HBR Guide to Data Analytics Basics for Managers

Don't let a fear of numbers hold you back.

Today's business environment brings with it an onslaught of data. Now more than ever, managers must know how to tease insight from data—to understand where the numbers come from, make sense of them, and use them to inform tough decisions. How do you get started?

Whether you're working with data experts or running your own tests, you'll find answers in the HBR Guide to Data Analytics Basics for Managers. This book describes three key steps in the data analysis process, so you can get the information you need, study the data, and communicate your findings to others.

You'll learn how to identify the metrics you need to measure; run experiments and A/B tests; ask the right questions of your data experts; understand statistical terms and concepts; create effective charts and visualizations; and avoid common mistakes.


  1. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself, Updated and Expanded (featuring "How Will You Measure Your Life?" by Clayton M. Christensen)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Peter F. Drucker, Amy Gallo, Amy Jen Sue, Clayton M. Christensen

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  2. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strategy, Updated and Expanded (featuring "The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy" by Michael E. Porter)

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  3. HBR's 10 Must Reads 2026 : The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review (featuring "The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift" by Kevin Evers)

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  4. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Change Management, Updated and Expanded (featuring "Leading Change" by John P. Kotter)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, John P. Kotter, Frances Frei, Vijay Govindarajan, Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez

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  5. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Data Strategy

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  6. Having Difficult Conversations

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  7. HBR Guide to Thinking Strategically

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  8. Negotiation : Harvard Business Essentials

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Richard Luecke

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  9. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Projects and Initiatives

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  10. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strengthening Your Soft Skills

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  11. HBR's 10 Must Reads for New Managers

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Linda A. Hill, Herminia Ibarra, Robert B. Cialdini, Daniel Goleman

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  12. HBR's 10 Must Reads on AI (with bonus article "How to Win with Machine Learning" by Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, and Avi Goldfarb)

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