Stop (Optimally), Collaborate and Listen: OR Life Lessons
As analytics professionals, we are used to “model thinking”—using structured frameworks to break down complexity, evaluate trade-offs, and make decisions that meaningfully shape businesses and organizations. We routinely ask: How do we hire optimally? How do we move products through our supply chains with both efficiency and high levels of service? These questions sit comfortably within our quantitative toolkit.
But beyond these formal constructs, analytics also offers surprising wisdom about how we ought to live our whole life. Many of the models we use every day contain embedded principles that extend well beyond mathematics.
For example, what parallels can we draw from the Secretary Problem, a classic example of applied probability, not just for hiring decisions, but for understanding the power of showing up, exploring options, and knowing when to commit?
What can the Branch and Bound algorithm teach us about letting go of dead ends, avoiding the destructive cycle of “what might have been,” and directing our energy toward the most promising paths?
In this talk, I will draw upon classic problems and algorithms from operations research and analytics, elaborating on the life lessons they quietly contain. While the session is intended for analytics professionals at all career stages, do not expect a barrage of equations or Greek letters.
Instead, expect a reflective, accessible talk on how the mindset behind the models we love can help us navigate uncertainty, make better personal decisions, and ultimately approach our lives with more clarity and intention.
Essential /
Professional /
Leadership
