In this episode of the Data Career Podcast, Avery talks with his childhood friend, Paul Alstrom, about his journey into data analytics from a non-technical background.

Paul emphasises the importance of networking, understanding the business, and getting the requirements right at the start.

They also explore the day-to-day life of a data analyst, how to make yourself useful to the business, as well as how to manage senior stakeholders.

Connect with Paul Ahlstrom:

🤝 Connect on Linkedin

✉️ Discover what we wish we knew about landing the dream job

🤖 Data Analytics Answers At Your Finger Tips

🤝 Ace your data analyst interview with the interview simulator

📩 Get my weekly email with helpful data career tips

📊 Come to my next free “How to Land Your First Data Job” training

🏫 Check out my 10-week data analytics bootcamp

Timestamps:

(14:31) - The Importance of Networking in Job Hunting (22:44) - Understanding User Behavior through Data (23:12) - The Role of SQL in Data Analysis (23:25) - Business Use Cases for Data Analysis (27:55) - The Art of Reporting in Data Analysis (29:14) - The Importance of Asking the Right Questions (31:17) - The Role of Communication in Data Analysis (31:46) - The Power of Iterative Analytics (39:47) - Understanding the Business Context in Data Analysis

Connect with Avery:

📺 Subscribe on YouTube

🎙Listen to My Podcast

👔 Connect with me on LinkedIn

📸 Instagram

🎵 TikTok

Mentioned in this episode: Join the last cohort of 2025! The LAST cohort of The Data Analytics Accelerator for 2025 kicks off on Monday, December 8th and enrollment is officially open!

To celebrate the end of the year, we’re running a special End-of-Year Sale, where you’ll get: ✅ A discount on your enrollment 🎁 6 bonus gifts, including job listings, interview prep, AI tools + more

If your goal is to land a data job in 2026, this is your chance to get ahead of the competition and start strong.

👉 Join the December Cohort & Claim Your Bonuses: https://DataCareerJumpstart.com/daa https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

In this podcast, Nathan Furr(@nathan_furr) talks about leading transformation. He shares some of the crucial ingredients of transformational leaders. He sheds some light on how businesses could improve their storytelling to get the transformation agenda across. He shares some cool tips and tricks that help leaders plan for a transformation across data-driven and disruptive times.

Timeline: 1:39 Nathan's journey. 4:49 Nathan's current role. 13:55 Transforming legacy old company. 21:52 The right moment for companies to think about data transformation. 26:38 Using comic books to share transformational stories. 34:32 Who's the most responsible person in an organization for transformation? 39:13 Qualities a leader must have for bringing in transformational change. 43:40 Nathan's success mantra. 47:57 Nathan's favorite reads. 50:29 Closing remarks.

Nathan's Recommended Read: East of Eden (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) by John Steinbeck, David Wyatt https://amzn.to/2S9MHA0

Nathan's Books The Innovator's Method: Bringing the Lean Start-up into Your Organization by Nathan Furr, Jeff Dyer, Clayton M. Christensen https://amzn.to/2TeadJE Leading Transformation: How to Take Charge of Your Company's Future by Nathan Furr, Kyle Nel, Thomas Zoega Ramsey https://amzn.to/2CTw16z Nail It then Scale It: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Creating and Managing Breakthrough Innovation: The lean startup book to help entrepreneurs launch a high-growth business by Nathan Furr, Paul Ahlstrom https://amzn.to/2UfTpSC

Podcast Link: https://futureofdata.org/leading-transformation-through-data-driven-times-nathan_furr-insead-futureofdata-podcast/

Nathan's BIO: Nathan Furr is a professor of strategy and innovation at INSEAD in Paris and a recognized expert in innovation and technology strategy. He has multiple books and articles published by outlets such as Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review, including his most recent best-selling book, “The Innovator’s Method” (Harvard Business Review Press, September 2014), which won multiple awards from the business press. He has two forthcoming books from Harvard Business Review Press addressing 1) how companies lead transformation and 2) how innovators win support for their ideas.

Professor Furr has worked with leading companies to study and implement innovation strategies, including Google, Amazon, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Philips, Kimberly Clark, Solvay, and others. Professor Furr earned his Ph.D. from the Stanford Technology Ventures Program at Stanford University.

About #Podcast:

FutureOfData podcast is a conversation starter to bring leaders, influencers, and lead practitioners to discuss their journey in creating the data-driven future.

Wanna Join? If you or any you know wants to join in, Register your interest by emailing us @ [email protected]

Want to sponsor? Email us @ [email protected]

Keywords: FutureOfData,

DataAnalytics,

Leadership,

Futurist,

Podcast,

BigData,

Strategy