The Data Binge

Rikin Shah, is the CEO of Slower, a major disruptor in the monolithic consulting services industry. Slower drives value for its customers and partners by investing in new and future stack technology companies well ahead of the curve to help create competitive differentiation through technology. In addition to being a broad-scale technology systems integrator with over 6000 employees and 225 customers, Slower uses its reach and impact to accelerate its customers digital transformation through repeatable and highly scalable services offerings.  

Key Take-aways: 

[8:36] How the execution of hard problem starts with people, and why the most interesting opportunity in tech, is improving customer experiences in EVERYTHING. 

[10:48] Being data informed, to then be data driven – why risk taking and understanding the results of those risks is a critical feedback loop to being data driven. 

[19:40] How data accessibility (data democratization) promotes risk taking – why understanding the outcomes of any decisions made within a business, promotes empathy and meritocratic cultures. 

[32:00] The future of data infrastructure, and how data streaming is an enabler for everything: apps and experiences. 

[40:39] The power of event driven systems, automation in data infrastructure, access, and closing the loop on the true power of data democratization. 

[46:00] How Slower as an engineering business, looks at process and process engineering – solving for patterns, and the power of planning and curiosity in everything Slower does.  

[54:22] The specialness of charitable work in providing capability and opportunity across a collective society, and why this is important to unlocking deeper human potential. 

Resources:   

 Contact Slower: [email protected]  

Contact Rikin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therikinshah/  

The Data Driven Enterprise of 2025:  

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-data-driven-enterprise-of-2025 

The Rise of the Digital Incumbent:  

https://www.bcg.com/publications/2022/rise-of-digital-incumbents-building-digital-capabilities  

Optimizing Apache Kafka’s Internals with It’s Co-Creator Jun Rao 

https://developer.confluent.io/podcast/optimizing-apache-kafkas-internals-with-its-co-creator-jun-rao/  

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Thank you for listening!

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Learn more about the Data Binge Podcast at www.thedatabinge.com

Connect with Derek:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekwesleyrussell/

Email: [email protected]

Just 6 months ago, who would have known that words like "NFT", "metaverse", and "web 3.0" would be high interest topics of discussion amongst friends, text threads and corporate brand strategies.

At an estimated $23B market size, NFT's could change the world as we know it this year...YES, in 2022.

Heather Parady and Rich Cardona, are joining this LIVE "The Data Binge Podcast" discussion to talk to us about NFT's.

Heather and Rich are Hosts of "NFT's for Newbies", a podcast ALL ABOUT NFT's, focused on their combined journeys of navigating the world of the NFT from a beginners perspective. "NFT's for Newbies" surpassed 200,000 downloads as of December of 2021, in less than 4 months from the start of the podcast. With the light and educational approach that Heather and Rich take in their discovery of this fascinating new world, there are take-aways for anyone willing to have fun and learn all about NFT's.

Key themes and discussion points:

🔷The fundamentals of learning and navigating a completely new digital universe: NFT's - How Heather and Rich got started.

🔷The misconceptions, critical ideas, and areas of general interest Heather & Rich have observed in their research and from their hyper growing audience.

🔷How individuals, and corporate brands should be thinking about NFT's, and how to get started.

Key Take-aways:

[9:57] The story of how Rich and Heather collaborated and created a powerhouse podcast about NFTs

[16:04] On reproducing digital products, and how one can gain value out of it? What makes a good NFT?

[21:09] NFTs can evolve throughout the years and bring us access to this new form of utility

[27:04] Pitfalls to avoid when you buy NFTs

[27:48] Doing research for verified accounts and ensuring that you’re buying from the right creator

[29:27] Taking the time to necessary to educate yourself on the NFT world

[35:29] The ethos of the NFTs for Newbies show: to bring more people on board, artists, creatives, business owners, who can jump in and make some good money, make good connections and be a leader in their realm

[38:50] What is NIL, and how can you monetize them?

[40:57] Tokenizing real estate as NFTs to make transactions much easier

[44:06] NFTs will challenge the creativity of businesses

[47:53] The human nature of the NFT world

Memorable Quotes:

[13:53] “The lesson that I learned from this is to lean on to the truth, and own the truth.”- Heather Parady

[19:43] “What matters is that businesses are starting to pay attention to technology and decentralizing finance.”- Rich Cardona

[27:33] “Investing in a project is investing in a business essentially. “- Heather Parady

[43:11] “You have an opportunity here to be the voice in your industry for NFTs.”- Heather Parady

[48:20] “Technology didn’t change us; it elevated who we already were.” -Heather Parady

Resources:
🎧 Stream NFT's for Newbies in any of your favorite places to listen to podcasts, including Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nfts-for-newbies/id1581483443

NFTs for Newbies on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nfts4newbies/

NFTs for Newbies: https://www.nfts4newbies.com/

Heather Parady on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/heatherparady

Rich Cardona on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/richcardona

Real Estate NFTs: How It Began: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliakarayaneva/2021/11/24/real-estate-nfts-how-it-began/?sh=709260333b12

Raoul Pal & Vitalik Buterin: Building the Value Exchange Layer of the Internet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNpjKZnsdfI

Non-fungible tokens (NFT): https://ethereum.org/en/nft/

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Thank you for listening!

