Craig Paterson

Craig Paterson

I'm a strategy advisor and coach with specialisms in Business, Data & Digital strategy development and execution. I get my energy from working with smart people to solve relevant challenges.

Location Scotland

Activity

  • yeah, it is easier to overcome technical challenge than human ones. People will make it happen (or not).

  • I love your thought process. This section sis mostly in here as a thought exercise to stimulate debate about how to get people to take the value of data seriously. Brand value can be tracked on balance sheets and goodwill is often factored into the sale price of an organisation. Is data the next abstract thing that will be used to evaluate businesses in the...

  • yes, that is the message we are hoping to get across. And that, irrespective of whether it's on or off the balance sheet, we all need to behaviour in a certain way to realise the value.

  • I agree, people often confusion management with leadership. They are two different things.

  • absolutely, a focus on value (monetary or otherwise) focuses the mind and increases the likelihood of success.

  • I can see where you are coming from with the business-within-a-business idea for large organisations. From my time working with SMEs the 3 challenges (and the canvas) seem to work for them too.

    From an SME perspective I'd think about...

    lack of value: money is precious so be very specific what return you are getting from your investment, or what risk you...

  • I would view them more as two strands on the same strategy. When it comes to data, they will probably have overlapping requirements for the base data "infrastructure", in its widest terms.

  • I'd suggest thinking about the value as well as the cost and using that as a way to have a different conversation about prioritisation.

  • it is great to see you sharing your actions, thank you.

  • thank you sharing your insights, these are great, honest comments.

  • hi, can you please report the fault if it continues as most people seem to be able to hear the video ok. Thank you.

  • I am glad you are finding the tools useful.

  • empathising with people helps, as doesn't exploring "what's in it for them?". I find empathy maps a great tool to use here: https://gamestorming.com/empathy-mapping/

  • that is great point. When I talk about monetisation with the 3rd and Public sectors we usually talk about the reuse opportunities, as the same techniques are often used as for monetisation and reuse.

  • meta-data themes are also an area to look for monetisation opportunities without sharing personal information

  • monetisation interest is very sector specific

  • thank you for sharing. One tip is to always consult this impacted by the data driven change, both positively and negative, to get them onside.

  • this is great. I have been fortunate enought to work with a few charities on data initiative and your points resonate.

  • you might find this interesting https://dma.org.uk/value-of-data

  • I agree, and with the right ethical mindset too.

  • I agree that data has huge potential, but we often need to be wary of what is missing as well as excited about what it there!

  • I don't thinks Ts&Cs are written with the users' best interest at heart. But that is both a generalisation and an personal opinion

  • @abdulaiBah great, I hope this helps when you apply it in practise

  • thank you and enjoy the next steps on your data journey

  • no age limit :)

  • It finely merits spending some time thinking about it

  • Fira's comments do open up some interesting thinking on the subject.

  • Value is really subjective and context specific.

    I have recently been talking to a company that specialises in monitoring data and they have very clear guidelines both on quality of data and ethical use.

    It still feels like it is the early days of Monetisation.

  • I agree, people will make this happen (or not!)

  • PESTEL is a good tool to use at the early stages of developing any strategy.

  • commitment is key, especially a commitment to learn from experiences (good for ad) and putting those learnings into practice

  • I suggest trying to do smaller projects that reap valeu in c8 weeks and show what can "be done here". Building a body of small case studies in your own organisation can be very powerful.

  • I use this as a tool to stimulate debate and see where the differences of opinion lie.

    It is good practice to agree the scope of the question as it can be applied across projects, teams, department, organisation, sector etc.

    The different answers also generate new conversations and opportunities.

  • well said

  • remember this was pre-Covid

  • bringing customers into the conversation early also helps and minimises the risk of misuse

  • I agree

  • that's great story

  • monetisation is huge topic that we touch on later in the course. Staying away from trying to monetise personal data is a good rule of thumb.

  • That is hard question to answers as there are no easy answers. Governments and Thank Tank has a responsibility to put the guidelines I place and I would suggest that regulators need create the environment where business can succeed ethically and where they reap the consequences when they do not.

  • very true

  • that's great to hear, good luck on your journey.

  • I like your approach.

  • I think it is seen as too hard to put it on the balance sheet right now (and will put a spotlight on responsibilities that are hard to meet), but as you say, it's an interesting conversation that raises awareness of the understanding of the value of data.

  • it sounds like a win to me too

  • Don't rush into Data Science until you need. You don't want to recruit (and incur the cost of a data scientist) if it is not what you need.

  • Data Teams Models to consider:

    1. Federated - Dedicated data resources are embedded within existing Lines of Business

    2. Centralised - All dedicated data resources within a single team that offers data services to the existing Lines of Business

    3. Centre of Excellence (CoE) - A team that coordinates data services across all of the organisation by...

  • From some other other TDL material: "The attributes and criteria which should be front of mind when planning how to set up and structure a data team include:

    Maximise collaboration – remove silos and encourages working toward shared goals
    Responsive and flexible – provides ability to flex to changing demands
    Clear ownership – removes ambiguity, gaps and...

  • regular engagement and comms are often overlooked in data initiatives

  • most people I have worked with have taken a phased approach

  • thats great to hear

  • as is often said, less is more. My mantra is "what is the minimum, but no less, amount of data I need?"

  • To me, leadership and culture are what will make or break these initiatives.

  • this is a great tool for triggering conversations

  • I within 3s, The top 3 KPIs and 3 supporting KPIs for each.

