Comic Book Lessons in Analytics — The Phantom Stranger
I steer but do not lead. That has always been my fate
Everybody knows one. Or more than one. There are people in your office who seem to know everything about their work, and your work, and how to get things done. They can even get through the bureaucracy and politics in the office.
They’ve done it all. They could tell you exactly how to get past your current roadblock or finish your current project.
They know. You know they know. But they won’t tell you.
This phenomenon is not limited to analytics, but it can be especially frustrating in any domain so completely based on knowledge and interpretation.
They might be in your department. Even more frustrating, sometimes no one knows exactly where in the company they work or what position they hold.
In the DC Comics multiverse, this is the Phantom Stranger. Over the years, he has had many iterations. But there are common factors: he has always been and (presumably) always will be, he knows more than he can say, and he usually tries to help people. Just not directly.
Why You Hate Them
The Phantom Stranger is frustrating. When the world is in danger or the dead are literally rising from the grave, he remains mostly silent. You can spend days researching data definitions and outlining your assumptions, only for the Stranger to look at your work and tell you where you went wrong on Day 1.
In addition, some of these individuals are pretty annoying by nature.
Why You Need Them
The Phantom Stranger doesn’t exist to save the world. He just tries to pull the right people together and point them in the right direction. He could usually (not always) make it easier or simply do it more quickly, but he won’t.
It’s a rather extreme form of training, but it works.
Why You Hate Me at the Moment
Because you think I brought you all this way and threw in a few cool pictures to elaborate on “teach a man to fish…”.
Why You Should Listen Anyway
In your world, the Stranger knows more than he even realizes. Tips and tricks and a hundred other ways to get around the limitations you’ve either hit and tried to avoid or been told to respect.
The Phantom Stranger does get involved more directly when necessary. Only when necessary. He says it best in this panel: ‘My definition of “interfering” is quite subjective…’
If you need a nudge, he’ll nudge you in the right direction. If you’re totally stuck, he will help you.
What You Should Do
Stop treating the Stranger as a resource. Realize that you’re dealing with a very experienced, usually busy human being who has a lot of people asking for help and just as many people complaining about attitude and response time. Learn some respect, and maybe offer assistance in return once in a while.
Stop demanding solutions for your problems and start asking questions worth being answered. Learn what you can. And if you hang around long enough…
Be a Stranger.
