Spring is in the air and these podcasts, readings, videos and tips will breathe new life into your arsenal of survival skills. We’ve hand-picked our top 5 geared for anyone starting in Data Strategy, or looking for a gentle refresher.
Top Podcast
If you listen to one Podcast about COVID vaccine hesitation, listen to this ~8 min episode of More or Less by the BBC. In “Deciding When to Suspend a Vaccine,” Tim Harford explores why we often misjudge risk by confusing coincidence with causality, and the dilemma regulators face balancing public health with pure science.
Top Article to Read
Why Data Culture Matters, McKinsey Quarterly Sept 2018. Alejandro Díaz, Kayvaun Rowshankish, and Tamim Saleh. Since its publication in 2018, this article has been in our go-to bookmark folder whenever Data Strategy rears its head. With its focus on making clear business decisions, common red flags to watch out for, and a rich articulation of the breadth of roles necessary for success, this article is foundational reading for the Data Strategy leader.
Top Tip in Tableau
This tip from Robert Saunders answers a question that has plagued us for a year: how can I create a way to quickly focus a date range based on an observable data point? Apparently we weren’t the only ones who didn’t know about a “brush filter” and you can download Robert’s example from Tableau Public to see how it’s done.
Top Video in Alteryx
One of the first steps in a Digital Transformation is confronting the rats’ nests of Excel workarounds scattered around the company. We’re big fans of Alteryx for its support of citizen Data Scientists and for offering an escape from Excel Hell. This series of ten interactive videos (5 min each) has been on our list of cornerstone intro videos for Analysts of all skills and ability.
Top New Tool
It’s way more than a virtual sticky-note board. And while not a new tool per se, MURAL found a special place in our hearts for helping guide those sticky Data Strategy conversations with lots of stakeholders. Before meetings, we design a custom canvas in MURAL for brainstorming on subjects like Data Governance. Participants add stickies in real time along a predesigned path, preventing meetings from getting stuck indefinitely.