It seems like it happened slowly, then all at once. For some time it was the consensus that new data tools and technologies were going to be the thing that finally helped data teams break through, get executive buy-in, and drive the successful outcomes that we all knew they could. But in the past year or so, I’ve been seeing dissent. Commentators and thought-leader-types started asking if we’ve focused too much on technology, at the cost of staying in touch with the needs of the businesse...| wrongbutuseful.substack.com
Previously: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 After the past two years, it’s odd to write an annual reflection where my first thoughts are happy rather than bleak. The truth is that there is a lot of bleak out there right now–just look at the layoffs and the funding environment–but while last year was an unusual and challenging one for me, this one was relatively quiet for me and my family. That said, even a quiet year is worth a bit of introspection, so here is my annual note.| lethain.com
A few weeks ago I bought a piano. It’s a digital piano, which I’m quite excited about for a few reasons: I remain haunted by forgetting to water our piano as a child, it was a ninety pound package that I could install myself rather than a standard piano’s seven hundred pound stature, and most importantly it actually fit in the available nook. One motivation was that our son loves music. If you put him near a piano he will bang on, and on, and on. I’ve also been feeling a bit of a hole...| lethain.com