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“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 don’t know how to turn messy real-world problems into clear, valuable projects. Or you’re stuck creating dashboards while management ignores your insights, and you’ve lost hope of being taken seriously. Or maybe you want to build your own data science consulting practice but don’t know where to begin. If you want 2026 to be the year that changes, now is the time to act. I’m opening spots in my Strategic Expert Mentorship program starting in February 2026. This isn’t a technical skills course. It’s 1-on-1 mentorship for data professionals who want to make the move from technical executor to strategic expert - so you can:
Three ways to work together: ✴️ Strategic Roadmap Session (90 minutes) ✴️ 4-Week Strategic Foundation (4 sessions + email access) ✴️ 12-Week Complete Expert Transformation (12 sessions + email access) Prices start at $350 USD and will increase in 2026. Roadmap sessions can happen now (even before Christmas). Programs start February. Between now and Christmas, I’m making time to talk with people who want to know more. Interested? Ask whatever you want. No pressure to decide on the call. Talk again soon, Dr Genevieve Hayes |
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...
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...
Before any important meeting, I put myself in my stakeholders’ shoes and ask: What questions might they have? What data might they request? Then I have it ready when they ask. I started doing this in my graduate days, as a way to avoid staying back late for last-minute requests. But the career benefits soon became clear: anticipating what stakeholders need - before they ask - creates far greater impact than simply doing what you’re told. Which brings me to a question I was recently asked on...