the 3-day conference, spanning topics like: Identifying Growth Opportunities in Your Business, Fact-Based Presentations and Storyboarding, Shopper Insights (co-developed and facilitated with Leslie Warsaw from SIMA), Category Management in On-Premise (2-part session), and many more!