Beginnings are hard.
This is my first newsletter here. The beginning of what I expect to be a hard but very rewarding activity. It felt right to share why I started and what my plans are.
1. Why this newsletter?
For many years I put myself into the public sphere by blogging, presenting at conferences, etc. I loved it. I was part of a great community, I built a wonderful network, and it launched my career in Data Science.
Until, one day, I just stopped. It was when I moved from Data Scientist to Data Science Manager. I moved into a very different job. One where my focus shifted from numbers to people. I had little idea of what I was doing, much less what to write about.
My writing habit slowly died for the next 3-4 years :(
However, in that time I’ve learned a lot outside the “technical” skills that first got me into Data Science and got me writing. I’ve managed teams of over 20 and am now a Data Product lead.
I’ve learned a lot more “non-technical” skills. You might say “leadership,” “people,” or even “soft” skills. I like a label from a data legend of mine, Cassie Kozyrkov: “hardest to automate.” I’ve found these skills can be taught, learned, and constantly improved. I’ve greatly enjoyed growing and applying these skills to supercharge the careers of others and the capabilities of businesses in ways I could never do as a mostly technical individual contributor.
2. Why now?
So this year I set myself a challenge to write and share more. To build another wonderful community and network of people interested in this complex world of hard-to-automate skills. To learn from others and uplift folks who I might be able to help.
I decided to start with LinkedIn posts. I struggled to post just once a week but I built up the habit to now finding it easy to post 3x/week. I also started without focus, talking about anything and everything. I now feel the topics I care to talk about and connect with others on is clearer.
I haven’t figured it all out but I’ve found a groove. Finally, after all these years, I thought: “I’m ready to get back into longer-form content and share my thoughts and experiences with the world in more detail.”
3. What kind of community am I hoping to build?
I’m really hoping to build a community of folks who work in or with technical disciplines (mostly data science and analytics) and who want to grow as people leaders. A community who are excited to learn about problem discovery, communication, collaboration, leadership, motivation, and so on. Skills that help us stand out and create value in a world full of people, not machines.
4. What can you expect from me?
I’m aiming to publish one article per week — completely free. I’m thinking on a Saturday (but TBD). As with my LinkedIn posting, I expect it’ll take me some time to warm up. So please bear with me as I ramp up!
There’s still plenty I haven’t figured out. A catchy newsletter name for starters. But that’s all part of it. I’m going to lean into publishing without trying to be perfect. Then listen to what you and the community find valuable, and try do more of that.
5. How can you get the most value?
Participation is the best way to get more value. It starts by subscribing. Here’s a nifty button ;)
Then by engaging. Likes are great. Comments are even better. Share your problems, things you want to learn, and even help by responding to other people. Comments are going to make you a part of the community. It’ll help you go beyond the information in this newsletter to solving problems specific to you and building your own network.
Finally, all this depends on us building a community. So please consider sharing with at least one other person to get started. Here’s another nifty button ;)
6. Let’s Go!
There’s not much more to say right now. Let’s go and build this community together. See you round :)