Learning Month – How Data Literate is Your Company

Our kids are back in school and learning.  Are you?  I thought we would spend September diving into some literature to expand our thinking as the kids expand theirs.  What is good for them has to be great for us, right?  

First up is an article from the Harvard Business Review by Rasheed Sabar that discusses the use of the data at work.  From the title, you’d think Sabar is only going to talk about data. Instead, Sabar makes the compelling case that you need diverse people working on your data team, or you will make mistakes that some have already made by producing data that is exclusive and wrong, like the facial recognition systems.  

There are a lot of good ideas packed in this short article.  Consider the following points and then take a quick read of the article linked below.  It will inform how you are thinking about your development and what companies need to be thinking about and working on for the development of their people.  Sabar says:

  • “Critically thinking about and collecting data is everyone’s job.”  
  • “Expanding the circle of who is in the room helping to question, build and monitor algorithms is the only way we will develop responsible AI.”
  • “Building up data literacy in an organization can also help diversify the data teams who are at the forefront of making critical decisions about how data will be collected, processed and deployed.”

Saber’s focus is on the organization scale, but I challenge you to think about your comfort level with data.  Even without an aspiration to be a data scientist, can you build that capability with the acknowledgment that Saber’s first point is the right point:  It is everyone’s job?

Check out the article here: “How Data Literate Is Your Company?” by Rasheed Sabar

Dr. Lisa

Our theme song is “She Blinded Me with Science” by Thomas Dolby.
 
 

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