"Making Data Work" by Edosa Odaro

Introduction

I met Edosa Odaro back in March 2020 when I was attending Data Centre World. He gave a presentation on Diversity and Inclusion where he left a profound impression on me. When I reached out to him after presentation he was very gracious in taking my questions and also accepting my invitation to connect on LinkedIn.

During the pandemic we both found ourselves between roles and I would also like to share that he was a great source of support despite not having known each other very long.

Regarding the book I was expecting a lot of great things and I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed. It’s theme focuses on the importance of extracting the value of the data in your business. Edosa’s background as a senior leader in Data and Digital Transformation for a number of prestigious, well-known brands mainly across London’s Financial services industry. His gravitas is very evident in his clear communication style combined with rich narrative.

He structures the book by taking you through his background then the key parts of his career across multiple digital transformations all looking to solve the data value equation before returning back to a triumphant conclusion

Dealing with some of the lesser discussed elements of getting to grips with the complex business challenges data provides through a number of critical perspectives in finding that sweet spot between interactional speed and frictionless scale.

For example, effective execution and thinking about the various desired outcomes and what Edosa eloquently describes as the silo paradox, not just data, but people and teams within and across the organization – with handling the friction and interactions being a key theme.

Also key was navigating the political nuances of managing diversity and inclusion in an area where talent management is key to success. These are challenges I’ve experienced myself leading a digital transformation project of big data where very talented people are a constant flight risk and do eventually move on for better opportunities even at critical points in the project.

In terms of the overall style, Edosa’s storytelling is masterful and he demonstrates his ability to articulate complex ideas in a way that is understandable, even if not relatable. This is because the reader may not have worked on the coalface of digital transformation and that is an amazing feat.

He’s clearly been in the thick of large scale transformation and the writing shows his ability to expand with clarity some very complex relationships between concepts relating to global organizations who are looking to get to grips with their big data challenges.

Without over-emphasizing the point he stresses the importance of challenging the status quo, but also appreciating the reason why existing institutional structures and hierarchies exist even when they’re no longer fit for purpose.

Overall, a great read and I can say with confidence that I found great value in the insights provided. It is a fresh and valuable take on digital transformation with data that aims to solve how to extract the real value from data and I believe Edosa does that exceptionally well!

If you want to purchase the book you can get it here on Amazon (this is not an affiliate link!)