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Interested in starting your own podcast? Some candid advice here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-start-podcast-3-step-gono-go-beginners-guide-derek-russell

Learn more about the Data Binge Podcast at www.thedatabinge.com

Connect with Derek:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekwesleyrussell/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN1c5mzapLZ55ciPgngqRMg/featured

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drussnetwork/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/drussnetwork

Medium: https://medium.com/@derekwesleyrussell

Email: [email protected]

As the technology industry continues to hasten its evolution through continually changing global macro events, accelerating technical advances, and changes in the social constructs of how and why we work, building successful partnerships has never been so important.

Vince Menzione has spent the last 25 years of his career thinking about how to create successful partnerships and joins this LIVE episode of The Data Binge Podcast to highlight a winning framework for how to get partnerships right. As a former Microsoft General Manager of Partner Strategy, host of the Ultimate Guide to Partnering podcast, and founder of the tech consulting firm Ultimate Partnerships, Vince brings an aptitude and energy for partnerships that can drive change in any tech organization.

This discussion will include the following topics:

The 8 principles of partnership success: understanding the very idea of what partnership between organizations means and why it’s increasing in importance

Evolutions in the partner landscape, and the impact of hyper evolving global trends on partner strategy across the tech domain

The power of thought leadership: the learnings from creating a 5-year passion project, “The Ultimate Guide to Partnering”, and lessons of culture, leadership, and the obligation to lead with diverse and inclusive values that reach beyond our typical fields of impact

Key Takeaways:

[1:44] The recent speed of technology from Gaming to NFT’s, to emerging Metaverse experiences

[4:19] How Vince has built and maintained a 5-year podcast hyper focused on the world of successful tech partnerships

[5:22] Vince’s background and career direction, starting as the general manager of US public sector strategies for Microsoft across 9 years

[6:56] The era in which every organization is adapting to the advancements of technology

[11:31] How partnering is a phenomena that is all around us in the business ecosystem

[20:25] Successful mindsets to partnering

[23:39] The importance of building a brand and a brand story

[25:17] Intuitive alignment, communication and adjustment towards success cross organizationally

[28:44] Commitment before focus

[31:02] Thinking differently to build successful ecosystems

[37:39] An insight for people who don’t want to get involved with partnering

[41:13] The three C’s: culture, communication, commitment

[45:11] The partnership manifesto: Why people need to partner better

[46:55] Diversity, inclusion, and leadership

[50:50] On the issue of age discrimination, early retirement, and the lost value of experienced leadership in the tech industry

[56:42] The power of community

Memorable Quotes:

[19:20] - ”I have identified with the work I’ve done over the years that the podcast is a good laboratory. I have over a hundred and thirty guests now that come to the podcast, and I ask every single one of them about partnering; what do they see from the best and why do they fail. I’ve sort of landed on the successful principles on what makes successful partnering.” - Vince Menzione

[28:10] – regarding tech partnering organizations ”were not  really looking at spend, were not really looking at who were talking to in the organization. We're looking at how eager they are to want to work with us on this specific transformational capability.” - Vince Menzione

[38:16] - ”The proof is in the pudding in the sense that organizations will believe, if they see other organizations that are like-minded in the industry that are successful, and we see more of that every day.” - Vince Menzione

[51:20] - ”Learn from other cultures where people who have age and wisdom are valued better.” - Vince Menzione

RESOURCES

Connect with Vince on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincemenzione/

Vince Menzione’s Microsoft US Partner Blog - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/us-partner-blog/author/vincemenzione/

Channels, partnerships & ecosystems: Jay McBain on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaymcbain/

LinkedIn LIVE EVENT Link: https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6872569678066188288/

Thanks for watching!

To access more expertise on partnering in the tech industry, feel free to navigate to https://ultimateguidetopartnering.com/ or reach out to Vince directly on Linkedin!

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*The views and opinions expressed in this discussion are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official position of their employer, Microsoft" 

____

Thank you for listening!

