Christine Haskell, Ph.D.'s Blog, page 5

The Subtle Art of Cultivating a Beginner's Mind (Part 1/2)

The Illusion of Simplicity

In personal development and innovation management, we often encounter the concept of “Shoshin” or Beginner’s Mind. Originating from Zen Buddhism, this concept encourages us to approach situations with openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions, even when studying at an advanced level [1]. It seems straightforward: approach each problem with fresh eyes. However, as I've observed in my research, clients, and grad students, there's a significant gap between understand...

Generating Startup Ideas: Peaks and Pitfalls

In entrepreneurship, the genesis of a startup often lies in personal experience. This approach, while powerful, is a double-edged sword that demands careful consideration. Let's dissect this method's benefits and potential pitfalls, drawing insights from seminal works like Geoffrey Moore's Crossing the Chasm and applying a rigorous analytical framework to the idea generation process.

The Power of Personal Experience

Starting with what you know offers several distinct advantages:

Problem Fluency: In...

Improving Academic Writing: A Strategic Approach to Forum Posts

Improving Academic Writing: A Strategic Approach to Forum Posts

Forum posts in graduate programs offer an opportunity to develop professional communication skills. This post explores how to approach these assignments strategically, focusing on long-term skill development.

Forum Posts as Professional Practice

Each forum post can be viewed as a small-scale professional writing exercise. Barbara Minto's "pyramid thinking," a structured approach to presenting ideas in consulting and corporate environme...

Data Quality: Plan for Resistance

As organizations rush headlong into digital transformation initiatives, a critical factor often gets overlooked: data quality and the resistance to support ongoing data quality efforts. In the race to implement cutting-edge technologies and overhaul business processes, many companies fail to recognize that the success of these efforts hinges on the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of their underlying data. This oversight can lead to disastrous consequences, undermining the very goals that...

Data Quality: The Hidden Cornerstone of Digital Transformation Success

As organizations rush headlong into digital transformation initiatives, a critical factor often gets overlooked: data quality. In the race to implement cutting-edge technologies and overhaul business processes, many companies fail to recognize that the success of these efforts hinges on the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of their underlying data. This oversight can lead to disastrous consequences, undermining the very goals that digital transformation aims to achieve.

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Data Literacy: The $100 Million Insurance Policy You're Probably Ignoring

In boardrooms across the globe, executives are gleefully signing off on multi-million-dollar investments in data infrastructure. Big Data! AI! Machine Learning! But here’s the inconvenient truth they’re overlooking. Without a data-literate workforce, these shiny new toys are as useful as a Ferrari in a traffic jam.

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Change Management in Data Projects: Why We Ignored It and Why We Can't Afford to Anymore

For decades, we've heard the same refrain: “Change management is crucial for project success.” Yet leaders have nodded politely and ignored this advice, particularly in data and technology initiatives. The result? According to McKinsey, a staggering 70% of change programs fail to achieve their goals.[1] So why do we keep making the same mistake, and more importantly, why should we care now?

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The Art of Feedback: Reflections on transformative teaching and learning

Redefining the Role of Peer Critiques

In most graduate programs, “forum posts” or “peer critiques” are often considered perfunctory assignments. Students hesitate to offer substantive feedback, defaulting to superficial comments like “great post!”

Not in my section. :-) These assignments become a powerful tool for learning and growth toward executive presence.

Elevating Peer Feedback: The Consultant’s Perspective

I challenge my students to adopt the role of a Big6 consultant advising a C-suite exec...

Navigating the Complexity of Data Projects: Lessons from the Rubik's Cube

As someone in the information management space for nearly thirty years, I've seen firsthand how the landscape of data projects has evolved. Understanding complexity is crucial for success.

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Where Business Meets Technology in the Marketplace of Information

[First published on Medium]

We've explored data management through a real estate analogy and data consumption through a marketplace lens. While enlightening, these analogies offer a partial view of the landscape, leaving gaps to fill. Our perspective shapes how we tackle data challenges. Whether we embody a merchant, landlord, or customer, our viewpoint significantly influences our approach to issues and solutions in the data space.

In a colleague’s post, we explored data management through the le...