Business Skills for Data Scientists

It takes more than technical skills to succeed as an analytics professional. This book explains the foundational business skills you'll need to deliver business value and grow your career as an analyst or data scientist. Drawing on best practices, published research, case studies and personal anecdotes from two decades of industry experience, David Stephenson lays out a practical and concise overview of foundational skills related to Company, Colleagues, Storytelling, Expectations, Results and Careers--emphasizing how each topic relates to your unique position as an analytics professional within a larger corporation.

Endorsements from Industry Leaders

Sound, practical and rich in examples and personal experiences, this book is the advice data and analytics professionals need to close the gap between their technical & business-facing skills. Highly recommended. —Debra Logan, Distinguished Analyst VP, Gartner, Inc. The stereotype of a data scientist is someone who is solely focused on refining algorithms. This excellent book demonstrates that business acumen and change management skills are just as important as modeling expertise. Data-focused practitioners will increase their career success by reading it! —Thomas H. Davenport, Distinguished Professor, Babson College and Visiting Professor, Oxford University. Author of “Competing on Analytics” and “The AI Advantage.” As all seasoned data scientists know, the business-side skills are so commonly a critical missing ingredient – but never before have those skills been spelled out so clearly and thoroughly. This book is a breath of fresh air, one I desperately wish I'd had when I was starting out. —Eric Siegel, Founder of Predictive Analytics World and Author of “Predictive Analytics: The Power to Predict Who Will Click, Buy, Lie, or Die.” This book contains a trove of solid lessons that I wish someone had shared with me early in my career before I had to learn them the hard way. A must-read for those early in their career and a great review for those of us who have been around a while. —Bill Franks, Author, Speaker, and Director, Center for Statistics and Analytical Research, Kennesaw State University.

About the Author

David Stephenson has over 20 years of experience leading analytics initiatives across a wide range of industries. Since founding DSI Analytics in 2014, he has helped dozens of organizations develop their internal analytics programs and train their analytic staff. David is also part-time faculty at the University of Amsterdam and program chair for the PAW ML conferences series.