Value Driven Data Science: Boost your impact. Earn what you’re worth. Rewrite your career algorithm.

[00:00:00] Dr Genevieve Hayes: Hello, and welcome to Your Value Boost from Value Driven Data Science, the podcast that helps data scientists transform their technical expertise into tangible business value, career autonomy, and financial reward. I'm Dr. Genevieve Hayes, and I'm here again with Danny Ruspandini, director of Impact Labs Australia, to turbocharge your data science career in less time than it takes to run a simple query.
[00:00:29] In today's episode, you'll learn how to identify your untouchable advantage as a data scientist, the unique combination of experiences and qualities that make you impossible to replace. Welcome back Danny.
[00:00:43] Danny Ruspandini: Thanks, Genevieve.
[00:00:44] Dr Genevieve Hayes: In our previous episode together, we discussed your one shiny object concept where you basically encourage and help solopreneurs to package their expertise into clear, valuable offerings.
[00:00:59] And we looked at how that framework could potentially be used by data science employees who are looking to create their own niche within their internal work. Now, we didn't get into the steps of that framework, but one step in that framework involves identifying what you refer to as your untouchable advantage.
[00:01:22] Danny Ruspandini: Mm-hmm.
[00:01:23] Dr Genevieve Hayes: Now whether you choose to make use of the rest of the one shiny object framework or not, I think just this step alone is something that could potentially benefit a lot of data scientists when it comes to growing their careers. So Danny, can you walk our listeners through this Untouchable Advantage concept?
[00:01:46] Danny Ruspandini: Yeah, it's probably been. Surfaced in other ways online. So things like your USP unique selling point I kind of extend that a little bit because particularly again, working with solo business owners, the person is the whole business and every part of that person is gonna have some influence on the business.
[00:02:09] And I can tell plenty of stories about. Where my own situation affected work, but there's a point where I realized that a lot of those things for me a couple of times it was detrimental. It got in the way. Generally though, they're features.
[00:02:22] They're not bugs. Your uniqueness is a feature of. Whether it's your business or how you show up to employment and some of the things that influence your untouchable advantage are the obvious things like work experience, life experience the reputation you've garnered over years of working in that area.
[00:02:42] Your knowledge, but also things like cultural influences family influences your relationships. We talked previously about things that make you nerd out. Those kind of topics that light you up, all of that stuff feeds into your absolutely untouchable advantage, which is, even if you've got the same job title as three or five or 10 or 5,000 other people, it doesn't mean that you're gonna be a carbon copy of each other just because you do the same role and have the same university.
[00:03:13] Degree. There's all this other stuff that feeds into it and for better or worse, some of the challenges in your life will be things that you bring to work that will strengthen your view on life and your view on how you treat people, how you interact with people.
[00:03:31] Dr Genevieve Hayes: Okay, this is interesting. So most people, when they think of their competitive edge, they just think of the things that they would put on their resume,
[00:03:39] Danny Ruspandini: Hmm.
[00:03:39] Dr Genevieve Hayes: but you're extending this beyond that to basically every aspect of a person's life.
[00:03:45] Danny Ruspandini: Pretty much. I mean, you're always in charge of how much you choose to share or not share. And I'm not necessarily even talking about sharing. This is not about posting all of your flaws on LinkedIn or anything like that. It's more just about recognizing that maybe some part of your upbringing influences how you feel about finance or some part of where you live right now influences how you view the world.
[00:04:14] I'm talking in very abstract terms, one of the nice examples I have in my life is that, so my, my whole family's Italian and I've got aunties and uncles who are all hilarious and one of my aunties is close to 90 and she says this. Thing when we are over at her house and she puts on a big spread and at the end we're packing up and putting things away and there's a little bit of salad in a bowl.
[00:04:36] We've all had this one. Everyone's too full to eat it, but no one wants to throw it away. So she says in Italian, which sounds a bit funnier, put it in the fridge, we'll throw it out tomorrow. And I'm sure a lot of people can relate to this because it's, not too much to eat, not enough to throw away or whatever it is.
[00:04:49] And. It's just one of those awareness things in her where she's gone. I know some people here are gonna struggle to throw that away. I don't really care what happens with it. Pop it in the fridge and when no one's looking tomorrow, I can finally throw it away. And it's just one of those things that's really permeated my brain.
[00:05:10] And she has this ability to just kind of meet the room where it's at. She won't say, just throw it out because she knows that'll trigger her daughter. She won't force someone else to eat it because she knows that's not the right thing to do either. So she's just got a nice, funny way of just sort of appeasing everyone for now.
