Tris J Burns 🔥

Gnarly Analytics Ltd.

Director

Pizza Hut Digital Ventures

Headed up the PHDV Data and Analytics Function for PH's Global E-commerce assets.

• Introduced a culture of data driven experimentation and CRO
• Provided accurate and timely ecom business insights for C-Suite and external stakeholders
• Managed a team of 6 talented analytics across various disciplines within E-commerce Data and Analytics
• Provided product data analysis that drive a data first approach to product management

PHDV is Pizza Hut International’s E-commerce platform.  As Global Head of Analytics I am responsible for ensuring the entire organisation is data informed and driven as we build and scale our E-commerce strategy in over 100 markets around the world. 

Originally run as an internal startup, I joined PHDV as one of the first 25 employees.

As a member of the senior leadership team I help facilitate organisation-wide goal-setting via OKRs, planning and decision making, and ensure these plans are executed on time and on budget. 

In support of this I provide accurate forecasts and target setting for the business. I keep team members and C-Suite stakeholders informed by delivering regular business performance and strategy updates. 

I lead several strategic initiatives including our Conversion Rate Optimisation and Personalisation programs. These streams of work require me to work very closely with engineering, design and product on a daily basis. 

Since starting with PHDV I have grown my analytics team from just myself to now 6 analysts across multiple timezones.

Global Head of Analytics

Touch Surgery

By being the central nervous system for med-tech startup Touch Surgery’s sales and account management teams, I ensured the business always had a finger on the pulse of our users. I provided actionable insights backed by robust analytics that saw the number of partner institutions grow by over 100% exceeding EOY target by 50%

• Provided app analytics of user behaviour and engagement which enabled account management teams to prioritise accounts with greater potential for future revenue

• Developed and applied engagement metrics to identify opportunities for growth among new customers as well as value add amongst our existing client base

Business Intelligence and Strategy Analyst

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

I turned ‘excel-crashing’ sized data sets into a suite of slick sales management reports ensuring managers who don’t have time to get their own coffee could pick up one of my reports and immediately understand exactly what is going on in their business. The margin for error on the trading floor is 0 and the insights and recommendations made in my reports drove the direction and outcome of multi-mullion dollar deals

• Created and implemented a Resource Efficiency Ratio that measured the value of the resources clients extracted from the bank versus how much revenue they brought through the door. These insights empowered our FX Hedge Funds business to slash costs and improve forecasts. My report was implemented globally

• I worked closely with the new head of the Rates and FX Hedge Funds businesses as the two lines were merged. I produced accurate and timely client analytics reports to ensure solid relationships were maintained with some of the world’s most established Investment Banks and Hedge Funds

Snr. Analyst Fixed Income Global Sales FICC COO

Santos Ltd

I was the Project Lead and Subject Matter Expert for the implementation of a $5 million Stakeholder Relationship Management system built on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM database

• Successfully delivered the project on time and on budget by collaborating across multiple internal business units and with external stakeholders. Business user system interaction increased by more than 300% on previous solution. The project was cited as an example of excellent project team and business integration and cooperation

• The development of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) requiring mathematical manipulation of data to produce various ratio based indicators that provided qualitative insight into stakeholder sentiment towards the Project

Santos is a major oil and gas exploration and production company with interests in Australia and Asia. Santos has total assets of $22.3 Billion, annual sales revenue of $4 Billion and over 10,000 employees. The Santos GLNG Project was an $18.5 Billion Coal Seam Gas to Liquid Natural Gas infrastructure construction and LNG export business with joint venture partners Total, Petronas and KOGAS

Business Analyst

Institute of Continuing and TESOL Education - University of Queensland

• Various financial management roles such as maintaining and investigating international student accounts, preparing daily banking reports as well as the maintenance, improvement and administration of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system used by customer service and administration staff members.

• Development of key relationships with relevant stakeholders from across the business.  Act as liaison to external bodies such as consulates and embassies, government departments, sponsoring bodies, members of the public and commercial dealers.