--------------------------------

Learn more about the Data Binge Podcast at www.thedatabinge.com

Connect with Derek:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekwesleyrussell/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN1c5mzapLZ55ciPgngqRMg/featured

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drussnetwork/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/drussnetwork

Medium: https://medium.com/@derekwesleyrussell

Email: [email protected]

How can gaming, benefit our communities?

Albert Dankwa III, content developer on the Microsoft Xbox team, joins this 🎬 LIVE 🎬 episode of The Data Binge Podcast to talk about how gaming, and the tangible benefits of immersive and creative worlds, will change the social constructs of communities impacted by limited access to internet and technology.

Additional re-frames on gaming that we will discuss:

🎮 Albert's experience growing up in South Bronx, and how gaming impacted his life: from gaming, to fashion and photography, to technology.

🎮 How gaming can create exposure to rich dialogues and experiences, that can change the perception of the world, while helping audiences develop hard skills from story-telling, to coding.

🎮 Why gaming WILL close the digital divide, and how it will impact people on levels that we cannot imagine.

Navigate the Episode:

[5:27] The content creation process around gaming, and the journey of creating proactive content for gamers

[9:16] The opportunity for gaming all-up: A Multi-Billion Dollar Industry

[10:08] As gaming advances, so does technology – how these two facets correlate and evolve together

[14:07] Partnerships, deals, and brand growth in the world of gaming

[16:07] Alberts lived experience in his community and how gaming helped him navigate economic and social challenges: what others can take-away from his story

[21:17] Three community-led ways to promote equity and produce better games

[22:20] Making games more accessible: the importance of access

[27:33] The myriad ways in how to bring games to bring games to everyone

[28:43] New communities of gamers are forming: gaming fosters inclusion and leadership

[29:37] Closing the digital divide

[31:11] How gaming influences child development and growth, and how gaming will ceate the next era of talent

[35:47] The influence and power that gaming possesses

[40:41] Albert’s desire to create more access and introduce diversity in gaming

[44:00] The general access to resources, skill development, and branding that gaming provides

[47:19] What’s next for Albert?

Memorable Quotes:

[11:20]  “Xbox happened to be my heart and my true love.” - Albert Dankwa III

[15:46] “Not everyone can access technologies or gaming hardware.“- Albert Dankwa III

[16:29] “What gaming is doing is that it really opens up the mind and the imagination.”- Albert Dankwa III

Resources:

Connect with Albert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertdankwa

Connect with Albert on Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/alkallus

Breaking the stereotype: the case of online gaming: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12650566/

(3) community-led ways to promote equity and make better games: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-03-3-ways-to-promote-equity-and-make-better-games

How online gaming has become a social lifeline: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20201215-how-online-gaming-has-become-a-social-lifeline

How the pandemic has shifted mobile gaming behaviours worldwide: https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-ssa/consumer-insights/consumer-trends/mobile-casual-gaming-trends/

Thank you for listening!

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*The views and opinions expressed in this discussion are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official position of their employer, Microsoft" 

____

Thank you for listening!

--------------------------------

Learn more about the Data Binge Podcast at www.thedatabinge.com

Connect with Derek:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekwesleyrussell/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN1c5mzapLZ55ciPgngqRMg/featured

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drussnetwork/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/drussnetwork

Medium: https://medium.com/@derekwesleyrussell

Email: [email protected]

ANGEL AID is a non-profit that provides mental health and wellness services for mothers of children with rare diseases. A rare disease is defined as one that affects fewer than 200,000 people. Even amongst accelerating scientific advancement, over 7000 rare diseases are still without cure, and only 5% have treatments. There are 350M people globally with rare diseases - around half are children. Mothers of children with rare diseases, or Rare Mothers, are the primary caregiver 82% of the time.

Today's  conversation is a Simply Tech LIVE interview recorded Wednesday, October 27th, featuring my co-host Ali Mazaheri, and our special guests Cristol Barrett O'Loughlin and Smriti Bhattacharya.

October is ANGEL AID’s month of giving, Wellfest 21, an opportunity to help create visibility and energy around the bold vision of providing relief and inspiration to these communities, by connecting 3.5 million rare mothers by 2025.

Cristol Barrett O’Loughlin, Founder and CEO of ANGEL AID, discusses the organizations mission, the experience of care takers in the rare disease community, and the role of technology and digitization in creating community and impact for non-profits.

Smriti Bhattacharya, a senior software engineer at Microsoft and a Rare Mother, also graces this conversation with her presence so that we can hear her story, gain a little more proximity to ANGEL AID’s mission, and learn more about how we can support these incredible caretakers around the world.

