Everything is a nail

As an early career data professional, I thought data was a magic potion to solve all the problems of the business, politics, education, and climate.

Thats how the courses and hype-fluencers sold data to me.

“Data is everywhere”. “Data is the new oil”. “Data can answer all of our questions.” “Data & AI can 10x your business!”

I viewed data as a hammer. And every problem in the world is a nail. And I need to hit them all with data.

The more experienced you are in the data space the more aware of the limitations of data. Data is messy. Ambiguous. Inconclusive.

It’s only part of the equation. Or maybe not even helpful until much later on in the process. Humans get in the way so often.

The more comfortable you are with what data can and cannot do or what problems it can and cannot solve, the better equipped you are to help your organization.

When you are honest about the limitations of data, you are more likely to gain the trust of your stakeholders.

Moreso, and counterintuitively, limitations and constraints create far more freedom and creativity.

Sure, you can think of data as a hammer. But opening your eyes to see uses for screwdrivers, sandpaper, bandsaws, planes, and chisels makes the hammer even better.

I’m here,

Sawyer

from The Data Shop