Jimmy Wong

AI Jimmy

What “Dream Big” Meant for Data Science Innovation at LinkedIn

Eight people holding up a DREAM BIG sign in front of an astronaut saluting a flag on the moon — Photo of data scientists at a “Dream Big” event from the author, used with permissions

“I feel stuck maintaining dashboards and analyzing A/B tests” is a sentiment that I heard from many data scientists at LinkedIn and elsewhere.

Those activities are essential for running the business. However, the data scientists also dream big of innovating with ML and AI for making a bigger business impact that also helps their career growth.

The good news is that businesses increasingly want data teams to step up to drive more innovation, especially as AI becomes more accessible.

In Wavestone’s “2024 Data and AI Leadership Executive Survey” results, we see 77.6% of organizations say they’re “driving business innovation from data” — up from 59.5% the prior year. However, the principal challenge to becoming data-driven is “culture/people/process/organization” according to 78% of the companies, rather than the technology.

Column chart for Companies That Say They Are "Driving Business Innovation with Data" from 2021 to 2024 with 77.6% in 2024. — Source data: Wavestone’s 2024 Data and AI Leadership Executive Survey

These statistics should help data scientists feel more confident in stepping up to lead business innovation beyond maintaining dashboards and analyzing A/B tests.

As a data science leader formerly from LinkedIn, I’ll share with you my process of driving business innovation with our “Dream Big” culture.

“Dream Big” Days At LinkedIn

When I led data science teams at LinkedIn, we would periodically host a “Dream Big” day or equivalent event. On this day, we ran brainstorming sessions for innovation, alongside fun team-building activities. Beyond our data scientists, we also invited a diverse range of people from....

[To continue, please read my newest story published today in the Towards Data Science publication on Medium, free friend link below.]

What “Dream Big” Meant for Data Science Innovation at LinkedIn

Here’s how to inspire and lead people for bigger data science projects

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Jimmy Wong

Coach, speaker, and entrepreneur enabling people to thrive in the age of AI. Data science leader with 12 years experience at the LinkedIn company and 27 years in the industry. Visit aijimmy.com