This deck was used in a discussion presentation to the US Army on August 17, 2022, with Dr. Myron Hohil, CDO, U.S. Army Pacific and Chandra Donelson Deputy CDO for Army G-2. We discussed how doing useful things fast is key to success and how setting right goals with OKRs, aiming to generate value daily and measuring what matters.

1. Ideas for Data Success
Nitish Mathew
Presented to the US Army, August 17, 2022

3. Data and Tech Leader for over 15 years,
building teams and products that have shaped
companies such as Afterpay, NostraData,
Cablevision, Guy Carpenter and MicroStrategy
Passionate about coaching leaders build lean
teams focussed on delivering things that matter
to customers.
Currently, leading Data Eng & Governance for
Afterpay (part of Block)
Nitish Mathew

4. Thanks for a fun 2001 - 2011!

5. What % of Data
Initiatives Fail?

6. 60-85%

7. We succeeded!
Source: Afterpay snatches mantle as Australia's biggest deal - AFR Source: Stunning $39b Afterpay triumph

8. Recognized as one of the 2 Most
Successful Companies in Data
Source: Thoughtspot Beyond 2022 Conference

9. In the Top 4 among 15,000+
AWS Redshift Consumers*
*Screenshot from https://aws.amazon.com/redshift/customer-success/ as of August 8, 2022

10. What did I
learn?

11. Do Useful
Things Fast

12. How do you do useful things fast?
1. Set Right Goals
2. Generate Value Daily
3. Measure What Matters

13. 1. Set Right Goals

14. 1.1 Define Data
Success with
Objectives and
Key Results
(OKRs)

15. OKRs are Critical
Source: Why the secret to success is setting the right goals

16. OKRs are Aspirational
“We need to learn to set
our course by the stars,
not by the lights of every
passing ship.”
General of the Army Omar Bradley

17. 1.2 Solve
problems people
care about.

18. Adopt Product Thinking
Source: SVPG Video Archive

19. 1.3 Simplicity Leads to
Reliability and Trust

20. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Data & Technology

21. Leaders need to Simplify
“Great leaders are almost
always great simplifiers
who can cut through the
argument debate and
doubt to offer a solution
everybody can
understand.”
General Colin Powell

22. 2. Generate Value
Daily

23. 2.1 Use Modern Software
Delivery Practices to
Deploy Fast and Frequently

24. Execute Daily
“A good plan violently
executed Now is better
than a perfect plan next
week.”
General George Patton

25. 2.2 Foundational
Knowledge is Key

26. 2.3. Empowered &
Motivated Team of Teams

27. Empowered Teams Win

28. Leadership Matters
Christian Idiodi
Source: People Problems Are Actually Leadership Problems - Christian Idiodi

29. Empower Teams
“The temptation to lead as
a chess master,
controlling each move of
the organization, must
give way to an approach
as a gardener, enabling
rather than directing.”
General Stan McChrystal

30. Scale Decision Making
“Never tell people how to
do things. Tell them what
to do and they will
surprise you with their
ingenuity.”
General George Patton

31. 3. Measure What
Matters

32. 3.1 Measure and
showcase every
small success

33. 3.2 Plan
continuous small
wins in the long
journey

34. 3.3 Quantify User Satisfaction

35. Data needs Communication
“Simply reporting on metrics
and results at meetings will
not help your organization
grow and learn; instead, the
focus should be on reporting
across and sharing context. ”
General Stan McChrystal
Source: What's Missing With Big Data? Human Filters
Related Podcast : Data is a Weapon

36. There is no end
in the data
journey.

37. www.nitishmathew.com
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