  • making the compelling case for change is key, as is taking small, "meaningful and achievable " steps. We look at this later in the course.

  • that's great that the process and workbook have been useful

  • good luck

  • indirectly in some cases but not all to share the data with others, often it is services and APIs that become the route to monetisation.

  • another great insight "I think people are generally much more careful with other people’s data than their own."

  • data is definitely a team game, and its the weakest links we need to watch out for

  • great insights, sometime there really isn't a meaningful choice, its all or nothing.

  • @JUMOKEOGUNDARE thank you. I hope your data journey is going well.

  • Overcoming legacy is a challenge. Hopefully later in the course you wills some idea emerge to address this.

  • Thanks for sharing. Do you do anything around predicting student behaviour? I am thinking, can you see when a student it starting to disengage and intervene before it is too late?

  • narrowing down to something that is both meaningful and achievable is key success, and something that we will come to discuss throughout the course

  • the symbiotic relationship is a key point

  • excellent

  • thank you for participating and commenting. Good luck on your data journey.

  • we will cover all of that in the next few weeks

  • @RogerBox, here’s my suggestion. They are all needed for success but this is how I would suggest you start:

    1st focus on Leadership and People, so that you have clarity on accountabilities for making it happen and you have the ability to do the first interesting thing that will engage the organisation.

    2nd focus on Strategy and Skills, so that you know...

  • thank you, that is great to hear. Enjoy your next steps.

  • @HansGNedden thanks for the feedback and the links. We may be developing a Data Science course soon as this one is intended as an introduction to leadership.

  • That's an interesting article. I echo the point that one of the common challenges with recruitment in Data Science is that often people try to recruit someone when they don't need one and/or haven't done the ground work to created the environment for a Data Scientist to be successful.

    We have had lot of conversations with recruitment agencies to help them...

  • @HansGNedden I think you will like this McKinsey article called "Six problem-solving mindsets for very uncertain times".

    It includes this quote "good problem solving typically involves designing experiments to reduce key uncertainties. Each move provides additional information and builds...

  • again, thanks for sharing your views, it is good to get debates going.

    The point we were hoping to make here is that manipulation of data, combining it, generating insights, capturing feedback, learning from it etc all generate new data that creates a more complete and hopefully valuable view. As such, the more you use and combine data, the great value you...

  • Thanks for sharing your views. We included this here to trigger thoughts on people's behaviour when it comes to data , especially ownership and the consequences of not looking after data. This thought exercise, of putting a balance sheet value on data, has worked for many people help them reject and realise that if data was tracked financially, then they...

  • I am really glad that you found it useful.

  • absolutely, we often use the same words but attached different meanings to them.

  • A great insight, thanks for sharing. There is a difference between being right and being useful. One of the things a leader does is help the data people to be more that just right, and to become useful to the business.

  • Fantastic, I am glad you found it useful. Good luck with your data journey.

  • That's a great and really honest answer. Give yourself time to make the right decision for your organisation - it may not all sit-in one role.

  • Thank you, I am glad you found it useful. Enjoy the next steps on your data journey.

  • the Data Lab can help, so feel free to get in touch https://www.thedatalab.com/contact/

    Your insight is spot on, for example, these are questions we come across frequently:

    >> which skills do I need?
    >> what interview questions should I ask?
    >> what does good interview question answer look like?
    >> how much should I pay?

    Skills Development Scotland...

  • indeed, well done :)

  • a great insight, thank you for sharing.

  • This is great, thank you for sharing. One thing to consider is how could you get at best one data insight in front of your Board / Leadership Team / Sponsors / Investor at the next meeting and use that to stimulate a conversation ie does this data feel right? can we improve on this? what is missing? what new questions does this insight raise? how would we...

  • I agree, the two are often interrelated.

  • @CatherineStewart are people's accountability for success clear in the scenario you are referring? If they don't feel accountable for moving on then you run the risk of people enjoying the debate at the expense of making decisions. A good neutral facilitator and an active sponsor can make a big difference in these situations.

  • Focusing on the explicit funding is a good way to sharpen the focus on the conversion regarding what is really a priority. If it is not funded are the stakeholders really committed?

  • this is a great comment and observation. The purpose of strategy is to give clarity, focus investment and give you parameters that allow you to make decisions as to what to do (or not do). Asking the questions we pose in this week will hopefully help you see what your strategy is, or help you identify which questions to ask to clarify what your strategy is.

  • hopefully some of the things we cover in subsequent weeks all help you narrow down what your next step are and make it less overwhelming.

  • hi, the funnelling down was done by the Data Scientist who spend the majority of their time cleaning and quality checking the data then removing information that wasn't linked to the business outcome.

  • It makes perfect sense. Having agreed definitions is critical to success. Sometimes people use the same words with different meanings which can result in the illusion of agreement. A Data Dictionary is a good way to flesh out exactly what everyone means and to agree definitions.

  • a good insight, so don't be too harsh on yourself!

  • New opportunities and ways working are emerging all the times, so to me maturity is about how you keep moving forward. This week we looked at data analytics maturity - how advanced you are in your ability to use data to drive value - and next week we look at organisational maturity - how ready you are to take action based upon the insights...

  • later in the course we look at how to overcome these barriers and we also get more tips from partitioners that will hopefully give you tips and inspiration

  • it maybe worth capturing the "risk of doing nothing" as a way to catalyse a discussion - busyness and "the status quo" are frequently used as a rationale for delaying action

  • in week 4 we look at ways to overcome these barriers so hopefully you will get some new tips and ideas then

  • that's great, we will build on this in later weeks.