• Worked in a concurrent role as the Group Leader providing interpreting support and coordinating educational programs on behalf of Japanese university students and teachers.

Administration and Student Support Services / Group Leader for Educational Programs

Data is largely viewed as a technical challenge rather than a business one by leadership teams across industries. This causes them to be disengaged from data’s potential as an effective business driver and to focus solely on technical initiatives and solutions.

Through my data leadership coaching and group facilitation, I help data leaders and leadership teams develop robust data-centric cultures to help them increase accuracy and velocity around decision making to maximise ROI from strategic initiatives.

I combine my extensive career experience as a Global Head of Data within a Fortune 500 alongside my experience as a consultant, coach and mentor to work with leaders to develop a company wide, data-centric culture that will ensure individuals and organisations are in the right place to maximise their growth potential.

I am deeply passionate about technology and startups and have been endorsed by Tech Nation as a Global Talent in Tech. I speak frequently at tech events and have experience as a founder having started two marketplace businesses.

Data Leaders are Pissed Off 😡

I talk to more data leaders than anyone. 👩🏼‍💼👩🏽‍💻👨🏻‍💼

Ok, objectively not true. 

But I do talk to a lot of them throughout my days and I hear the same stories over and over again. Many of them are experiencing the same problems in their jobs and with their companies.

And it is totally pissing them off...

Here's a sample of what I'm hearing on the daily:

🔸 Data not being taken seriously by leadership and being excluded from strategic decision making.

🔸 Companies saying that they're 'data driven' because it sounds good when in reality they're anything but.

🔸 Data teams being woefully under resourced both in terms of team size and budgets.

🔸 Shadow data teams popping up that aren't aligned with the overall data strategy.

🔸 Data continually seen as a service desk/support function rather than as a partner to the business.

🔸 Out of control analytics request volume and not fit for purpose ticketing systems.

🔸 Non-data leaders believing all problems can be solved with more investment in technology rather than people.

🔸 Data never getting the credit when the business wins - even if data was the crucial factor in that success. Recognition is always going to the relevant domain team.

🔸 Data leaders being stuck in the 'player-coach' dynamic where they are both expected to represent data to the business but also expected to perform hands on analysis themselves.

🔸 Insufficient training budgets for data teams which is impacting the teams ability to keep up with current trends and technologies.

.....And probably loads more that I'm forgetting about - though you'll agree this list is pretty extensive.

The truth is, data has an identity crisis and is still seen a junior service provider within organisations.

Ok, so how do we solve for all of this?

If we think for a second that the key to fixing this lies with our business stakeholders taking action, then we're in for some really bad news. ❌

Each of these problems requires us as data leaders to take action. Most of these problems comes down to our inability to demonstrate broadly the value add that data brings to the business. 

No bueno.

To put it bluntly, we are not very good at demonstrating value and therefore raising the profile of data within organisations. So, both the perception of data within our organisations and our own careers stagnate.

It's on us to take action and be the catalysts of change within our companies. 

We can't expect things to improve if we're not willing to fight. 💪🏻

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I help data leaders around the world tackle challenges like these through 1:1 coaching.  You don't have to go through this alone and each of these challenges can be solved. 

Book a free 1:1 coaching intro call with me via the button at the top of the post and let's chat!

The most offensive thing I've heard said as a data leader?

❝We're data driven❞ 🤬

It came from a senior business manager - and more than once...

I nearly spat my coffee out! ☕️

I'm always drinking coffee so that's no surprise. 

The problem with this statement?

I was the Head of Data and I would have been the LAST one in the room to ever say we were data driven!

We were a small data team and always striving to do our best. But we had a long way to go towards what I consider being data driven. 

But this is something I hear all the time...

Companies with low data maturity levels, no data culture to speak of, nothing that would even remotely resemble a data strategy, calling themselves data driven!

