No data team
Pre-s:
In just a few weeks I'm launching a Data Leadership course designed for people just like Data Leaders, Data Architects, and those response for data at their company. .It's still under wraps but I want to get your feedback before we finalize the details.
Hit reply if you want to hear more.
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What if you don't have a data team?
Your organization is small. Maybe growing fast, maybe not.
But the emails I write, and the articles you read about “Data teams” fall flat for you.
What if you don’t have a data team?
What if it’s just you? And what if it’s only part of you because you have two other primary job functions outside of data?
Three pieces of advice.
Start small. There is so much you could do for your business with data. You will likely feel lost and overwhelmed trying to build a Data Warehouse. So don’t. Pick the smallest function, activity, or idea you can. There is no data use case too small to start with.
Start with what you know. There is much to learn, and you could quickly land in tutorial purgatory. Start with the tools you know and the business function you know. That might be Excel or Google Sheets. That might be finance or operations. Don’t attempt to learn a new technology or new business area - you will learn plenty just by trying to perform a data task with a known tool in a known domain.
Start to ask. If you are reading these emails you probably have an itch to work with data more. To do that, you will likely need to ask for budget and time. Some budget to buy a tool or training course or maybe one day hire someone. You will need time in your schedule, which will require reprioritizing areas of your job function. Based on your company, one of those asks will feel easier - start there.
Most companies don’t have a data team. Over half of US employees work at a company with less than 100 employees. At companies that size, formal data teams are a rarity.
It can feel lonely pursuing data by yourself at your company.
You aren’t alone.
I’m here,
Sawyer
from The Data Shop
