The New Data
Leader's Playbook
For leaders expected to deliver big results with a small team.
106 pages of real-world plays built from 15 years working alongside 50+ data leaders at some of the world's most recognized companies. Your team is small. The expectations aren't. This is the map nobody handed you.
"This is the playbook you wished you had at your next great work transition. Real stories that many leaders will resonate with — and checklists you'll come back to again and again." — Chad Sims, Sr Director of Omnichannel & Loyalty, Blaze Pizza
Leaders with small teams shouldn't have to figure this out alone.
I have spent 15 years inside these environments — pharma, healthcare, QSR, CPG, finance. I have sat with data leaders at some of the most recognized companies in the world and watched them struggle. Not because they lacked ambition or capability. Because the team was small, the mandate was massive, and nobody had ever handed them a clear map.
Most data leaders understand their business deeply. What's harder to find is a partner who understands the data landscape well enough to close the gap — without overselling, without jargon, and without pushing a platform that benefits the vendor more than the client.
This book is that map. Written from the field. No filler. Take it with you.
A Shift in Dynamics and Perspective
How the role of data leader has changed and what it actually demands now.
Setting Yourself Up for Success
The foundation work most leaders skip — and why it costs them later.
Strategic Planning
Building a roadmap leadership will actually follow and fund.
Technical Implementation of Fundamentals
What automation, pipelines, and governance look like in practice.
Analytic Applications
Advanced play calling. Moving from foundational to transformational.
Presentation and Communication
How to get leadership to see what you see — and act on it.
Long-Term Success
Building something that outlasts the initial engagement. Done means adopted.
"Rower is unparalleled at co-creating and implementing solutions that yield data insights. Give them a concept or a problem and they will not only co-create the best solution but also upskill your teams so that everyone learns and wins."
Renu Gehring
Chief Data Scientist, Ace-Cube LLP · Lecturer, UMass Amherst
"Nasheed is a valued business partner, who is also passionate about mentoring others. In his book, Nasheed offers strategic and practical advice to new data leaders to help set them up for success."
Tom Nolan
Sr. Development & Construction Services, Chick-fil-A
"This is the playbook you wished you had at your next great work transition. Real organizations' stories that many readers will resonate with, and checklists that can be revisited repeatedly."
Chad Sims
Sr Director, Omnichannel & Loyalty, Blaze Pizza
"Data and software are inseparable today. For those in data leadership, ensure software development and data engineering form a unified approach. This book lays that out with clarity."
Roland Hoffmann
VP, Martech & Orchestration Strategy, Mars Food
Ready for more than a playbook?
If your team is small and the expectations aren't — Rower was built for you. One crew, one fixed fee, real results in 90 days. We stay until it's done.
20 minutes · No pitch · No obligation · Just an honest conversation