For thirty years, “best practices” in data have delivered bigger platforms, thicker slide decks, and disappointing outcomes. The problem isn’t technology. It’s mindset.

The Data Hero Playbook reveals how limiting beliefs—learned helplessness, all-or-nothing thinking, externalized blame—have kept data from becoming truly transformational. The cure is a growth mindset, put into action through practical steps any data professional can take.

You’ll discover how to:

• Put customers at the center of every decision.
• Apply product management principles to data work.
• Quantify value in revenue, cost savings, and risk reduction.
• Run data as if it were a P&L.
• Deliver fast wins with a Data Strategy MVP in weeks, not months.

Unflinching about what hasn’t worked yet unapologetically hopeful about what’s next, this book is a call to arms for data leaders ready to escape the status quo.

If you want to stop explaining why data should matter and start proving it with measurable results, The Data Hero Playbook is your guide. Become the data hero your company actually needs.

MALCOLM HAWKER is a data strategy and management leader with over 25 years’ experience in the industry. He has authored industry-defining research and has consulted to some of the world’s largest businesses on their data and analytics strategies. He’s a frequent public speaker on data and analytics best practices.