Dig a little deeper? Oh, you have some dashboards you occasionally look at.... 

Big whoop. 🙄

Data driven is not something you 'are' it's something you 'do'. It's an activity that requires constant vigilance and protection. It's not something you're always going to be perfect at, but that is ok. 

But it is far harder to achieve and practice than most people appreciate. 

In fact, I would say that only a small fraction of companies are truly data driven. 

And most of those will be highly mature, digital native tech companies. 

The problem is that "data driven" is a highly misunderstood buzzword. 

Don't even get me started on the 'data driven' vs 'data informed' argument (it's just semantics so give it a rest)

As data leaders we need to be honest with ourselves and our non-data colleagues. Hearing them call the business 'data driven' might stroke our egos... but when you know this isn't true... then it is on YOU to educate. 

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Speaking of great content, check out my fee weekly newsletter: Strategies for Effective Data Leadership.  Next publication is all about How to be an effective data advocate. You won't want to miss is. 

You'll find it in the arguments ⬇️

How you lead reverberates around your team and the business. 

If you set a poor leadership example then it’s highly likely that example will be followed and replicated by others. 

You may think you’re a hard and dedicated worker who holds themselves to a standard higher than the one they expect from others. 

But others are watching. 


They see how you do it and think they must do the same. 

You do yourself and them no favours responding to emails all night. 

You set a terrible example saying yes to every request. 

You kill your own effectives by attending every meeting you’re invited to. 

Keep this in mind and lead accordingly.

We should hiring people who are ALREADY data literate. 

Every job. Every team. 

There is not one job in a modern business setting that does not touch data. Data is EVERYONE's job and it has been for a while. 

If you think for one second that data only applies to data/tech teams...

You've already lost. 

In autonomous, distributed and asynchronous working environments that are increasingly the norm, every employee needs to be empowered and focused on data in order to execute and deliver.

Decisions need to be made at break-neck speed.

Data MUST power those decisions.

Employees need to be able to read and interpret data (at the very least) in order to do this.

Data is not some abstract technical pursuit that gets buried in the basement to do complex calculations and only shows its face when called up by someone important who needs a pretty chart at the all-hands. 

A minimum level of data competency should be a clear criteria for all roles. 

Does everyone need to a data analyst? No.

Does everyone need to know the difference between Qual and Quant data?

Hell yes. 

Does everyone need to be able to write SQL? No.

Does everyone need to be able to read a bar chart? 

Hell yes.

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I write a (almost) weekly newsletter for data leaders like you packed full on tips on how to effective lead your organisation with data. Do yourself a favour and subscribe. A new edition hits inboxes today! 

You'll find a link amongst the arguing below ⬇️

One and half years ago, I straight up quit my full time job.

I was the Global Head of Data & Analytics for Pizza Hut Digital in London 🍕

And it was a job I absolutely loved. 

Quitting that job had nothing to do with the job itself. Like I said I loved it - there were just other things I wanted to experience in life and other challenges I wanted to pursue. 

The main thing I loved about that job however was the data team I'd built and got to work with everyday. Solving business and data problems together and helping them navigate their careers and aspirations was absolutely precious to me. 

There are many facets to a data leadership role.

But this part of it was my favourite. 

Now, I get to do that very same job, every single day.  Not as a data leader within a company, but as a Data Leadership coach to people like you. I get to help people navigate their careers as well as data and business challenges.

In collaboration with my clients we tackle a range of issues in data, such as:

🔸 Demonstrating your value as a leader 
🔸 Fighting for a seat at the strategy table
🔸 Data teams being treated like IT help desks
🔸 How to become better at saying no to some requests
🔸 How to facilitate better collaboration between business and data

And much more. 

I'm locking in my final clients to start in the second half of may. 

If you think you could benefit from a free 1:1 conversation with me, then grab some time via the appointment button at the top of this post and let's talk. 

