We had a fantastic time speaking in a panel for the Data & Analytics Club at UW Foster School of Business! The main theme was around building skills to drive data as a product. Related topics included:
- Product management roles in data and analytics
- Balancing technical skills vs. business domain skills
- Importance of market-orientation as a product manager
- Common misconceptions about business analytics
- Data literacy as a bottleneck to analytics initiatives
- Data as fuel for AI and business context as the roadmap
- Ways to stay current on solutions and tools in the space
The other panelists included:
- Derek Edwards — a multi-time startup executive and advisor
- Aaron Tyler — owner of Tyton Aviation
My biggest suggestion is this: You're here to get your MBA, not your DBA. Communication and business skills are going to be much more important than incremental technical skills. Whether your company's product is shoes or software, microchips or potato chips, all companies will need to approach data as a product in order to stay ahead.
