To Be More Effective with Data Science, Hire Fewer Data Scientists

May 7

To be more effective with data science, hire fewer data scientists. Instead, hire humble, diverse communicators with an entrepreneurial mindset. You'll make more, better, faster progress.

To be more effective with data science, hire fewer data scientists. Instead, favor humble, diverse communicators with an entrepreneurial mindset. You'll make more, better, faster progress.

This seemingly paradoxical idea is so obvious it's easy to overlook. But it works: 80% of the 1,300 staff at the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) use data science for decision-making. Yet, very few of them are data scientists. The secret to their success is their staff on the frontlines. They're great communicators, teachers, and consultants.

The data science frontline is the last mile between science and action--where theory turns to practice. Daily project meetings are where it happens: Discovery. Learning. Curiosity. Forensics. Fun. Note the missing element: math.

Humanist data scientists are simple to describe yet hard to find. In my company of 4,000+, we have about 15. Many scientists choose science because they don't love writing, teaching, and storytelling. 9 (Surprising) Key Attributes of Your First Data Science Hires describes the attributes of humanist data scientists:

They put your mission first, not science
They're great storytellers
They act like entrepreneurs
Often, they don't have an advanced technical degree
They're interested in business questions, not just answers
They're curious
They're creative
They have a community-first mindset
They're humble

Nice theory, you might be thinking, but how do you find these unicorns? The quest begins with a map—a job description. You can download my humanist data scientist template from the Correlation One site below. Steal it. Modify it to fit your company mission. Start hiring.

Long-term, business teams build independence, confidence, and literacy--SEPA's 80% data adoption rate is world-class. And, like painting the Golden Gate Bridge, you're never done. There's always a new source of data, a new question to ask, and a better way to tell your story.

So if you want more, better, and faster data science, hire frontline data scientists with humanist skills first. You'll be doing more, better, faster data science soon.