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The Cool Kids Corner: Data Leadership (and the Importance of TNADVTMADHGI)

By Mark Horseman on
Read more about author Mark Horseman.

Hello! I’m Mark Horseman, and welcome to The Cool Kids Corner. This is my monthly check-in to share with you the people and ideas I encounter as a data evangelist with DATAVERSITY. Last month we discussed data privacy. This month we’re talking about data leadership. What do we mean by data leadership? What are our challenges with becoming data-driven and leading an organization through all that “data stuff”? We’ll take a look at that and, ultimately, we’ll see what the Cool Kids are saying. 

“What the heck is with that title Mark!?” was heard several times while going on this adventure. Well, it’s an excerpt from Anthony Algmin’s new book, “Data Leadership for Everyone.” So, it should come as no surprise that Anthony is our Cool Kid for this month. “TNADVTMADHGI” stands for “Try not to accidentally decrease value through my actions despite having good intentions.” I ran across this in Anthony’s book as he was discussing a not-so-collectible baseball that was signed by a little-known player.  Because of the player’s caliber (or lack thereof), the ball was worth a bit less because of the signature. The value of the ball holds so much more to Anthony, though, as a reminder to leave a situation better than he found it. 

This message struck a chord with me, as I’ve held a fair amount of data leadership positions in my career, whether being responsible for data governance or data quality at an organization or even leading an entire information systems team. Looking back on that varied experience, I can think of situations where I’ve succeeded in that mantra, but also a few where that was not true. We all approach everything we do with good intentions and to achieve goals, and when I got to this section of the book, I laughed out loud, but I was also able to trigger that self-reflection and take it to heart moving forward. 

What are the Cool Kids saying about data leadership? Well, as we alluded to above, our featured Cool Kid is Anthony Algmin. Anthony always has something fun and exciting up his sleeve, including not only his new book but also a new endeavor using data and analytics for sports betting. Enjoy Anthony’s talk on data leadership below. 

Check out the other amazing things Anthony is doing: 

Remember that you can meet Cool Kids like Anthony Algmin at DATAVERSITY events (use code COOLKIDS to save 15%): 

Want to become one of the Cool Kids? All you need to do is share your ideas with the community! To be active in the community, come to DATAVERSITY webinars, participate in events, and network with like-minded colleagues. 

Next month, I’ll be sharing some thoughts on lifelong learning in the data space. Stay tuned!