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.
When I was 9, I didn’t want to be a data scientist. I wanted to be a radio host. My favourite “game” involved recording episodes of my radio show using an old cassette recorder and blank audio tapes. I would bring on my family and stuffed animals for interviews, then cut to my favourite songs - sometimes sung (badly) by me. So, when I launched Value Driven Data Science three years ago, I saw it as a great way to learn from data scientists I admired, while living out my childhood dream. What I...
“So this is Christmas and what have you done?” - John Lennon It’s that time of year again. The time when work grinds to a halt and everyone tells themselves they’ll “figure it out in the new year.” Then January hits. Nothing changes. Before you know it, another year’s over and you’re scratching your head, wondering how you got so little done. It’s not that you can’t achieve big things in a year. It’s that most people never actually start. Maybe you’ve spent years building technical skills and...
If you think the best use of LLMs in data science is coding, then you’re missing some of the most powerful opportunities. Late last year, I had an important conversation coming up with a key stakeholder who I’d known for years. And when I say important, I mean the sort of conversation that could make or break a career. Let’s just say that this person had a very particular way of responding to situations, and I knew from experience that if I made one false step, the conversation could go...