Here's what Hannah, a Data & Analytics Manager in the UK had to say about working with me:

❝Working with you has given me more confidence dealing with a number of issues in my current role. It's also prompted me to do more thinking about data leadership and strategy, helping me clarify my future career direction.❞

You don't work in data. We just call it that.

Like it or not, you actually work in Digital Transformation. 

And you likely will for a very long time to come.

Everywhere you look, data is a mess. I think you'll agree that very few organisations have 'nailed' their approach to data. Many data leaders on here frequently discuss the various limitations and obstacles they face daily.

Those problems look like this:

🔸 No top-table representation for data 
🔸 Organisation is nowhere near 'data driven'
🔸 Little to no stakeholder buy-in for data initiatives
🔸 Under resourced data teams (both budget and team size)
🔸 Data systems a complete mess and data governance very challenging

Ask any data leader why they became a data leader and they will invariably tell you: 

"To solve business problems with data." 

Yet, the problems I've listed above fundamentally inhibit our ability to do that.

For that reason we have a different set of problems on our hands that need to be solved BEFORE we can get on with the goal of "Solving business problems with data." 

And the solution to each of those problems requires a seismic cultural shift - a Digital Transformation - that we as leaders are very much responsible for. 

Success in this transformation will require:

🔹 Education
🔹 A challenging of the status quo
🔹 Firm collaboration with the various business domains
🔹 An honest assessment of the org's data maturity and culture
🔹 Ambitious data leaders who are prepared to fight for data and the business

By acknowledging that we work in Digital Transformation first and data second, we can approach the problems with the right mindset. We will need to hold the businesses' hand through the shift and be prepared to stand our ground.

Once we've to shifted the organisation's culture to one of data centricity, only then can we get down the business we all came here to do:

"To solve business problems with data." 

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"Strategies for creating a data-centric culture in your organisation"  is my killer free data leadership playbook, so check it out!

I'll drop the link for you below!

Do you get batsh*t crazy stakeholder data requests...

You know what I'm talking about! 

They all start out a little like this:

"Yo, my rockstar data team! Need your help on something real quick! It should only take a minute! Just need you to pull me some data..."

Ever heard that one before?

If you've spend much time working in data, you'll have experienced these time and time again.  Potentially multiple times per week or even each day. 

And you know what?

Most data analysts simply oblige... 

They put down what they're doing (no matter how important) and they commit to getting it done. It often doesn't even matter how senior the stakeholder is. But the more senior, the more likely of course we are to oblige. 

Here are some common traits of these kinds of requests:

🔹 Always urgent A.F. 
🔹 Left field ideas that have no strategic alignment
🔹 Needed to be presented in an 'important' meeting (decoration)
🔹 Obscure enough that they are never ever going to just take 1 minute

A lot of people will say that this is the job of a data analyst. 

That we are here to help our partners in the business get access to data.

But I'm here to tell you that this is NOT our job at all. When we say yes to these pointless brain fart requests, we're effectively saying NO to far more relevant, important and strategic work we'd otherwise be doing. 

As data leaders it is our job to protect our teams time as well as ensure that we are helping to guide the organisation towards a more data centric future. 

Allowing these moronic, last minute requests disrupts us enormously.

It takes us away from strategic work. 

It trains the business to treat us as a service desk.

It kills - no it massacres - our productivity.

We need to get out from under the scourge of this working style. To do this, you must ensure that any and all data requests are accompanied by each of the following:

🔸 Strategic objective alignment
🔸 Summary of the problem observed
🔸 Estimated size of the problem observed
🔸 Business impact hypothesis for solving this problem

We are not some little IT help desk buried in the basement. We are a crucial part of the businesses success and our time must be dedicated to delivering on high value strategic work. Nothing less. 

Good luck out there.

I feel sorry for the super technical people in data.

Let me tell you why. ⬇️

We are in the business of business. 

If you work in a commercial entity then: 

💰 Your organisation exists to make money. 

💰 It exists to serve customers.

