HOW TO BOOST DATA LITERACY

Data literacy is becoming a critically important talent to embrace in an age of growing digital transformation. As you’re aware, we’re often called on to provide thought leadership surrounding topics such as this by Fortune 500 leaders and startups in every space. Just a few recent topics we’ve been asked to research and explore relating to it can be found below:

To Boost Tech Literacy, Make IT and Security Education More Approachable − Everyday audiences are often baffled by technology topics, and slow to understand the importance of adopting best practices in security − largely because we struggle to make these topics relatable to them and their everyday needs, and present subjects in a very dry, dull, and unengaging manner. But by reframing many training and education efforts as role-playing exercises (grounded in real-world scenarios), shrinking course times (e.g. by letting 5-minute videos do what 3-hour workshops would), translating learning modules into brief animated clips they can consume on their own time and at their own pace, etc. we can do loads to make IT security topics more digestible and relatable.

To Build a Diverse Organization, Change Your Thinking and Perspective − Diversity is the ultimate source of competitive advantage − but it means more than employing individuals from different cultural backgrounds: It also requires us to embrace diverse of thought, opinion, and perspective. That often means including members of different generations (including Gen Y and Z) in planning and leadership efforts (as they’re the ones often most experienced and informed about new technologies and trends) and actively taking steps to surround yourself with individuals with different professional backgrounds, training and experiences.

Talking Bout My High-Tech Generation: Connecting with Every Audience − Millennials and Gen Zers are now the single biggest segment of the workforce − but they process information, learn, communicate, and think about the world in vastly different ways than their predecessors. Companies need to know how to redesign IT, security, and professional development programs to better speak to these audiences, and how to create career development and job opportunities that better resonate with this crowd. It’s crucial to discuss how organizations should be rethinking IT leadership, training, and development for tomorrow’s audiences.