Data literacy
5articles
November 2026
5 articles on this page
The MBA journey13 min readThe 7-38-55 rule: the figure that keeps being misused in presentation advice
For anyone preparing a talk, or teaching communication skills. The 7, 38 and 55 per cent figures come from two 1967 experiments on liking and disliking, using only words, a voice and a face photograph. Mehrabian himself says they do not apply unless the speaker is talking about feelings.
AI for leaders15 min readTrust in leaders and AI adoption: what the data does and does not say
For owners and managers who have just heard that staff who trust their leaders use AI more. This post reads surveys from Great Place To Work, Gallup, Korn Ferry and KPMG alongside academic studies: the direction agrees across them; the size and the cause do not.
Supply chain & operations10 min readWhere does rich-country plastic go? Evidence on pollution havens
For operations and supply-chain managers who must read an advocacy report without mistaking a count of flows for proof of cause. Greenpeace (2021) shows where UK plastic waste went; a 1992 study could not show that weak regulation draws polluting industries abroad.
Data & analytics8 min readHow much does AI raise productivity? Read three studies closely first
For owners and managers who keep hearing claims like "AI lifts productivity by 40%". This post reads three studies, two randomised experiments and one staged-rollout study, and shows what each figure measures, on whom, and where it breaks when you carry it into your own team.
Data & analytics10 min readWhat does "2.7 times more likely" really mean?
For managers and founders handed a report that says one group is "2.7 times more likely" to do something. You will learn which base rate to ask for, and how to turn a multiple into people per 100 in four steps.