The discussion will include the following topics:

-The challenges that families—especially parents—face when children get diagnosed with chronic conditions or rare diseases

-ANGEL AID’s digitization of its support services during the pandemic

-The rise of conversations about mental health and wellness

-The importance of work-life balance and self-care

Key Take-aways:

[10:18] A quick introduction to Smriti, Cristol, and ANGEL AID

[11:58] What Ali learned when his child was diagnosed with diabetes

[15:02] Smriti’s experience as a Rare Mother

[18:22] How Smriti and Cristol connected when the pandemic impacted ANGEL AID

[24:20] What motivated Cristol to start ANGEL AID

[26:58] How the organization’s journey with Microsoft started

[30:45] What’s next for ANGEL AID from a business standpoint

[35:32] How the organization and tech companies (like Microsoft) support parents who need better work-life balance

[44:30] About Wellfest 21

[47:58] How to support ANGEL AID

Memorable Quotes:

[27:52] “If we’re going to cross borders and cross cultures, then we’re going to need to have multilingual support, so technology is fundamental to our growth plans and growth strategy.” -Cristol Barrett O’Loughlin

[32:22] “Just being reminded and given permission and given inspiration to take care of yourself is so empowering.” -Cristol Barrett O’Loughlin

[32:42] “If the parents are doing well, everybody in the family is going to thrive.” -Cristol Barrett O’Loughlin

[35:34] “Work can be a great escape... Work is self-care especially when you’re working at a company like Microsoft that is sensitized and culturally supportive of work-life balance.” -Cristol Barrett O’Loughlin

[41:28] “How we address and support your community of employees can be really transformational.” -Cristol Barrett O’Loughlin

[43:48] “The roadmap for sustainable wellness in the family is to start with yourself and then echo out from there.” -Cristol Barrett O’Loughlin

Resources:

Connect with Cristol Barrett O’Loughlin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristol-barrett-oloughlin/

Connect with Smriti Bhattacharya on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smritib/

“Hit Refresh” by Satya Nadella: Amazon.com: Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft's Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone eBook : Nadella, Satya, Shaw, Greg, Nichols, Jill Tracie, Gates, Bill: Kindle Store

People With Rare Diseases Need Better Social Support: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/disability-is-diversity/202010/people-rare-diseases-need-better-social-support  

Wellfest 21: ANGEL AID WELLfest '21 - A Global Festival of Wellness Honoring Rare Mothers Around the World (funraise.org)

ANGEL AID ANGEL AID (angelaidcares.org)

*The views and opinions expressed in this discussion are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official position of their employer, Microsoft" 

____

Thank you for listening!

--------------------------------

Learn more about the Data Binge Podcast at www.thedatabinge.com

Connect with Derek:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekwesleyrussell/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN1c5mzapLZ55ciPgngqRMg/featured

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drussnetwork/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/drussnetwork

Medium: https://medium.com/@derekwesleyrussell

Email: [email protected]

Have you ever thought about how many people are struggling with the same sleep issues as you? Many of us struggle with getting enough sleep. Even as the market continues to fill with everything from nose strips, to connected wearables and rings and even weighted blankets, yet we still somehow fail to find the right solutions for sleep. Why is that?

Colin Lawlor is the CEO of SleepScore Labs, a sleep technology organization located in Carlsbad California, with the mission of helping people achieve more full-filling lives and better long term help through their best sleep. In this episode Colin talks about the data trends around sleep that impact our health and wellness at the personal level, the basic components of how technology and sleep come together, all the way through to the future of sleep and how we can better live more productive and full filling lives as platforms for sleep emerge.

The SleepScore app is available for free, in both the App Store for Apple Devices and on Google Play for Android users.

Thank YOU for listening, and we hope you get good sleep tonight.

Navigate the Episode:

[9:02] Getting to know SleepScore Labs and what they do

[12:14] How to measure sleep to manage sleep problems

[17:17] Creating models, insights and personalized recommendations based on data

[19:07] How sleep impacts overall health

[22:45] Understanding sleep technologies and choosing what really works

[25:32] The verticals that influence your sleep

[28:26] Sleep improvements grounded on data and science

[29:46] Why sleep apnea leads to death

[31:39] Understanding the fundamentals of the human body affected by sleep

[40:59] How other industries are creating better ways to help improve sleep

[41:23] The organizations that Sleep Score Labs partners with

[45:18] How SleepScore Labs is bringing their expertise to consumers

[47:17] Choose companies that really care for your sleep

[52:54] Improving health and fitness through improving sleep

[60:17] The impact of alcohol in sleep

[01:02:41] Free app powered by SleepScore Labs

[01:11:10] Colin’s philosophy on better sleep and lifestyle

[01:15:02] The future of sleep and what to look out for from the SleepScore Labs

[01:19:48] Colin’s best advice for people struggling with sleep

Memorable Quotes:

