9 Lessons I Learned From Sarah Wynn Williams About Global Signals, Political Shifts, and the Power of Data
In 1997, a group of economists at the Bank of England noticed something odd. Despite stable inflation and unemployment figures, consumer spending was fluctuating in a way that defied all their models.
One of them, a quiet analyst with a penchant for unusual data sources, proposed something radical: that supermarket trolley usage might serve as a more accurate predictor of economic behavior than quarterly financial reports.
His idea was laughed off—until two years later, when a recession hit and it turned out that trolley data had forecasted it more precisely than the official indicators.
We like to think that data is neutral. Clean. Objective. That if we gather enough of it, the truth will reveal itself like a photograph emerging in a darkroom.
But what Sarah Wynn Williams discovered—first as a diplomat, then as a global policy executive at one of the world's most powerful tech firms—is that data is never truly separate from power.
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One of them, a quiet analyst with a penchant for unusual data sources, proposed something radical: that supermarket trolley usage might serve as a more accurate predictor of economic behavior than quarterly financial reports.
His idea was laughed off—until two years later, when a recession hit and it turned out that trolley data had forecasted it more precisely than the official indicators.
We like to think that data is neutral. Clean. Objective. That if we gather enough of it, the truth will reveal itself like a photograph emerging in a darkroom.
But what Sarah Wynn Williams discovered—first as a diplomat, then as a global policy executive at one of the world's most powerful tech firms—is that data is never truly separate from power.
9 Lessons I Learned From Sarah Wynn Williams About Global Signals, Political Shifts, and the Power of Data
In 1997, a group of economists at the Bank of England noticed something odd. Despite stable inflation and unemployment figures, consumer spending was fluctuating in a way that defied all their models.
One of them, a quiet analyst with a penchant for unusual data sources, proposed something radical: that supermarket trolley usage might serve as a more accurate predictor of economic behavior than quarterly financial reports.
His idea was laughed off—until two years later, when a recession hit and it turned out that trolley data had forecasted it more precisely than the official indicators.
We like to think that data is neutral. Clean. Objective. That if we gather enough of it, the truth will reveal itself like a photograph emerging in a darkroom.
But what Sarah Wynn Williams discovered—first as a diplomat, then as a global policy executive at one of the world's most powerful tech firms—is that data is never truly separate from power.
One of them, a quiet analyst with a penchant for unusual data sources, proposed something radical: that supermarket trolley usage might serve as a more accurate predictor of economic behavior than quarterly financial reports.
His idea was laughed off—until two years later, when a recession hit and it turned out that trolley data had forecasted it more precisely than the official indicators.
We like to think that data is neutral. Clean. Objective. That if we gather enough of it, the truth will reveal itself like a photograph emerging in a darkroom.
But what Sarah Wynn Williams discovered—first as a diplomat, then as a global policy executive at one of the world's most powerful tech firms—is that data is never truly separate from power.
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9 Lessons I Learned From Sarah Wynn Williams About Global Signals, Political Shifts, and the Power of Data
9 Lessons I Learned From Sarah Wynn Williams About Global Signals, Political Shifts, and the Power of Data
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940184507293 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Digital Products Management |
| Publication date: | 07/25/2025 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 231 KB |
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