How to Position Data Teams as Value Drivers

Data teams are easy targets for layoffs because they’re not in the rooms where layoff decisions are made. CxOs take credit for the data team’s work, and no one’s there to correct them. I understand that you don’t want to play the political game, but you probably don’t want to be laid off, either. Staying in the silo is a choice, and it has consequences. Politics ends when data enters the strategy planning process, but that only happens after the data team gets a seat at the strategy planning table. Most data teams aren’t in the room when their future is decided. Data teams are considered tactical if they can’t take ownership of their value creation. Delivering technology isn’t enough. We need to connect solutions and business impacts or customer value. The good news is that data teams’ ROI should be ridiculously high. Small data teams deliver $100 million+ in new revenue if they can discover high-value product opportunities, prioritize work, deliver incrementally, stay close to customer needs, and manage costs. Again, we must be in the room when decisions are made about each phase, or we’re stuck in reporting and proof of concept purgatory. What needs to change? Technical ICs who want to move into leadership, strategy, and product should be encouraged. Today, they are ridiculed and labeled politicians. Tacticians don’t see the value of leadership, strategy, and product until they work with people who effectively function in those roles. Those three functional areas end the chaos, credit-taking, and layoff cycles. They free data teams to do high-value work without distractions. Either support people moving into those roles or don’t be surprised when no one’s in the room when your future is decided. #DataScience #DataEngineering

𝐔𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 – 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 At Kanerika Inc, transparency and data-driven decision-making are core values—or so I believed. But does it trickle down to all our employees? Apparently, “No.”  Recently, I noticed a trend in project updates – the team delivered them confidently, but the data supporting their progress wasn't always echoing what they had to say This sparked a reflection: 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐭ℎ𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠ℎ𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭ℎ𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬? Waiting until the weekly update meeting to utilize visualization and dashboards isn't the most efficient use of valuable information Well, here is what is helping us-  𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐬: Every daily stand up, the team should gather and review relevant data points. This allows for proactive discussions and the identification of potential roadblocks before a presentation "𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢-𝐃𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝" 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Having a shared dashboard that tracks key metrics. With our flagship #dataops tool #FLIP, we can utilize #datavisualization to foster team ownership of progress tracking and facilitate ongoing data-driven decision-making. The thing I love about FLIP is its ability to pull data from various pre-connectors and sources to enable all our business units to access the necessary data at any point  𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚-𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Encouraging incorporating data into all project updates- with scrum masters, leads, and not just for review and demo meetings. This ensures data literacy and builds a culture of continuous improvement based on insights By proactively using data, we aim to: 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠: Data readily available empowers the team to make informed decisions without waiting for external input  Identify Issues Early: Regular data review helps identify potential problems before they escalate, saving time and resources 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚-𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: This initiative fosters a culture where data is used throughout the project lifecycle, not just for presentations Well, this is still a learning experience for me as I continue to explore more, but how do you ensure data analysis is integrated throughout your projects?  Share your experiences in the comments! #dataculture #projectmanagement #datadriventeams Bhupendra Chopra Amit Chandak Sunil Allada Meenakshi Ramagiri Sarika Kothakonda Ali Sajjad Mohammed Rohan Sawhney

𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗜𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰: 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗱! Almost 2 decades in data, I’ve seen the shift in how initiatives are funded. 20 years back, it was on a per project basis and projects didn’t (officially) last more than a year. You knocked on doors and squeezed out as much as possible. You built what funding allowed you to build and when it stopped, the system went into maintenance and you went hunting for the next round. After the financial crisis in 2008 - the funding model pivoted. Data stepped into a more prominent role and a new understanding developed that it isn’t a silo-ed project, but a multi-year sweeping initiative that requires continuous funding. A multi-year initiative gives you bandwidth to create real organizational change as compared to a project with a ticking clock. But after 2-3 years, the cycle repeats. Funding is over, you’ve built what you’ve built and that goes into maintenance mode while you go hunting for a new initiative (or a new job). Now - it’s time for the next big shift. As a Chief Data Officer, when you ask for funding - position data as a business capability. Let that settle in for a moment. When you present data as a business capability, you articulate its value as a differentiator to accelerate business growth. Just like marketing and sales. Data is a business capability and requires continuous funding to take the business to the next level, differentiate from competition and capitalize on AI. To conclude, Position data as a continuous business capability, not as a multi-year project. This is the key to making data an organizational priority. *** 500+ data executives are subscribed to the 'Leading with Data' newsletter. Every Friday morning, I'll email you 1 actionable tip to accelerate the business potential of your data & make it an organisational priority. Would you like to subscribe? Click on ‘View My Blog’ right below my name at the start of this post.