Here I am writing “A divergent begins…” for the second time, 2 and a half years later (You can find that post on Medium here). Yet, this time with my own website and coming off an inspirational 2 weeks in California this one should definitely be sticking.
Now you may be asking,
“Well Lawrence why are you writing this again?”
Valid question.
When I first attempted to launch Data Divergent in 2022 I only got part way and when I didn’t have everything I wanted put together, like a website with a blog and portfolio, I had major bouts of anxiety that brought me to not finalizing it all. With the launch of this new website, all thanks to the help of my best friend & graphic design Kristen Coats (check out her work for me & others like Kyle Massey), I feel renewed in this endeavor.
This new site is not the main reason I am launching Data Divergent though. The main reason is that I was very recently reminded of my WHY.
WHY I focused my career onto People Analytics, WHY I love the Tableau Community and am a Social Ambassador, WHY I enjoy mentoring people, WHY I have such a passion for DEI, and WHY I am passionate about the work I do:
Because I get the most energy, inspiration, and joy from helping & seeing others learn, grow, and succeed.
What brought me back to understanding this simple concept was someone I had met, that I now consider a friend, at Tableau Conference in San Diego this year. We had met around conference and in getting to know them I found out that they were new to using Tableau, attending their first conference by themself, and visiting the US for the first time. After learning all this I offered to connect with them throughout the week and in doing so was able to introduce them to others in the Tableau Community, hear about what they were learning, show them sessions that some might not attend their first conference, and see how much joy they were getting out of it all. It is thanks to this one individual, and remembering those like Christina Gorga and Sarah Bartlett who did the same for me 3 years ago, that I am starting back on this journey.
What Data Divergent will be…
is to provide, and hope you take away, insights from what I have learned in my over a decade of experience in Technology, Analytics, & Culture. I will be posting blogs, vizzes, and potentially even videos on topics like People Analytics, best practices in Analytics Infrastructure & governance, Tableau, Inclusive data & AI, community building, and more.
I am excited to be launching this platform officially and cannot wait to share more. LLAP. 🖖