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Ideas for Data Success

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Nitish Mathew

Presented to the US Army, August 17, 2022

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Nitish Mathew

Data and Tech Leader for over 15 years, building teams and products that have shaped companies such as Afterpay, NostraData, Cablevision, Guy Carpenter and MicroStrategy

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Passionate about coaching leaders build lean teams focussed on delivering things that matter to customers.

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Currently, leading Data Eng & Governance for Afterpay (part of Block)

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Thanks for a fun 2001 - 2011!

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What % of Data Initiatives Fail?

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60-85%

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We succeeded!

Source: Afterpay snatches mantle as Australia's biggest deal - AFR

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Source: Stunning $39b Afterpay triumph

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Recognized as one of the 2 Most Successful Companies in Data

Source: Thoughtspot Beyond 2022 Conference

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In the Top 4 among 15,000+

AWS Redshift Consumers*

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*Screenshot from https://aws.amazon.com/redshift/customer-success/ as of August 8, 2022

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What did I learn?

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Do Useful Things Fast

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How do you do useful things fast?

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  1. Set Right Goals
  2. Generate Value Daily
  3. Measure What Matters

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1. Set Right Goals

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1.1 Define Data Success with Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)

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OKRs are Critical

Source: Why the secret to success is setting the right goals

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OKRs are Aspirational

“We need to learn to set our course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship.”

General of the Army Omar Bradley

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1.2 Solve problems people care about.

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Adopt Product Thinking

Source: SVPG Video Archive

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1.3 Simplicity Leads to Reliability and Trust

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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Data & Technology

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Leaders need to Simplify

“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers who can cut through the argument debate and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.”

General Colin Powell

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2. Generate Value Daily

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2.1 Use Modern Software Delivery Practices to Deploy Fast and Frequently

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Execute Daily

“A good plan violently executed Now is better than a perfect plan next week.”

General George Patton

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2.2 Foundational Knowledge is Key

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2.3. Empowered & Motivated Team of Teams

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Empowered Teams Win

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Leadership Matters

Christian Idiodi

Source: People Problems Are Actually Leadership Problems - Christian Idiodi

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Empower Teams

“The temptation to lead as a chess master, controlling each move of the organization, must give way to an approach as a gardener, enabling rather than directing.”

General Stan McChrystal

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Scale Decision Making

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”

General George Patton

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3. Measure What Matters

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3.1 Measure and showcase every small success

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3.2 Plan continuous small wins in the long journey

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3.3 Quantify User Satisfaction

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Data needs Communication

“Simply reporting on metrics and results at meetings will not help your organization grow and learn; instead, the focus should be on reporting across and sharing context. ”

General Stan McChrystal

Source: What's Missing With Big Data? Human Filters

Related Podcast : Data is a Weapon

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There is no end in the data journey.

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www.nitishmathew.com

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