Cheryl Tunt
Analytic Perspectives From The World Of Archer
Cheryl, Carol, Cristal, Carina, or Cherlene are the numerous aliases / alter-egos of Archer’s Cheryl Tunt. But honestly, they are hardly well-defined. Put frankly, Cheryl is a complicated mess. Perhaps a hot complicated mess, but there is no skirting complicated. Using her character for an analytics profile is actually easier than you might expect.
“Well, I don’t know all your rules!”
Cheryl has an odd relationship with rules. Actually, odd is an understatement.
“You’re not my supervisor!”
She does seem to have a relationship with them. As weird as that relationship may be, it stands in stark contrast to Sterling Archer — who completely ignores them.
Most analysts know better than to ignore the rules, but many create complicated relationships with them. Whether coding or modeling business rules, some analysts struggle with having a consistent relationship or even identity. They seem to want to change who they are at random… sound familiar. While that may be extreme, many vary on a near weekly basis. At this point, if Cheryl doesn’t seem an interesting model you aren’t paying attention.
Cheryl shares another interesting quirk with many analysts — she is easily fixated. Whether we are talking glue, men, strangling, arson, or any of her other “quirks”, Cheryl often becomes stuck. This is especially true if you compare her to the other characters on the show.
Many analysts suffer similar fixations, well… okay, not quite similar. Well, at least that is really none of our concern. Many analysts also become fixated, with interests and techniques. They too become stuck. Blame the glue. Or is it rather that they have only a limited number of strengths and therefore seek to use them? To a man with a hammer… wait, that won’t lead anywhere SFW in a Cheryl article.
Cheryl is a bit of an enigma. She becomes fixated on things. She worries about rules. Yet she flips identities and perspective at will. Secretary, heiress, Martian Queen — she barely skips a beat.
Among analysts, this is not a common trait. But there is value here to be recognized. New perspective brings greater perception. I am not sure that is well exploited by the folks at ISIS — but it can be priceless in the realm of analytics. In defense of the Archer team, Cheryl is at such an extreme — she makes it a little difficult to take here seriously or even pay attention. She gets it…
Does she? It is really hard to say. But that should not prevent us from learning from her.
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more profiles from this cult classic. Next up… Woodhouse! Thank you, sir.
To catch up on our Archer profile series — go here.
