Twice weekly, I share proven strategies to help data scientists get noticed, promoted, and valued. No theory — just practical steps to transform your technical expertise into business impact and the freedom to call your own shots.
Paranormal Activity 👻
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Do you like scary movies? I certainly do. I love the absurdity of the plots and the fact that vampires and zombies can be a metaphor for just about anything. But most of all, I love the creativity shown by filmmakers who are able to deliver the maximum scare value to audiences on a bargain-basement budget. Paranormal Activity, for example, was made for $15,000 USD (in 2007) starring actors few had ever heard of. Yet, it grossed around $200m globally. Because it delivered what horror fans wanted - a powerful concept and ample scares. Here's the thing... Not every data scientist has the benefit of an action movie budget, but that doesn't mean they can't still deliver value. The secret is adopting the mindset of a horror filmmaker. What is it your stakeholders truly want? And given your budget, what can you do to deliver it? What you produce may not look as good as what you could deliver with a much higher budget - just like Paranormal Activity doesn't look as good as the latest Marvel film. But then again, in ROI terms, Paranormal Activity outperformed The Avengers. It's by proving you can deliver value with a small budget that you earn the budget to deliver much more. Happy Halloween and Talk Again Soon, Dr Genevieve Hayes. p.s. What's your favourite scary movie? I'm always on the look out for recommendations, so hit reply to let me know. First published: October 29, 2023 |
Data Science Impact Algorithm
Twice weekly, I share proven strategies to help data scientists get noticed, promoted, and valued. No theory — just practical steps to transform your technical expertise into business impact and the freedom to call your own shots.
Each week, it seems like there’s yet another announcement of technical workers losing their jobs to AI. In Australia, for example, tech giant Atlassian recently laid off 1,600 workers - 10% of their global workforce - “to steer more spending into AI”. Now, granted, not every AI-related job loss is necessarily as it first appears. Some experts point to AI-washing. That is, companies using AI as cover for restructuring decisions they would have made anyway. But regardless of the reason, the...
Have you ever seen the TV show Nip/Tuck? It centres on the lives and clients of two Miami plastic surgeons. But what it’s really about is the quest for perfection. The main characters want perfection in their own lives, but all they are actually capable of creating is the illusion of it. And beneath the perfect facades, all the characters are actually pretty terrible. It’s now over 20 years old, but rewatching an episode the other day made me realise it serves as a perfect metaphor for AI. AI...
Every organisation wants to be AI-first. It’s the new “data-driven” - a badge that signals ambition, modernity, and a seat at the table of the future. “In the long run, we’re evolving in computing from a ‘mobile-first’ to an ‘AI-first’ world.” - Sundar Pichai, Google “We are no longer a graphics card company… We are an AI-first company. From now on, we are betting the company on AI.” - Jensen Huang, NVIDIA “Duolingo is going to be AI-first.” - Luis von Ahn, Duolingo “Before asking for more...