[09:30] “Sleep is an activity we do every day, it's essential to every part of life. The challenge is that billions of people woke up this morning, tired all over the world, every time zone. There are millions of people waking up tired, and that has a huge impact on their lives, productivity, and long-term health. It's a huge issue.” -Colin Lawler

[13:40] “It's essential to be able to measure sleep because we cannot depend on humans' recall in order to understand what's really happening with sleep.” -Colin Lawler

[15:45] “There is no one single solution that actually improves everybody's sleep. The answer is highly personalized.” -Colin Lawler

[55:21] “We believe that sleep has been the missing ingredient of everything to do with health and wellness and health care. So we know that if you have your sleep under control, you will recover.” -Colin Lawler

Resources:

SleepScore Labs: https://www.sleepscore.com/

Download the SleepScore app: https://www.sleepscore.com/sleepscore-app/?rfr=ssl-improvemysleep-button

How Better Sleep May Just Save Your Life (podcast): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-better-sleep-may-just-save-your-life-w-colin-lawlor/id1536378494?i=1000499007398

Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34466963-why-we-sleep

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Sleep and Sleep Disorders: https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/data_statistics.html

Connect with our guests:

Colin Lawlor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinjlawlor/

*The views and opinions expressed in this discussion are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official position of their employer, Microsoft" 

____

Thank you for listening!

--------------------------------

Join the **New Monthly Newsletter** -  Data Binge REFRESH: https://www.derekwesleyrussell.com/newsletter

Interested in starting your own podcast? Some candid advice here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-start-podcast-3-step-gono-go-beginners-guide-derek-russell

Learn more about the Data Binge Podcast at www.thedatabinge.com

Connect with Derek:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekwesleyrussell/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN1c5mzapLZ55ciPgngqRMg/featured

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drussnetwork/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/drussnetwork

Medium: https://medium.com/@derekwesleyrussell

Email: [email protected]

Sustainability is good for both business, and for the planet.  

Dawn James, Microsoft US Director of Sustainability and Environmental Sciences, and Alex Robart, Microsoft Worldwide Strategy Leader for Energy & Sustainability, connect with us to share learning and experiences in how organizations can strategically approach a differentiated way to reach sustainability goals, that create competitive advantages, while also being good for our environment. 

We are joined in this special episode by guest host Bob Familiar, Director of the Microsoft Technology Center in Boston. Bob is an experienced technical leader experiences in technologies that help organizations accelerate their vision to be more sustainable.

Discussion themes will include the following topics:

-How Microsoft leaders in Sustainability, communicate with customers about their sustainability journey: from adoption, to the elements of climate change mitigation

-Equity in decision making, and the importance of how organizations derive and allocate strategies against their sustainability goals

-The business opportunities of the transition to sustainable energy: the effort, the leadership, and the change management needed to successfully reframe the conversation

-Tangible solutions and technologies that fit into the sustainability conversation, and how the Microsoft ecosystem can empower organizations to achieve more for their sustainability goals

Navigate the Episode:

[06:20] An Introduction to the Microsoft Technology Center, and our guests

[07:36] General concepts around sustainability and it’s importance in the business domain

[15:25] How to understand and navigate sustainability in a very complex and evolving climate, from regulation through to organizational business objectives

[16:31] The importance of cross functional ownership, business decisions, and brand for meeting sustainability goals

[20:27] How sustainability is driving changes in customer/consumer behaviors

[22:42] Sustainability as a new business model and source of growth – a mindset shift

[23:30] The basic elements of a sustainability solution. (The 3 R’s)

[33:19] How to get started. How organizations should approach a sustainability strategy

[41:48] The value of data for sustainability. Use cases for data reporting for carbon footprints and energy costs, and how the cloud can accelerate evolving use cases in the data realm

[45:08] The complex challenges in climate change, its disproportionate impact on people and what organizations can do to address them

[48:58] The energy transition. The role of industries most responsible for the future of energy in decision making

[52:32] Technology, and the future of sustainability solutions and strategies

Memorable Quotes:

[19:55] “Sustainability is really having that introspection on who you are as an organization, and where you want to go, and then connecting the dots through digital enablement of that sustainability journey.” -Dawn James

[22:39] “Let's not think of sustainability just as a cost. Let's think about sustainability, as the next growth driver for your business for the next 30 years.” -Alex Robart

[46:38] “We must protect the most vulnerable among us, we must protect the people that are impacted by the most adverse effects of global warming, we have to provide justice. Because for us to have proper accountability for what it is that we're doing, especially if we're using database solutions, and we're pinching those database solutions on trust and transparency, then we must also be accountable.” -Dawn James

