CDG #11: Startup Whiplash, Consulting Rants, and a Cynical Return
I have been a little quiet the past month. I changed jobs going to a small startup and that has sucked up most of my time. I am now starting to settle into the early startup rhythm (and gaining a viscerally understanding of the phrase “Running a startup is like changing tires while driving”). Combine that with family that insists on wanting to spend time with me and my free time has been severely limited. But I am committed to getting more content out soon and on a semi-regular basis. Starting with a look at my job hunt and the job market in general (spoiler: it is crazy out there).
With that out of the way, we have a new Cynical Data Guy appearance on
! This one touched on one of favorite topics to rant about1: How Big Consulting is the cause of and only winner of every hype cycle. Not even (who runs a consulting company) could come up with a positive take, it came down to Eric trying to defend the honor of the McKinsey’s and BCGs of the world. He tried valiantly but ultimately (in my opinion) came up short.
Highlights from this week’s conversation include:
The Cynical Data Guy Returns (1:11)
Klarna's AI Shift (2:08)
Sensational Headlines in Tech (4:31)
Impact of AI on Jobs (8:19)
Cost of AI Strategy (10:21)
Consulting Strategies and Company Differentiation (12:26)
Brand Recognition in Consulting (14:48)
Critique of Outsourcing Thought (17:10)
Future of Consulting with AI (19:37)
The Fragility of Data Systems (21:32)
Primitive Data Stacks (24:05)
Cynical Data Scientist Epitaph (00:26:06)
Rebranding Data Science (27:40)
Parting Thoughts and Takeaways (30:14)
Other topics include: Why I hate notebooks (of the Jupyter variety); How Boomer caused most of our current problems and now won’t go away to let us fix them; How we have lost the ability to actually complete things; and How amazing Ted Lasso is (they can’t all be negative)