💰 It exists to maximise shareholder value 

💰 It exists to grow. 

However. 

❌ It does not exist to simply build various technical capabilities. 

❌ It does not exist to experiment with cutting edge tools. 

❌ It does not exist to satiate the curiosity of technologists.

Though these things may happen and it can be great when they do, this is not the reason that commercial organisation exist. 

Companies cannot simply plough all of their resources into adopting the coolest and latest technologies and expect them to deliver the outcomes they need to survive and grow.

It doesn't work that way.  

Most businesses are not the sandpit for technology many think they are. 

So how does it work?

We work out who and where our customers are. 

We work out what they need to solve the problems they have.

We decide (with data) on a strategy to go after it.

Then we build the things we need to make them happy. 

If technology needs to play a role. 

Great. 

If it doesn't - also great.

There's been a lot of anti data storytelling posts in my feed lately.

Perhaps they're click-bait. 🙄

Perhaps they're indicative of a backlash against the concept of data storytelling - which in many respects has become a misunderstood buzzword...

Or perhaps they're indicative of fatal misunderstanding of the role of data analysts. 

The crux of what I'm seeing among the naysayers is a belief that storytelling is itself designed to elicit an emotional reaction in the audience, and for that reason, is inherently biased towards the point of view of the analyst presenting. 

And that this is something that is outside of our lane. 

They argue that the role of a data analyst is to dispassionately present the facts to the decision making body of an organisation, so that THEY can layer-in the business nuance, balanced with considerations in the decision making process. 

On the surface, this sounds correct - sounds like the job of an analyst.

I however, could NOT disagree more.

When did we become robots? 🤖

Data is already inherently biased.  

To assume it is some pure, unadulterated source of accuracy is ridiculous.

I wholeheartedly believe that our job is to study the data and the business challenges - having partnered with domains - to arrive at a conclusion and recommendations for the business and its strategy. 

The very best way for us to deliver those recommendations it to gather buy-in.

The best way to gather buy-in is to elicit an emotional response. 

The best to do this is to structure our communication into a story format. 

THAT IS OUR JOB.

Consider the roles of other professional analysts:

🔹 Investment/economic analysts: study the market and make recommendations for fiscal decision in billion dollar deals.

🔹 Intelligence analyst: study intel material and make conclusions and recommendations for government agencies.

🔹 Management analysts: consultants paid big bucks to tell companies what to do after reviewing their processes. 

Selling our analysis is a HUGE part of the job.  

We are not here to tell people the time of day. ⌚️

We are here to tell them to get out of bed. 🛌

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I've put together what can only be described as a killer playbook on how to create a data centric culture within your organisation.  

Here's the link so grab yourself a free copy: https://lnkd.in/g8XnNqiy

This is why transitioning to data leadership is so hard for many analysts...

It's *almost* an entirely different job from the one you originally signed up for. 

Many people are attracted to the field of data and analytics because they are predisposed to enjoying the tactical challenges that data analysis presents. They are curious problem solvers and thoroughly enjoy the doing. 

But herein-lies a serious issue affecting the data discipline. 

Invariably, teams and businesses need data leaders.

But when one starts out in data, their effectiveness is evaluated by their ability to perform hands on tasks. Rarely will business knowledge and comms skills be major factors in their selection (unfortunately).

But these ARE crucial factors in data leadership. 

This is because: Data is a business discipline (with technical components).

So, hiring analysts solely based on technical capability, presents a HUGE problem later in the cycle when we look to fill leadership roles. Clearly, promoting analysts into data leadership is the best scenario.

But the skill set required to succeed at leadership is ENTIRELY different.

So, how do we address this? 

There is no easy fix. Some of this will be ingrained in the culture of the organisation even beyond the data team itself. Also, hiring managers are often data people themselves who look to hire people like them.

And so the cycle continues. 