Resources:

Dawn James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawnejames/

Alex Robart: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arobart/

Bob Familiar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobfamiliar/

The proliferation of sustainability accounting standards comes with costs: https://www.economist.com/business/2020/10/03/the-proliferation-of-sustainability-accounting-standards-comes-with-costs

Prioritizing Equity in Policy and Decision-making: https://energycenter.org/thought-leadership/blog/prioritizing-equity-policy-and-decision-making

Recycling ocean plastic to help clean up our oceans: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ww/accessories/sustainability/ocean-plastic-mouse

Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sustainability
*The views and opinions expressed in this discussion are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official position of their employer, Microsoft" 

____

Thank you for listening!

--------------------------------

Join the **New Monthly Newsletter** -  Data Binge REFRESH: https://www.derekwesleyrussell.com/newsletter

Interested in starting your own podcast? Some candid advice here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-start-podcast-3-step-gono-go-beginners-guide-derek-russell

Learn more about the Data Binge Podcast at www.thedatabinge.com

Connect with Derek:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekwesleyrussell/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN1c5mzapLZ55ciPgngqRMg/featured

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drussnetwork/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/drussnetwork

Medium: https://medium.com/@derekwesleyrussell

Email: [email protected]

Join the **New Monthly Newsletter** -  Data Binge REFRESH: https://www.derekwesleyrussell.com/newsletter   

Interested in starting your own podcast? Some candid advice here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-start-podcast-3-step-gono-go-beginners-guide-derek-russell 

We have all heard the thematic concepts of why "data" is an emerging natural resource, that is becoming increasingly valuable, and that must be captured, understood, and utilized - but becoming a data centered organization, is not as easy as it sounds.

Edson Crevecoeur, Miami Heat's VP of Strategy & Data Analytics, and the Chief Data Officer for 601 Analytics, is joining this 🎬 LIVE 🎬 episode of the Data Binge Podcast, to talk through how he is helping to change the way that NBA teams use technology to make data driven decisions that increase revenue.

601 Analytics was born out of the Miami Heat organization, as a data platform that helps drive performance in the sports and entertainment industry, by offering a real-time analytics engine, that captures everything from venue attendance, to sale of tickets, to food and beverage items, giving a "real-time view" into business operations for greater customer delight and organizational direction - imagine using real time crowd prediction, to augment venue staff or merchandise selection and marketing.

Edson brings with him an entire career in data and analytics, his voice comes with a wealth of wisdom on all things business, culture, innovation, and of course, DATA - and if you are interested in building new businesses or innovating with the power of data, this episode is for you.

Key Take-aways:

[06:54] The journey into a career in data

[11:22] The inherent power of data as a critical resource to any organization

[12:50] How the pandemic fueled digital transformation in the Sports industry

[13:22] Why data is becoming more important to organizations as an outcome of the global pandemic

[16:20] Basic use cases that demonstrate the power of how 601 Analytics adds business value

[20:07] The emergence of digital athlete cards and other sports related technologies

[24:20] The strategic relationships between data and business

[28:28] The four main points organizations should have to create an internal engine of culture, process, and mindset

[32:46] How to get started: creating new businesses, products, and innovations using data

[39:59] The breaking point moment of launching a new business

[45:48] The importance of diversity inclusion to technology innovation and new business development

Memorable Quotes:

[17:06] “Think about the amount of waste and spoilage you can prevent, if you can predict the number of people that are going to be there specific to where they're going to be sitting, how they're entering the building, and anticipate what sort of needs they could potentially have. I know with our use case, doing this with the Miami Heat, we were able to save up to almost a million dollars in operational costs”. -Edson Crevecoeur

[40:26] “What I realized is that, especially when you're introducing a new product, and that really provides no reference point, or history of prior success or anything of that nature, sometimes you have to give it out for free. Find potential customers who you think would benefit the most from your product and ask them: Hey, why don't you try it out and become that marquee partner to help us refine our product and make it better? As part of that process, well, you get to use our product and get its benefits for free”.  -Edson Crevecoeur

[43:19] “The thing about change is that everybody wants it but no one wants to do it. So you have to demonstrate that the change is worth it”. -Edson Crevecoeur

[46:35] “Our diversity actually gives us a competitive advantage both in being able to find talent where others aren’t looking and being able to engage in a global market. So if you’re in the business or doing business around the world, you have to be able to connect with the people from those regions and form relationships. That’s what I believe diversity is about”. -Edson Crevecoeur

Resources:

