Chapter 1: Celebrating Achievements in Data

The data landscape is continuously evolving, and this week, we celebrate the remarkable contributions made by women in data. PayPal has made significant strides in its data journey, and thought leader Bernard Marr has shared his insights on digital transformation trends.

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1. Kudos to Exceptional Women in Data!

   Congratulations to Zhamak Dehghani for publishing the "Data Mesh" book! Having accomplished this myself, I understand the sense of achievement it brings. Additionally, hats off to Beena Ammanath, Executive Director at Deloitte's AI Institute, for her insightful interview on Bloomberg News, and to Priyanka Vergadia for her book "Visualizing Google Cloud: 101 Illustrated References for Cloud Engineers and Architects." All proceeds from her book will support the Akshaya Patra Foundation, which provides nutritious meals to millions of children in India.

2. Customer Spotlight: PayPal's Bala Natarajan

   Facing a staggering 400% growth in data volume over two years, PayPal transitioned to Google Cloud to harness real-time decision-making capabilities. Their achievements are impressive: 80PB of data migrated to GCP, transforming thousands of dashboards and reducing data processing time from 8 hours to just 5 minutes using tools like Dataproc, Bigtable, Looker, and BigQuery.

3. Diverse Approaches to Digital Transformation

   I had an engaging discussion with Bernard Marr regarding successful teams leveraging data. One noteworthy example was L'Oréal, which we discussed at around the 5:15 mark. I hope you all enjoyed the live session and look forward to your thoughts on the replay (despite my dog barking in the background!).

4. Implementing a Data Strategy with OKRs

   Exploring how to effectively utilize OKRs to drive your data strategy is crucial. This primer defines OKRs based on John Doerr's book and outlines key elements for a robust data strategy, including:

• Customer Alignment

  • Data Platform Technology and Architecture
  • Analytics
  • Data Democratization
  • Workforce Empowerment
  • Compliance and Governance
  • Data Quality Management
  • Security Measures
  • Data Literacy and Cultural Integration

Executing a strategy can be chaotic, but it is vital. The gap between strategy formulation and execution is often highlighted in discussions I've had with Harvard Business School's Robert Kaplan and David Norton, who introduced the Balanced Scorecard.

Chris Brown's blog is commendable for addressing the alignment challenges between company strategy and data strategy, providing valuable examples, such as:

• Company Strategy: Customer Alignment

  • Objective: Increase mobile app customers
  • Key Result: 75% increase in mobile app downloads
  • Data Strategy: Collaborate with functional teams to achieve goals
  • Data OKR: Ensure all customer journeys related to app store purchases incorporate metrics collection and analytics.

• Company Strategy: Workforce Development

  • Objective: Foster staff development to reduce turnover
  • Key Result: Maintain staff churn below 10% each quarter
  • Data Strategy: Keep data teams technically adept and engaged
  • Data OKR: Ensure 75% of team members complete three online technical courses annually.

What are the next steps? Begin by developing metrics and methods for tracking progress against each OKR. Collaborate with the data teams responsible for implementation to refine these OKRs.

Although these steps may seem straightforward, the real challenge lies in execution. Best of luck on this journey! For more insights, visit WhatMatters.com.

Chapter 2: The Role of Data Product Managers

Understanding the essential functions of data product managers is vital for any data-driven organization. This section highlights ten indicators that suggest your team may benefit from a dedicated data product manager.

The first video titled "How to Scale Successfully with OKRs" showcases Mike Horwath discussing effective scaling strategies with OKRs.

Additionally,

the second video, "Developing a Data Strategy for Business Leaders," provides insights tailored for executives looking to enhance their organization’s data strategy.