E25: Nitin Seth - Mastering Data in the AI Age

“Storytelling is not about glibness. Storytelling is not about verbosity. Storytelling is not just about your confidence or doing it though it is an important aspect of it. Storytelling is fundamentally about the clarity of what you are saying."

That is Nitin Seth, Co-Founder and CEO of Incedo Inc. and author of the recent bestseller, 'Mastering the Data Paradox’. This 600-page tome provides leaders with a detailed blueprint for making the most of the data opportunity in the AI age.

I often say that ‘data is the new oil, storytelling is the new refinery’. Well, this book opened my eyes to the multiple layers of refining that data has to go through before it is ready for the storytelling step.

In the book, Nitin explains why managing the data explosion is so challenging and what large firms should do to win in the data-first world we live in. He proposes a ‘Unified Solutions Framework’ – a 13-point plan for success. The comprehensive framework covers several diverse aspects including customer problem definition, managing multi-source data, building your data stack, data security and quality, data culture and managing data talent. 

Nitin knows what he’s talking about. After leading the Mckinsey Knowledge Centre and Fidelity International’s operations in India, he was the COO at Flipkart. Currently, as the co-founder and CEO of Incedo Inc., a Data and AI consulting firm, Nitin works with leaders of several Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies to help them navigate the data-first world.

In this conversation, we dive into three broad themes.

One, Nitin’s own journey as a storyteller. He starts with an evocative IIT-Delhi story when he roused a bunch of lazy hostelites into cheering for their badminton team (just like the movie Chichhore!). He speaks about his work convincing sceptical audiences - from union workers to board members – at large companies like Tata Steel. Nitin also shares a ‘failure story’ of when his pitch to a senior internal audience at McKinsey did not work, and what he learnt from that experience. 

Two, we move on to the contents of the book itself. Data is a paradox – most organisations want more of it, but don’t know what to do with the amount they have. They are spending hundreds of millions of dollars, if not more on data transformation projects, but the impact of the spend is questionable. Nitin cuts through all the noise and brings some clarity to this messy world of data. Some of his key insights are
- The importance of KPI Trees or Issue trees as a starting point in a data project
- The need to think of data as products you make with the user in mind and not as an asset that you have control over
- The need to connect, or integrate insights from data like a ‘sutradhar’ or narrator

Finally, we speak about the implications of the book for data professionals. Nitin speaks about the need for data professionals to develop 'T-Shaped' capabilities. Depth in one or two specific areas of data (for instance an industry like insurance or a function like CRM) and breadth in horizontal skills like problem-solving and storytelling.

Personally, I was also mighty impressed by how Nitin worked outside his main office hours from 10 pm to 1 am for 3 years to find the time to write this book. 

I’m sure you’ll walk away with several rich insights and ideas after listening to this fascinating conversation.

Let’s dive in.

Further links:
- Nitin's website and LinkedIn, Twitter profiles
- The book's website
- Incedo Inc