#106 Building an Effective Data Strategy: Why oh Why Don't You Start with the Why - Interview w/ Liz Henderson

https://www.patreon.com/datameshradio (Data Mesh Radio Patreon) - get access to interviews well before they are released Episode list and links to all available episode transcripts (most interviews from #32 on) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZmCIinVgIm0xjIVFpL9jMtCiOlBQ7LbvLmtmb0FKcQc/edit?usp=sharing (here) Provided as a free resource by DataStax https://www.datastax.com/products/datastax-astra?utm_source=DataMeshRadio (AstraDB); George Trujillo's contact info: email (george.trujillo@datastax.com) and https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgetrujillo/ (LinkedIn) Transcript for this episode (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ls5QawrOffb3VGIfZCmPYHG0v729Ye7Gu7oKRaOYi8c/edit (link)) provided by Starburst. See their Data Mesh Summit recordings https://www.starburst.io/learn/events-webinars/datanova-on-demand/?datameshradio (here) and their great data mesh resource center https://www.starburst.io/info/distributed-data-mesh-resource-center/?datameshradio (here) In this episode, Scott interviewed Liz Henderson AKA The Data Queen, Executive Advisor at Capgemini. To be clear, Liz was only representing her own views on the podcast. Some high-level takeaways/thoughts from Liz's view: To drive buy-in and engagement in a data strategy - especially with people outside the IT/data team - focus on the "why". Why are you doing this initiative or approach? What business goals is it supporting? Also on driving buy-in for a data initiative, start by listening instead of selling/pitching. Focus on the business needs and work backwards to show how data can help address those needs. To be successful with a large change-management data initiative, you need the patience, leadership, courage, and will to push forward. And the budget - don't forget the budget :D You can't have an effective data strategy if it isn't directly tied into the business strategy. Really consider how data can help to support and execute on the business strategy. Data strategy in a vacuum away from the business is a recipe for trouble. It's very easy