Oh the SLOTH acronym feels so on point! I don't feel like it's tortured, but it's probably because I've seen each of these in my career as well.
Your framing of the Dreaming SLOTH -- including the recommendation to avoid them if you can -- resonates especially well. My experience with a Dreaming SLOTH was someone who avoided engaging in the data landscape that was already well-established and leveraged by the rest of the org, had lofty opinions about what else we _should_ be doing, but importantly didn't have the track record of using that data for clear impact. Months of coaching didn't really have an impact, the only thing that led to change was when they left their role.
One question though, and maybe I am hijacking your post, but how do you handle it if the SLOTH is either you or someone in the Data team?
You described some SLOTHs as: "When presented with data, they are likely to be overwhelmed with indecision, want to see more metrics, segmentations and pivots." But we have all been there when the data is inconclusive; one more pivot, one more extra data source or one new analysis model will certainly give better results! Or maybe not...
How would you advice when to continue or when one shoud "throw the towel in the ring" and start working on another task? Thanks in advance!
This is a great question since data folks are just as capable of being SLOTHs as anyone else. I would say that whatever type of SLOTH you think you or your data teammate are, the same advice for that type should apply, and as always, keep a mind toward what actions or decisions the work you're doing will influence. If you're not sure digging any deeper will reveal more useful information, consider sharing the work you're doing with someone else for feedback. It'll help you hone in on what's important much more quickly if you seek out a second opinion
Oh the SLOTH acronym feels so on point! I don't feel like it's tortured, but it's probably because I've seen each of these in my career as well.
Your framing of the Dreaming SLOTH -- including the recommendation to avoid them if you can -- resonates especially well. My experience with a Dreaming SLOTH was someone who avoided engaging in the data landscape that was already well-established and leveraged by the rest of the org, had lofty opinions about what else we _should_ be doing, but importantly didn't have the track record of using that data for clear impact. Months of coaching didn't really have an impact, the only thing that led to change was when they left their role.
Thanks for the acronym. I liked it!
One question though, and maybe I am hijacking your post, but how do you handle it if the SLOTH is either you or someone in the Data team?
You described some SLOTHs as: "When presented with data, they are likely to be overwhelmed with indecision, want to see more metrics, segmentations and pivots." But we have all been there when the data is inconclusive; one more pivot, one more extra data source or one new analysis model will certainly give better results! Or maybe not...
How would you advice when to continue or when one shoud "throw the towel in the ring" and start working on another task? Thanks in advance!
This is a great question since data folks are just as capable of being SLOTHs as anyone else. I would say that whatever type of SLOTH you think you or your data teammate are, the same advice for that type should apply, and as always, keep a mind toward what actions or decisions the work you're doing will influence. If you're not sure digging any deeper will reveal more useful information, consider sharing the work you're doing with someone else for feedback. It'll help you hone in on what's important much more quickly if you seek out a second opinion
Thanks for your reply!
Of course, thank you for the question!