Lessons from War: What I learned as a Military Analyst
I was an Intelligence Specialist in the US Navy for 6 years and served in the reserves and active duty in Afghanistan and Africa. Military intelligence training is one of the single best ways to learn analytical reasoning, data analysis, and how to develop the ability to present your findings to large groups of individuals.
We were taught everything you need to be a top-grade analyst. Here are three key lessons that I have kept with me. These lessons can apply to all individuals in the data analysis field.

Three Lessons for Analysts
Lesson 1: People May Die
In the military world, if you make a mistake, someone may die. So, you better make sure your information is correct. In the civilian world, the stakes aren’t as high but the lesson holds true. It may not be a human life that is at stake but it may be an important sales deal or a successful marketing campaign. Double-check everything.
How to Apply:
- Come Back Fresh: After completing your project, go take a walk or otherwise distract yourself so that you can come with fresh eyes. As we work on a project our brain starts to fatigue and we are more likely to miss small errors.
- Ask a Buddy: Before sharing your project, take it to your buddy and ask them for their opinion. Ask them to evaluate it as critically as possible – it’s even better if you can give them a list of prompts – things like "Are my visuals clear?" or "Can you double-check my math?"
- Check your Sources: Be critical with data sources. Explore their methodology and ensure that you are communicating the correct information from that data.
Lesson 2: No One Cares
Attention is finite. In the military world when I gave a presentation to admirals or captains, I could see their minds were somewhere else. They were thinking about the next mission. CEOs and other leaders in your organization are doing the same thing. They’re thinking about the next deal or the last email they received. You have to be able to attract and hold the attention of your stakeholders. You need to make people care.
How to Apply:
- Shock Them: When you begin communicating your data analysis you should always begin with the question, "What do they not know?" and lead with that information. You want to be able to shock the listener into giving you their full attention. If you lead with information they are already familiar with you may lose them by the end.
- I’ll Research That: When questioned by a stakeholder, if you don’t know the answer you can say: "I will research that and get back to you." This serves two purposes – it holds the attention of the stakeholder because they are expecting to speak to you in the future and it keeps your presentation from being derailed.
- Make it Fancy: Your charts need to be pretty. Spend the extra time to learn how to effectively visualize your data. Think about your colors and how they play together. Learn the best data visualization practices. I highly recommend Storytelling with Data as a good starting point to learn data visualization best practices.
Lesson 3: What The Hell is That
You must be curious. In the military analysis world, we were constantly looking at data and asking each other "What is this? Why is this like this? What does this mean?" – we needed to understand the weirder parts of our data. In the civilian world when you see something in your data that makes you say, "What the hell is that?" don’t stop there – dig until you know.
How to Apply:
- Call it out: When you come across something abnormal in the dataset, such as an outlier or an anomaly in a map you should not hide from it. Dive deeper and try and understand how it could have happened. Ask what it means for the rest of your data.
- Tell the Story: Data is telling you a story, you just need to find it. When reviewing data, actually write out the story you’re starting to see. In the military world, this is a report. In the civilian world, it might be a separate document detailing your findings.
- Admit Your Ignorance: Sometimes you just need to admit you don’t know. Take your problem or question to a trusted advisor or colleague and ask them for help solving the challenge.
Why I Decided to Leave
There is immense pressure as a military analyst. Perfection was expected from us because the consequences of mistakes could end in lives lost. We simply could not afford to be sloppy in our analysis or our presentation. We needed to make sure that we were beyond reproach. When you have so much on the line it can suck the joy from your work and from your life. I found myself dealing with anxiety. I became an unhealthy perfectionist. I lost passion for my work.
As my contract with the military came to an end, I was faced with a difficult choice. Should I continue in the world where I’ve already had success? Or should I leave and potentially fail?
I was extremely proud of my military record. I received three military air medals and along with my crew was nominated for the prestigious MacKay Trophy. The work I did saved the lives of many people and truly made me feel like I was contributing meaningfully to the world.
Ultimately, I decided to leave the military and join the civilian world so I could recapture my passion for data analysis.
What’s next?
I am currently in Learning Analytics for WeWork and I have found the lessons that made me successful in the military apply to my current career as well. I want my passion for data analysis to solve real-world challenges for people and companies.
If you want to hear more and see my journey, connect with me on twitter.