601 Analytics https://www.601analytics.com/about/

Edson Crevecoeur: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crevecoeur/

Miami HEAT: https://www.nba.com/heat/

The Miami Heat are on a fast break to innovate: https://news.microsoft.com/transform/miami-heat-fast-break-innovate/

How To Build An Enduring And Successful Data Culture Within Your Organization: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/29/how-to-build-an-enduring-and-successful-data-culture-within-your-organization

How The Pandemic Is Fueling The Digital Transformation Of Sports: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2020/10/15/how-the-pandemic-is-fueling-the-digital-transformation-of-sports

National Hispanic American Heritage Month: https://www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov/

*The views and opinions expressed in this discussion are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official position of their employer, Microsoft" 

____

Thank you for listening!

--------------------------------

Join the **New Monthly Newsletter** -  Data Binge REFRESH: https://www.derekwesleyrussell.com/newsletter

Interested in starting your own podcast? Some candid advice here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-start-podcast-3-step-gono-go-beginners-guide-derek-russell

Learn more about the Data Binge Podcast at www.thedatabinge.com

Connect with Derek:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekwesleyrussell/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN1c5mzapLZ55ciPgngqRMg/featured

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drussnetwork/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/drussnetwork

Medium: https://medium.com/@derekwesleyrussell

Email: [email protected]

Join the **New Monthly Newsletter** -  Data Binge REFRESH: https://www.derekwesleyrussell.com/newsletter   

Interested in starting your own podcast? Some candid advice here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-start-podcast-3-step-gono-go-beginners-guide-derek-russell 

We hear about innovation so much nowadays in the business world - we hear it in company earnings releases, we hear it internally in place of work, and we see it in peoples titles on LinkedIn, but what exactly is Innovation, what is Open Innovation, and how is it changing in our current technology landscape?

Today's conversation is a Simply Tech LIVE interview recorded June 17th, of this year 2021, featuring my co-host Ali Mazaheri, and our special guests Jason Deskin, and Lisa Griego. Jason Deskin is the Chief Technology Officer for Digital Advisory in Microsoft's US West Region business, and in the US Retail & Consumer Goods Business. Lisa, is a Director in the Retail & Consumer Goods business supporting organizations in the West US, and both of these incredible voices are joining this discussion today to talk through the importance of innovation, and how critical it is for different organizations to bring together their strengths and weaknesses to meet unmet market needs. We're going to talk about different ways of approaching problems, and this idea of the "learn it all culture" vs the "know it all culture" - what this actually means and how to deploy curiosity at scale. We're going to talk about empathy and it’s role in innovation, and finally, were going to talk about overcoming the barriers to innovation and how to build programs that can jump start organizational change, differentiation, and maybe even some re-direction.

Technology has never been more important in our world - and understanding how to bring different thinking, mindsets, people, ideas, and cultures together, to stimulate new ideas, WILL be the future of how we create novel innovations and solutions for a very quickly evolving world.

Key Take-aways:

[08:40] Introductions

[11:05] The roles of Chief Data Officer (CDO) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) within Microsoft organization

[12:37] The Idea of Open Innovation

[14:30] What Innovation generally means and “the surgeon’s dilemma”

[15:22] The power of unconscious bias, and how it impacts innovation

[16:16] The innovation toolkit: design thinking, open innovation, business model canvas, and purposeful diversity – how using a series of high impact framework can direct the accelerate of out of the box thinking

[18:48] Mixing industry expertise with a holistic approach through the “Open Innovation Lab” to find new business opportunities.

[24:02] Every company will become a software platform company

[25:00] Business disruption, and how technology organizations help create a competitive edge, through strategic partnerships.

[28:50] The challenges due to Covid and managing open innovation virtually: tools, mindsets, and experiences.

[39:27] Expectations from businesses and organizations betting big on technological transformations

[48:41] The power of diversity in Innovation, lessons learned from empathy and leadership in diverse environments

Memorable Quotes:

[13:20] “Open Innovation really allows you to bring in different people with different backgrounds, with different perspectives. And they have  different types of expertise that may allow you to kinda put aside any bias that you have and work through that.” - Jason Deskin

[17:03] “Technology is evolving at such a fast pace right now that those companies that are able to leverage all the vicarious data that’s out there today to capture those key consumer insights to deliver a differentiated experience, will truly change the world. – Lisa Griego

[46:58] “Sometimes we’re completely starting from scratch which is rare. Oftentimes we’re envisioning something that’s possible that our customers haven’t thought about, we’re bringing a series of different types of capabilities together to rapidly move that journey forward because we don’t want to spend years and years just dreaming about it. We want to make it real. We want to make it happen now!” - Jason Deskin

[51:30] “If we’re gonna create for the world, we have to be represented by the world” - Jason Deskin

Resources:

Contact Guests on LinkedIn

Jason Deskin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasondeskin/

Lisa Griego: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-griego/

Surgeons Dilemma: http://atchub.net/diversity/the-surgeons-dilemma-a-test-for-unconscious-bias

*The views and opinions expressed in this discussion are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official position of their employer, Microsoft" 

____

Thank you for listening!

