People are emotional, irrational and unpredictable – and yet they are the most important aspect of any data strategy. Tiankai introduces his framework of the 5 Cs – competence, collaboration, communication, creativity and conscience – with actionable examples to help you put the human being really at the center of your data efforts, and to turn your team members and employees into active advocates for your data strategy.

If you want to elevate your data career, mastering communication is key…and to do that, you do not want to miss this show about the people side of analytics! Tiankai Feng, Head of Data Strategy & Governance at Thoughtworks, dives deep into language's critical role in how data analysts work with business stakeholders—and why getting it right matters. You'll leave the show with practical tips for bridging the gap between technical and non-technical audiences and actionable insights to ensure your data drives impact, not confusion. Sharpen your ability to speak the language of business and create stronger partnerships with your stakeholders! What You'll Learn: How to translate technical insights into business-friendly language Common mistakes to avoid when working with non-technical teams Strategies to build trust and alignment through clear communication How mastering this skill can boost your career   Register for free to be part of the next live session: https://bit.ly/3XB3A8b   Interested in learning more from Tiankai? Check out his book, Humanizing Data Strategy: Leading Data with the Head and the Heart, and his YouTube channel, where he shares original songs about data!   Follow us on Socials: LinkedIn YouTube Instagram (Mavens of Data) Instagram (Maven Analytics) TikTok Facebook Medium X/Twitter

Tiankai Feng joins me to chat about the people side of data, aligning on the value of data strategy, and much more.

Discussion of the book 'Humanizing Data Strategy: Leading Data with the Head and the Heart' by Tiankai Feng, with Jasmin Herrmann. They discuss the book, Tiankai's journey writing it, and topics around data strategy.

Tiankai Feng is Head of Data Strategy & Governance Services at Thoughtworks Europe. Tiankai joined us to discuss inclusivity in data teams, data work, and beyond. While it may sound vague and unclear, during the discussion, we actually tried to unfold what it really means. In essence, we emphasized empathy to understand what it takes to do data work and, conversely, what data teams need to understand from business stakeholders to deliver outcomes that truly matter. Check out Tiankai's LinkedIn; he does a great job there!

Countless companies invest in their data quality, but often, the effort from their investment is not fully realized in the output. It seems like, despite the critical importance of data quality, data governance might be suffering from a branding issue. Data governance is sometimes looked at as the data police, but this is far from the truth. So, how can we change perspectives and introduce fun into data governance? Tiankai Feng is a Principal Data Consultant and Data Strategy & Data Governance Lead at Thoughtworks, He also works part-time as the Head of Marketing at DAMA Germany. Tiankai has had many data hats in his career—marketing data analyst, data product owner, analytics capability lead, and data governance leader for the last few years. He has found a passion for the human side of data—how to collaborate, coordinate, and communicate around data. TIankai often uses his music and humor to make data more approachable and fun. In the episode, Adel and Tiankai explore the importance of data governance in data-driven organizations, the challenges of data governance, how to define success criteria and measure the ROI of governance initiatives, non-invasive and creative approaches to data governance, the implications of generative AI on data governance, regulatory considerations, organizational culture and much more.  Links Mentioned in the Show: Tiankai’s YouTube ChannelData Governance Fundamentals Cheat Sheet[Webinar] Unpacking the Fun in Data Governance: The Key to Scaling Data Quality[Course] Data Governance ConceptsRewatch sessions from RADAR: The Analytics Edition New to DataCamp? Learn on the go using the DataCamp mobile app Empower your business with world-class data and AI skills with DataCamp for business

The off-Broadway, on-Bourbon adaption of "Data—The Musical." Featuring an all star cast you probably don't know outside that one humerous Twitter exchange, caroling a cathartic chorus of communal data dolors. The internal tracking tag our events team added to this session was, "Rad experiential social content" and I, the writer of this session summary, thought that said, "Rad experimental social construct" and I for one would like to see which ends up being true. Join me.

Check the slides here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lwb-8f-CZJ8YWXZdyU9zG8HOKi0sPmgs/view?usp=sharing

Coalesce 2023 is coming! Register for free at https://coalesce.getdbt.com/.

Today's episode features Tiankai Feng, Global Director and Voice of Consumer Analytics at Adidas. Tiankai is going to help you decide if you need an analytics Quarantune. A Quarantune is music or a song that is created for quarantine. The best part about this one is that it is all about data and analytics. Trust me - it's not only fun but it literally speaks to our daily lives in this field!!   In this super fun episode, my amazing co-host Lillian Pierson and myself discuss Tiankai's unique talent for combining analytics and music and how it plays into his day-to-day roll at Adidas. He also shares his Digital Analytics Anthem while dropping a number of knowledge bombs right in the song. Tune in to find out if you could use an analytics Quarantune. Knowledge bombs galore!

  [26:03] - Tiankai on working with analysts: Analysts are great collaborators and not only service functions that have to follow your guidance, but we have to work together to make an impact.    [34:54] - Tiankai on the pandemic: You can predict and plan the most things possible, but when really big unexpected things happen like a pandemic or a huge society issue then none of those plans can actually work as you planned before.  Having data and timely insights is even more important now so you can act timely and the right way. [41:01] - Tiankai on the Perfect Job: It is always easy to complain, but it is so much harder to solve the issues.  If you are not happy with the situation then try to change it. For full show notes, and the links mentioned visit: https://bibrainz.com/podcast/69

Enjoyed the Show?  Please leave us a review on iTunes.    

As of this writing, billions of consumers live in quarantine. They buy what they need online, comforting themselves with food, TV, and toilet paper. Nobody is splurging at the mall.

To say the least, it is an interesting time to analyze discretionary consumer behavior. As Director of the Voice of Consumer Analytics at Adidas, Tiankai helps measure and manage the perception of a consumer brand that is mentioned on social media an average of 260,000 times per day. An amateur musician, Tiankai went viral himself lately with his series of “Quarantunes,” songs such as “Self Quarantine” and “Parent in Quarantine,” that poke fun at our homebound predicament.

Tiankai recently spoke with Eckerson Group about the art and science of consumer analytics, the COVID-19 conundrum, and (of course) the role of creativity in modern data analysis.