HBR Insights Future of Business Boxed Set (8 Books)

6

PRIORITIZE WHICH DATA SKILLS YOUR COMPANY NEEDS

by Chris Littlewood

Data skills—the skills to turn data into insight and action—are the driver of modern economies. According to the World Economic Forum, computing and mathematically focused jobs are showing the strongest growth, at the expense of less quantitative roles (see figure 6-1).¹

So whether it’s to maximize the part we play in data-driven economic growth, or simply to ensure that we and our teams remain relevant and employable, we need to think about transitioning to a more data-skewed skill set. But which skills should we focus on? Can most of us expect to keep pace with this trend ourselves, or would we be better off retreating to shrinking areas of the economy, leaving data skills ...