As documented by John Scott
I have served as Walmart’s vice president of global finance technology and innovation for nearly five years. When you are in a position to lead engineers and technologists, and you are striving to advance the capabilities of a company or a function, you have to understand what is feasible and possible technically. You have to understand how you can apply that technology practically to achieve the outcomes you seek. I wanted to learn more about what data science can do to accomplish such tasks and better understand the capabilities that exist so that I can apply them in other opportunities. I enrolled in Simplilearn’s Professional Certificate Program In Data Science with Purdue University.
The Importance of Upskilling
Life is a learning journey, and you should always look to learn. Everyone has their learning style, and you must stay plugged into what’s happening in the industry. Upskilling is important so that you can apply current learnings to solve business problems that have existed for years. You will have better solutions that way.
How Upskilling Helps Senior Leadership
As a senior leader, you should know what your weaknesses are, and you should always choose to fill those gaps. Technology has taken a quantum leap in the last five years. There have been many changes, such as the ability to move massive amounts of data, the cloud, sharing computers across different geographies, accessing vast amounts of data, and synthesizing that data into something meaningful quickly. Although you can understand the theoretical component of it at a high level, knowing the actual technology behind it can give you a better framework of what’s possible. Knowing that is what upskilling does for anyone.
Professionals Need to Stay on Top of Change
Yes, the expectation is that we all should seek opportunities to get better. If you are not improving yourself, you fall further and further behind daily. If you are not going forward, everyone else is leaving you behind. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to take a year-long program, but the dedication to improve and grow in specific areas is important.
Data Science Can Improve Business Insights
If you choose to upskill yourself, you already know that there is some deficit. I admit that I needed to upskill. I am in numerous business meetings where we discuss daily challenges. The challenges today are far more complex and require a significant amount of understanding. You have to know how the manipulation or acquisition of data can be applied to a given process. It can improve insights, get financial results, or help make determinations. I realized that data science is one methodology we can apply. It helped me to have that context and understand the process and steps needed to accomplish those goals.