--------------------------------

Join the **New Monthly Newsletter** -  Data Binge REFRESH: https://www.derekwesleyrussell.com/newsletter

Interested in starting your own podcast? Some candid advice here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-start-podcast-3-step-gono-go-beginners-guide-derek-russell

Learn more about the Data Binge Podcast at www.thedatabinge.com

Connect with Derek:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekwesleyrussell/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN1c5mzapLZ55ciPgngqRMg/featured

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drussnetwork/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/drussnetwork

Medium: https://medium.com/@derekwesleyrussell

Email: [email protected]

Today is a fun discussion for those of you interested in the business implications of the cloud, specifically Azure, and some experiences I have to share about my time at Microsoft working with some of the largest businesses in the world, empowering business value through novel technologies mostly centered around Machine Learning and AI. I am joined in this recorded LIVE discussion by today's host, Bret Cullivan, Azure Applications and Infrastructure, Global Partner Director, at Microsoft.  As you will see, Bret and I really share a lot of ideas around business empowerment through technology, and we talk through a lot of key concepts, learnings, and trends, as Bret hosts the discussion, with the help of his peers moderating the session: Srinivasan Venkatarajan, and Shalini Chandrashekar - Azure Global Partner Directors at Microsoft. We were joined by a LIVE global audience of Microsoft partners, with a total of 175 registrants across (2) LIVE discussions, with folks dialing in from places far beyond the shores of the West Coast where Bret and I are dialing in from.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to today's discussion.

Key Take-aways:

[07:19] A short introduction by Bret Cullivan

[11:32] How to build new skills – experiences as a newcomer in the tech industry

[14:53] A quote from Satya Nadella in a recent CRM Magazine interview, around the criticality of a partner ecosystem in big tech.

[17:04] Emerging trends and data points for how lines of business are leveraging cloud computing, specifically Microsoft Azure

[23:15] The meaning of “outcome selling”, and why it’s never been so important

[30:01] How to have a business decision maker conversation, centered around technology

[32:49] How to start engaging an executive discussion

[37:57] AI and jobs: how to present a perspective on AI to businesses

[43:11] Different methodologies around advocacy, sales, and landing an effective idea across organizations

[51:15] The importance of telling good stories 

Memorable Quotes:

[24:17] “When you’re thinking about outcomes… you’re teaching, you are tailoring, you are taking control. Those are the three specific things that you have to build in an engagement model. We are trying to get into that outcome or that business so that they can then start to transform and translate and traverse all the things that need to happen from an I.T. perspective to activate services, to activate products, to activate cloud consumption, etc. – Derek Russell

[32:55] “One thing I’ve done very well…if you understand what resonates with these people (executive decision makers), you can start there. And the way that you understand what resonates is understanding their strategic priorities.” - Derek Russell

[38:26] “I think the theme of Microsoft, in one of the things we are doing, our AI strategy is to deploy AI everywhere and not to replace or dispose of folks who are in the market but to empower them to do more. – Derek Russell

Resources:

Contact Guests on LinkedIn

Bret Cullivan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bretcullivan/

Srinivasan Venkatarajan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/srinivasanvenkatarajan/

Shalini Chandrashekar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shalini-chandrashekar-95a08b5/

Microsoft Azure: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/

CRM Magazine: https://www.crn.com/slide-shows/cloud/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-10-boldest-statements-from-crn-s-exclusive-interview

Brand Storytelling: Put Customers at the Heart of Your Brand Story authored by Miri Rodriguez: https://mirirod.com/en/

*The views and opinions expressed in this discussion are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official position of their employer, Microsoft" 

____

Thank you for listening!

--------------------------------

Join the **New Monthly Newsletter** -  Data Binge REFRESH: https://www.derekwesleyrussell.com/newsletter

Interested in starting your own podcast? Some candid advice here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-start-podcast-3-step-gono-go-beginners-guide-derek-russell

Learn more about the Data Binge Podcast at www.thedatabinge.com

Connect with Derek:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekwesleyrussell/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN1c5mzapLZ55ciPgngqRMg/featured

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drussnetwork/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/drussnetwork

Medium: https://medium.com/@derekwesleyrussell

Email: [email protected]