"Are we retaining users?" sounds like a clear question. It isn't.

Retention can mean 7-day return, 30-day return, paid renewals, weekly sessions, or "still in the database somewhere." Five definitions, five answers, sometimes opposite trends.

Definitions beat numbers. If the metric isn't pinned down, the number is meaningless.

Pick the wrong one and your "10% drop" is either a crisis or rounding noise.

## What a Sharp Question Locks Down

Before any analytical question is worth asking, four things need definitions:

* The metric — including how it's computed;
* The window — exact dates, not "this month";
* The segment — which slice of users, plans, or regions;
* The baseline — versus what we're comparing.

The next three labs drill these into reflexes — metric first, then window and baseline together, then segment.

**Takeaway:** Vague metrics produce vague answers. The definition is the analysis.

A hands-on course for non-technical managers and operators who need to turn raw business data into decisions, not summaries. You'll learn how to frame analytical questions sharply, read spreadsheets and internal docs through AI, combine internal numbers with market context, and build your own analyst agent that produces decision-ready briefs end-to-end.

Introduction to business analytics through the lens of AI — why raw data doesn't make decisions, the three layers of analytical questions, and where an AI assistant actually fits in the workflow.



Train the framing reflex. Turn vague business questions into sharp ones, pick the metric that actually matters, and lock down time windows, segments, and comparisons before touching any data.



Hands-on labs with the three sources every operator hits: sales spreadsheets, strategy docs in Notion, and market context from the web. Single-tool labs first, then a combined investigation.



Move from running labs to building your own. Write the persona, wire up the tools, and create an agent that delivers weekly KPI briefs and pre-meeting decision packs — finishing with a capstone Quarterly Business Review.



Definitions Beat Numbers

The Same Word, Different Meanings

What a Sharp Question Locks Down