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The Four Ideals that Built RS21

RS21
RS21 Blog
Published in
5 min readMar 26, 2019

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By Charles Rath

We’d blown it.

I could tell by the silence as we gathered around the computer screen.

Our client was unhappy.

Three consecutive nights without sleep. The most accurate and novel data sets in existence. The coolest vis tech we’d ever seen. It was the hardest either of us had ever worked. We put everything we had into it and yet —

Not. Good. Enough.

I exchanged glances with my CTO. You could practically hear us both holding our breath.

Sixteen days earlier, I’d received a phone call from the client of our dreams. A client that could put our 6-month old company on the map — on a global scale. This was the big leagues.

She wanted to analyze the living conditions of a poor neighborhood in South El Paso, just north of the Mexican border. “We need to galvanize action!” she’d said on the phone. “I want to dazzle the people in the room.”

She was excited. We were over the moon.

We’d look at access to healthcare relative to chronic health conditions; availability of healthy, affordable food; crime relative to police presence and educational attainment; brown fields, air quality, and youth. Demographics…any way you want to slice them.

We were born for this project!

We had 10 days to deadline and only a fraction of the funding we actually needed, but if we delivered, it was the break we’d been hoping for since we started.

But we didn’t deliver. And I could blame the timeline, or the lack of resources, but at the end of the day, we just didn’t have a clear idea of what we were really trying to accomplish.

After the meeting with the client, we sat in a Greek restaurant outside of town with our heads in our hands, barely able to summon the words necessary to vow to one another that we’d never fail like this again. We were devastated, but we also recognized that we had to keep moving forward — that neither of us would settle for going out this way.

We needed a framework — a checklist. And it needed to be underpinned by a philosophy that would ensure we’d always exceed expectations — our clients’ and our own.

It was there that we came up with our four words — our four ideals — scribbling them down on the back of a napkin stained with olive oil.

Those four words changed everything. On that day, this company was truly born, and since then, every product RS21 creates must exemplify all four — no exceptions, no excuses.

These four ideals guide everything: how we build our teams and our workflows, how we communicate our value to clients, and how we review our work.

They are the lens through which we view everything, every decision that we make. They’re even plastered on the glass walls of our office kitchen.

The Four Ideals at RS21 Offices

Our four ideals are the secret to our success, and here they are:

INSIGHTFUL

“We are drowning in information and starving for knowledge.”
— Rutherford D. Rogers

Does the product deliver useful insights to decision makers?

Analysts have more information at their fingertips than ever before, but leaders still feel like they have their heads in the sand or fingers in the wind.

Why?

We tend to run into two scenarios most frequently:

  1. Poorly defined problem statements. Effective data science projects start with a clear and concise definition of the issue to be addressed or the condition to be improved. Ambiguity about the problem leads to misguided analysts and wasted resources.
  2. A massive disconnect between those who crunch data and those that make decisions. At some point, both parties become disenchanted and part ways. When analysts become disconnected from the decision space, it’s impossible to deliver products that deliver value.

Many of our clients want to jump right into analysis. However, we will always take time up front to ensure we have clear problem statements and are aligned with the decision-makers who need our insights the most.

If we hit the first ideal, we’re on the right track.

INTUITIVE

Clutter and confusion are not attributes of data — they are shortcomings of design. — Edward Tufte

Is the product easy to understand and use?

Humans are visual creatures. 95% of the information our brain absorbs is through our eyes. We crave visual stimulus.

However, very few analytic shops think about how their information is presented. This lack of attention to visual impact and intuitive navigation results in confused decision-makers and failed data science products.

We will always create products with end users’ needs in mind. Our products are only effective if they are easily used and understood.

INTELLECTUALLY HONEST

Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable.
— Mark Twain

Is the product honest?

Far too often we see cherry-picked data, ripe with uncertainty, presented to leaders. This results in poor decisions and poor outcomes, and gives our entire industry a lack of credibility.

We have an obligation to not only communicate what is known to our clients, but also what is unknown.

INSPIRING

I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.
— Michelangelo

Does the product evoke childlike wonder?

There is theatre in product development.

No one did it better than Steve Jobs. The massive screen, the iconic black turtleneck, the anticipation for what great new advancement he was about to unveil.

When a client sees what we create for them, we want them to experience that chill you get when you hear your favorite song, recount a beautiful memory, or witness amazing art.

We want our customers to be inspired. Wow’d by what we bring them.

I remember recounting a successful meeting to my boss somewhere around 2009.“It was awesome.” I said “They loved it. Fist bumps all around.”

Always seeking the next level, my boss challenged me, “no chest bumps?”

We want the metaphorical equivalent of chest bumps when we deliver our work — like we’re witnessing our client’s first trip to Disney World.

Every company has a turning point — ours started with finding our four ideals and building our future around them, using them to guide every decision we’ve made going forward.

What will yours be?

Charles Rath is President + CEO of RS21.

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RS21
RS21

Written by RS21

RS21 is revolutionizing decision-making with data + AI. We believe the power of data can unleash human potential and make a better world. Visit www.rs21.io.

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