Would anybody disagree that Data Governance isn't working out the way we had all hoped? Yes, we've seen successes, but for the most part it's been like trying to throw an angel food cake under water. As long as you're pushing there's movement. As soon as you stop everything falls away. This episode is the first in a three part series that takes a hard look at Data Governance. We are honored to welcome Gwen Thomas, one of the pioneers of the field to join us at Rock Bottom. Returning this season are the Rock Bottom Players: Evan Goldt, Kasey Griffin, Johnathan Whited, Pam Ladley, and Karen Cooper. Chapters: 00:00 - Open & Introduction; 06:21 - Monologue; 09:47 - Gwen Thomas; 30:30 - Dispatches; 32:48 - Recap & Close

Recently, John and Mark brought the Rock Bottom Data Feed to the Data Governance & Information Quality (DGIQ) conference in Washington, DC. We let out our nets to see what we could catch, so to speak. Well, the nets came back full. So many great conversations, observations, and insights. Some folks sat down and chatted for a long time. We'll be hearing from a couple of them in upcoming episodes. Others just dropped by for just a few minutes. We've accumulated those bits of conversation into this special episode. Chapters 00:00 - Open & Introduction; 01:05 - Anne-Marie Smith; 02:00 - Mystery Guest; 04:24 - Katrina Ingram; 05:53 - Kristen; 08:46 - Mathias Vercauteren; 13:44 - Nicole Bills; 14:54 - Tom; 18:47 - Neena Sathi; 20:51 - Vince Sathi; 23:59 - Trisha Posser; 26:13 - Tom Redman; 27:06 - Irene Dirks; 28:17 - Ali; 30:07 - Recap & Close

Sometimes when recording interviews we ended up with more material than we could use. Certainly not because it wasn't interesting, but rather because we chatted longer than was practical to include or because we veered into topics beyond the scope of the particular episode. Never ones to waste anything, we have accumulated those interesting bits into an episode all their own. Perhaps hearing some of our past guests again will inspire you to go back and listen to their full episodes! Chapters 00:00 - Open & Introduction; 01:54 - Stacey Clark; 04:10 - Wendy Lawhead; 07:13 - Tom Redman; 08:50 - Randy Bean; 16:50 - Bill Tanenbaum; 25:21 - Audio Data Rorshach Test; 29:57 - Recap & Close

Data is a new type of business asset from a legal perspective. The traditional legal methodologies don't fit. You have confidentiality obligations, licensing and usage considerations, and data quality requirements, especially when it comes to AI. A legal strategy for data needs to be top of mind for leadership. Before it's too late. In this episode we talk with William Tanenbaum, a pioneer in the area of data and the law. Chapters 00:00 – Open & Introduction; 03:31 – Monologue; 06:15 – William Tanenbaum; 25:04 – Dispatches from Rock Bottom; 27:10 – Audio Rorschach Test; 29:10 – Recap & Close Featured Image Credit: wp paarz, "Court Gavel - Judge's Gavel - Courtroom," 2016. flickr.com. Some rights reserved.

When you look in the dictionary between "hard place" and "rock" you will find "analytics management." Data Consumers demand high-quality data. Data Producers say it's good enough to run the business so it's good enough for you. Management wants peace and quiet. When everything is running smoothly you're invisible. When it's not... Our guest is Deep Sogani, Vice President and Chief of Enterprise Data at Personify Health. He has lived analytics management at all levels at several companies, bringing a breadth and depth of experience here to Rock Bottom. Chapters: 00:00 – Open & Introduction;  03:55 – Monologue;  06:38 – Deep Sogani;  25:32 – Dispatches from Rock Bottom;  27:38 – Audio Data Rorschach Test;  29:06 – Recap & Close Featured Image Credit: Elyse Horvath, "Now serving 66," 2015. flickr.com. Some rights reserved.