[00:05:32] I've got dozens of examples like that from my aunties and uncles alone. And those kind of little things have influenced the way I, talk to people and how I try and do the same thing where I try and mediate and be diplomatic and not offend people. And I'm not saying it's a good or a bad thing, it's just a part of my personality that I'm aware of.
[00:05:54] Dr Genevieve Hayes: Yeah, I totally understand. So looking at my own experiences, so with my family, both my parents. Parents have arts degrees and they aren't mathematical at all, and they ended up with me as a daughter and going through particularly year 11 and 12 and university after that. Yeah, I was doing all these math science type subjects and my parents didn't have a clue what I was talking about.
[00:06:25] I remember having all these dinner table conversations where they'd say, oh, what did you do today in school? And I'd say, oh, we learned about this, this, and this in maths or physics or chemistry. And my parents who love me very much would look at me and they'd try very hard to understand me.
[00:06:43] And then my dad would say something like, so is that a good thing or a bad thing? And, and what it really helped me to do was to realize that not everyone knows what I'm talking about. And it caused my communication style to evolve to how can I explain everything that I'm doing to people who do not have the same background as me?
[00:07:06] It made me very aware of the fact that. Not everyone has taken data science or maths or physics or chemistry or whatever it is. And so after doing that from, teenage years onwards, that's how I just naturally talk to pretty much everyone. Now I just assume that they don't necessarily know what I'm talking about and bring them along from the ride and
[00:07:33] it turns out works really well if you have to present to a boardroom full of executives.
[00:07:41] Danny Ruspandini: Yeah. Who probably dunno. What you're talking about.
[00:07:44] Dr Genevieve Hayes: Yeah, exactly. Because well, they hired me to be a data scientist because they don't have those skills. So yeah, that's sounds like an example
[00:07:51] Danny Ruspandini: Yeah. Right. Yeah. Yeah. It's a great example. And to put you in that same bucket again, like you'll have a cohort of people who have done the same training as you, who probably didn't grow up with, parents with arts degrees that they had to explain every day. What they were doing. And like you said, that's something that just gives you an extra tool in your tool bag that is a little bit more unique than.
[00:08:17] Each of the other data scientists who did your same degree, who each have their own thing that makes them unique. And yeah, I'm really trying to step around this whole thing of there's a real push at the moment for people to build personal brands. I'm trying to avoid that term 'cause it kind of grosses me out a little bit.
[00:08:34] But, this is the kind of thing that I think would influence something like that where, in this ridiculous sea of millions of people where we're all trying to stand out in some way that might be different in the in. Once you're an employee, you're probably not trying to stand out so much anymore.
[00:08:51] As a solo business owner, we're always trying to stand out a little bit and finding these unique little things that make us just that tiny bit different to everyone else. They can be really valuable because even for me. As a business coach, there are millions of us, and I am not the best choice in that sea, but there will be one little thing.
[00:09:14] A couple of little things that I have in my background that they relate to. And that's the thing that we connect on. Not because I'm a business coach, not because I've been a creative, not because of any of those other more obvious things, but it might be because I'm Italian or it might be because I play basketball, or it might be because I'm an awkward introvert.
[00:09:32] Or it might be one of a million other things.
[00:09:35] Dr Genevieve Hayes: I would say that in a workplace, you also need to stand out because even though yes, you wanna fit into a certain degree, you do not wanna be just seen as a generic data resource. Because if that's the case, then why would your stakeholders choose you for a project instead of the person sitting next to you.
[00:09:59] Danny Ruspandini: Yeah. Yeah. Fair.
[00:10:00] Dr Genevieve Hayes: And the fact is, some of the reasons why I've been able to build relationships with different stakeholders is, for example, one of my stakeholders in one job I became good friends with because we had a lot of conversations about the Marvel Cinematic universe. Just little things like that that you can't fake. Yeah.
[00:10:24] Danny Ruspandini: You're right. I was thinking when I said that and not, don't wanna stand out so much at work. I was thinking that once you've got the job and you're employed, then you're probably not thinking about marketing yourself in that same sort of way. It's a different way.
[00:10:36] The other thing I wanna shine light on is for all the introverts like me who are hearing this, and it sounds like we're saying. You need to shout and be loud about your differences. But one of the things that will make you unique is if you are not that kind of person and you are quieter and you are more focused and you don't like to interact and you wanna put your headphones on, they're all features as well.
