Here is an excerpt from my forthcoming book, ‘Driving Data Projects: A Comprehensive Guide, set to release on February 26th, 2024.
👉 The U.S., CAN, and UK pre-order links are available here or on Amazon
While a fully funded budget that supports data as a service is an integral part of a data transformation’s financial picture, few are fully staffed or funded. Three-quarters of executives confirm their organization now has some form of data strategy (however rudimentary), but a paltry 16% say they have the skills and capabilities necessary to deliver it.[1] Even though the average staffing budget is growing yearly, finding the skills and capabilities to execute data projects is becoming harder and harder.
🎯 So what?
Curating data as a service is much more than delivering monthly reports—it uses data to drive every decision and uplift every function with more thoughtful decision-making. Data possibilities must shape strategy, which shapes the data team’s priorities. In one study, 93% of companies indicated they plan to continue increasing data and analytics investments.[2]
🎯 Why should we care?
As data leaders are expected to do more with less, upskilling is becoming more critical than ever—and it must start with leaders. Leadership skills, long thought of as a “soft” intuitive skill, and management, often seen as a “hard” science, need to be replaced with a more hybrid skillset of “informed intuition,” where intuitive decisions are data-informed.[3]
🎯 Why does this matter, now?
The difference between ad hoc efforts and moving toward a sustained, intentional, and curated data service comes down to a critical shift in the way we think about how we align our resources, how we partner, and how we acknowledge driving business value between individuals who understand and are motivated how to integrate data into their day-to-day tasks.
A study published about data skills for career progress states, “The number of jobs requiring digital skills (including data skills) is predicted to increase 12 percent by 2024. [4] The World Economic Forum 2020 Jobs Report informs: [5]
🔹24% of employers think finding employees with the right skill set will remain their biggest challenge over the next five years
🔹50% of all employees will need reskilling in the next five years.
🔹85% of Americans believe digital skills will be important to success in today’s workplace.
🔹94% of business leaders expect employees to acquire new skills on the job.
🌟Chapter 2 | Data Transformations
[1] https://www.forrester.com/blogs/15-01-28-digital_skills_are_the_golden_ticket_in_2015/
[2] https://www.ey.com/en_us/ccb
[3] https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/public-sector/articles/leadership-intuition-meets-the-future-of-work.html
[4] https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/100843/foundational_digital_skills_for_career_progress_2.pdf
[5] https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2020