Superhero Lessons in Analytics… Episode II
History and Trust — Lessons from The Arrow
CW’s series, the Arrow was the first in their new line of Superhero inspired weekly, one hour dramas. The show is inspired by the Green Arrow comic book series and focuses on the adventures of Oliver Queen. Queen is a one time playboy who Gilligan’s Island style three hour tour — took a much darker turn. After years “alone on deserted island”, Queen returns home to become the masked vigilante known as The Arrow… or various other nicknames.
The Arrow series has been the birthplace of CW’s other series like The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. It was also the first to embrace a team of heroes who find themselves working each week to analyze new challenges and situations. Unlike the Flash, which relies on hardcore analysts, the Arrows team consists of a computer hacker and a number of less pedigreed partners.
The Arrow is much grittier than its superhero themed counterparts and so are the analytics. It is less a show of science and more one of common sense decision making… at least to the degree that a weekly fantasy drama can ever adhere to common sense.
Lesson I — History
One of the most critical themes of the Arrow is a reliance on history to inform future decisions. It is a classic formula both in life and this show, which features numerous flashbacks each week. This a priori insight is drawn on to influence the teams decisions on how to deal with new and related threats.
Context and the backstory are hallmarks of many stories and the Arrow is no exception. Analytic teams, on the other hand, are often tempted to believe this time is different. It is a new day with new technology, so what does the past really have to offer?
The Arrow provides an example of how short sighted that just may be. Young Oliver and … Less Young Oliver are portrayed as wildly different people. His island prison seems to have had as many tourists as his home in Star City, but they are two vastly different backdrops. Finally, his days on the island revolved around a primitive bow and arrow, while his current team has a crime lab worthy of the NSA. The stories writers certainly believe that even if times have changed, the past can be a great place to draw from.
Lesson II — Trust
A second contender for the most critical theme on CW’s The Arrow is that of trust. Nearly ever episode builds it, erodes it, focuses on it, and talks about it. Overtly it is always being questioned. When things go wrong for the team, it is sure sign that trust was in question.
Below the surface, trust is the driving force behind this vigilante squad. Their trust in one another during their many parkour inspired fight scenes is tangible and essential. The Arrow team works in a coordinated fashion to overcome bad guys and evildoers alike. Without trust in each other, that coordination would be degraded or lost entirely. This is in stark contrast to shows like the Flash where the final ‘action’ most often relies on the super-powered hero.
Analytic teams that are focused on actionable intelligence need to recognize that trust is one of the most important factors in there success. The Arrow story line serves as a point of repeated emphasis on this key attribute.
Both history and trust are key concepts in successful and actionable analysis. Enjoy the Arrow for what it is, a dark, gritty, and enjoyable take on a comic book classic. But if you work in analytics, also take a little time to draw some inspiration from it emphasis of history and trust.
Read: Probability and Consequence — Lessons from Legends of Tomorrow
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