[00:11:01] It's not about being the loudest person, it's about owning. The uniqueness and not trying to fit what everyone else is doing. 'cause that's when you stand out in the wrong way, so yeah, it's not about shouting, it's not about being loud, it's just about owning your uniqueness.
[00:11:15] Dr Genevieve Hayes: I think it's about , being the best version of you. So I'm not saying be you, because in some cases there are some things that you don't want to be if you have any. Gross personal habits. Please don't be, you
[00:11:27] Danny Ruspandini: No, don't be that. You
[00:11:28] Dr Genevieve Hayes: don't be that version of you. But also don't try and hide a part of yourself because you think that you should try and fit in a cookie cutter malt.
[00:11:37] Danny Ruspandini: Yeah, exactly. And something that I know it comes up for a lot of people, is if you do get to a point of doing something like publishing whether it's an email or publishing on LinkedIn. Or anything like that, even if it's internal. Something that took me many years to embrace was that I try and write similar to how I talk and I now intentionally try and do it.
[00:12:01] Because it's very easy to formalize yourself when you're writing. And something that I recognized was that when I write the way I talk, the response is a little bit different. And I cringe less when I read back on my own writing if I've written it the way I talk. And it also helps with things like, if you're ever using AI helpers to help you write, I can see that it's me that's written it it's a hard thing to accept and do to write the way you speak.
[00:12:34] Dr Genevieve Hayes: That's the approach I've taken for pretty much my whole career. 'cause basically the way I do it is when I'm writing, I talk to myself and this is a mildly embarrassing thing to do in the office. I don't talk loudly, but I'll just. People have seen me work. They will actually see my lips moving while I'm writing.
[00:12:55] And I've actually had people come up to me and say, Genevieve, are you talking to yourself? And it's like. Yes. Okay. But yeah, I'll do that. , Because I start talking what I wanna do and then I just take dictation from myself and the feedback I've gotten from what I write is that it's very easy to read because of that conversational style.
[00:13:20] So that's the easiest way I think to. Write the way you speak, just literally speak it and then just type what you're saying.
[00:13:30] Danny Ruspandini: Yeah. Interesting. Right, right, right. I've had to go the other way because I do it all in my head and it all comes out as a formal corporate speak nonsense thing, and then I have to undo it and it's just so much easier to, yeah. To, how would I actually say this?
[00:13:46] Dr Genevieve Hayes: Yeah. But try not to have your lips moving if you're in an open plan office, if you don't want people to think you're weird, although your weirdness in that respect might be a,
[00:13:56] Danny Ruspandini: could be, yeah, that's one you we can link. Exactly.
[00:14:00] Dr Genevieve Hayes: So what's one specific action our listeners can take tomorrow to start building or highlighting their untouchable advantage?
[00:14:08] Danny Ruspandini: Think about things that are a little bit unique, so like. How you mentioned the talking to yourself thing, which I don't think you should shy away from 'cause I think that's kind of cool. Or the one that I mentioned about, having certain family influences. It's not so much about digging for something.
[00:14:27] You don't have to go far into your past or deep into you to try and find something unique. It's just sort of like, look around you., And you'll probably find that there are more things that are interesting and unique about you than you originally thought. A nice way that some of my clients have done this is they've just asked their partners or their family and they surface really interesting things like that.
[00:14:49] Talking to yourself thing might be something that people don't realize they're doing until someone points it out, so, yeah.
[00:14:56] Dr Genevieve Hayes: That's good and also look at what people are giving you for your birthday and Christmas because people are picking up on what sort of person you are and the things that you like probably better than you are.
[00:15:08] Danny Ruspandini: That's a good tip. I like that one.
[00:15:09] Dr Genevieve Hayes: And that's a wrap for today's value boost. But if you want more insights from Danny, you're in luck.
[00:15:16] We've got a longer episode with Danny where we explore how applying a solo business mindset to your data science career can help you take control of your professional destiny, increase your value within organizations, and create opportunities that others miss. And it's packed with no nonsense advice for turning your data skills into serious clout, cash, and career freedom.
[00:15:40] You can find it now wherever you found this episode or at your favorite podcast platform. Thanks for joining me again, Danny,
[00:15:48] Danny Ruspandini: Thanks, Genevieve. Lots of fun.
[00:15:50] Dr Genevieve Hayes: and for those in the audience, thanks for listening. I'm Dr. Genevieve Hayes, and this has been Value-Driven Data Science.