Everyone says that data has value, but what does that mean? How do you measure that value? This week we talk a little less about people and a little more about business and monetization. Our guest is Doug Laney, author of the bestselling book, Infonomics. Chapters 00:00 – Open & Introduction; 03:10 – Monologue; 06:03 – Doug Laney; 26:02 – Dispatches from Rock Bottom; 28:08 – Audio Rorschach Test; 30:35 – Recap & Close

According to some research, about half of large organizations are“Data Driven,” meaning they are "driving business innovation with data." According to other research, that number is about half of that. But wait, isn’t that what data is for in the first place? Not good enough! So in this episode, we call BS on Data Driven. Our guest is Randy Bean, bestselling author of Fail Fast, Learn Faster: Lessons in Data-Driven Leadership in an Age of Disruption, Big Data, and AI, and a regular contributor to Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and MIT Sloan Management Review on Data & AI leadership. Chapters: 00:00 – Open & Introduction; 06:39 – Monologue; 09:22 – Randy Bean; 26:13 – Dispatches from Rock Bottom; 28:19 – Audio Rorschach Test; 29:55 – Recap & Close Other Resources: Surveys Cited in Dispatches: ThoughtSpot, Software Development Times, Wavestone (New Vantage Partners)

Data Debt is both a measure and a message. It helps businesses grasp how important data can be, because when all else has failed, many organizations have examined Data Debt and discovered a significant aspect of data resource management. To help explain Data Debt we welcome Barbara Forth. Chapters 00:00 - Open & Introduction; 03:48 - Monologue; 07:04 - Barbara Forth; 22:10 - Dispatches from Rock Bottom; 24:18 - Audio Rorschach Test; 26:45 - Recap & Close

For so many of us, Data Quality is like a healthy diet and daily exercise. You want the benefits, but you don’t want to do what it takes to get them. Interrogating the data is the easy part. Sustaining a Data Quality program requires discipline and culture. It’s what we’ve been saying all along. It’s people. And one of those people is Tom Redman, whom we are excited to welcome to Rock Bottom. Chapters 00:00 - Open & Introduction; 03:34 - Monologue; 06:18 - Tom Redman; 26:06 - Dispatches from Rock Bottom; 28:12 - Audio Rorschach Test; 30:19 - Recap & Close

So many times we get our words reversed when naming subject areas. Instead of Data Ethics, for example, we should be talking about ethics as applied to data. This ties our interest to the broader discipline. Our guest, Daragh O Brien, is an expert in the field and gives us a lot of food for thought both about how we use data and how we allow our data to be used. Chapters 00:00 - Open & Introduction; 02:00 - Monologue; 04:44 - Daragh O Brien; 15:07 - Dispatches from Rock Bottom; 17:13 - Audio Rorschach Test; 19:20 - Recap & Close

The most common fears about artificial intelligence are from movies, and while there are reasons for concern, Skynet becoming sentient and terminating humanity aren’t among them. A lot of great progress is being made in several fields using artificial intelligence and machine learning. Our guest, Wendy Lawhead, shares her experience as a data science and AI practitioner for several companies across multiple industries. Most importantly, successful and sustainable AI requires well understood data so that time is spent on the analytics, not on the preparation. And well understood data requires culture and discipline. It’s all about people. Chapters 00:00 - Open & Introduction; 02:13 - Monologue; 05:47 - Wendy Lawhead; 23:11 - Dispatches from Rock Bottom; 25:18 - Audio Rorschach Test; 27:16 - Recap & Close

Data is as much about people as it is about technology, if not more. It’s anthropology. We need a transformational approach to data that focuses on culture and discipline. For example, companies are jumping onto AI from shaky data foundations, then have the nerve to be surprised when it doesn’t work out as well as they expected. We need to do something different. To help us take a fresh view and fresh perspective we welcome to Rock Bottom Malcolm Hawker, Chief Data Officer at Profisee. Chapters 00:00 - Open & Introduction; 01:36 - Monologue; 04:19 - Malcolm Hawker; 17:29 - Dispatches from Rock Bottom; 19:35 - Audio Rorschach Test; 21:36 - Recap & Close Feature Image by Tom Mesic.

John Ladley and Mark Cooper welcome you to Rock Bottom. We recognize that the last thing the world needs is another podcast, but we aim to make this one different. We are going to take apart the data industry and have fun doing it. It seems that many companies aren’t taking data and analytics very seriously either, so maybe we’ll fit right in. We’re all at rock bottom, but at the end of each episode everyone technical and everyone non-technical will take away some nugget of information that will allow them to take one step forward. The journey starts today...

John Ladley and Mark Cooper are excited to announce the premiere of the Rock Bottom Data Feed, coming this summer to your favorite podcasting platform.