If we want to get serious about effective data leadership, we need change:

🔹 Hire great communicators 
🔹 Hire people with an aptitude for business 
🔹 Train and encourage people to grow in the right direction!
🔹 Hire people who understand that tech is the last piece of the puzzle

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Check out my recent free playbook: Strategies for creating a data-centric culture in your organisation

Find it here: https://lnkd.in/g8XnNqiy

Data and analytics leadership is broken ☠️

The wrong people are managers and leaders ❌

Many don’t even want to be managers and often didn’t ask for it 🙅🏽‍♀️

For these reasons, they tend to suck at it 🤦🏼‍♂️

The problem stems from the erroneous assumption that data is a purely technical discipline - akin to engineering.

The reality: data is actually a business discipline, with technical componentry.

Yet through this purely technical lens, we focus on promoting to leadership the most technically competent - regardless of their business skills.

Companies think data is technical and so want technical people to solve technical problems. The result of this is that businesses move forward with data initiatives with no strategic merit that are not backed up by solid business cases.

Any initiative without strategic alignment invariable fails, leading to data being seen as a cost centre that doesn't deliver tangible business outcomes.

The result:

Failed initiatives ❌ > Loss of trust in data 👎 > Burned out data leader 😵

Now high skilled technical people most certainly deserve to be promoted and encouraged within their companies. They can be promoted either as ICs or managers, but if they are to be promoted as people managers then they should:

a) Want to be a manager ✅
b) Possess the skills required to manage a team ✅
c) Meet the necessary criteria for communication and business ability ✅

As a former data leader within a F500 company I'm intimately familiar with the challenges data leaders face. Since leaving my post I've dedicated myself to helping other data leaders navigate the challenges of this incredibly difficult role.

Data Leaders I've worked with have overcome challenges around:

🔸 Being included in strategic goal setting
🔸 Shifting from 'order taker' to value maker
🔸 Redefining their teams as business partners not support desk workers. 

+ more

I'm finalising my last remaining spots for data leadership coaching to start in May/June as we speak. I'd love to have you there. I'm about to get insanely busy so hurry up. 

Grab a free 30 mins with me via the button at the top of this post and let's see what a collaboration might look like!

What does a great data analyst have in common with a 5 year old? 

Asking 'why' over and over again!

🤝 

A relentless pursuit of the 'why' behind any business problem or request is essential for data analysts to uncover the true problem or root cause of the issue. Simply accepting a request at face value is unlikely to accomplish this.

You have to keep in mind that you are the data expert.

Anyone requesting data or analysis is not always going to understand:

🔹What data is available
🔹 How the data is collected
🔹 How and where the data is stored
🔹 What other data or relationships exist in the data

Therefore, having stakeholders who lack this knowledge demand a particular set of data is ridiculous. They will lack context in the data and by requesting a limited subset of data will likely be missing out on crucial peripheral information!

Simultaneously, so too will the data analyst. 

Without knowing 'the why(s)', we can't sufficiently solve the problem.

Many junior analysts will be uncomfortable demanding more clarity and information from a more senior business stakeholder, but they'll need to get over that. Discovering 'the why' in the essence of a career in data.

Submissively providing on a request verbatim will usually end in tears. 😭

Hi LinkedIn, I'm Tristan.

I help data leaders looking to supercharge their careers and grow into influential and unstoppable data leaders.

There are a lot of new faces among my followers so I thought it might be a good idea to say hi and introduce myself. 👋

Of course - also saying hi to those who have been here longer - I'd never forget you! 

Having been a data leader myself and having now worked with so many, I am intimately familiar with the challenges that data leaders face in their companies and in their careers.

To name a few: 

🔸 Feeling like order takers instead of value makers
🔸 Not feeling on par with their peers in other domains 
🔸 Being too 'hands on' with data when you need to be more strategic

The list goes on of course. 

Somewhere along the line, data teams and data leaders have fallen into this bizarre dynamic where the rest of the business feels it can treat us in a particular way. 

A way which we all know is not conducive to success with data ❌

My goal is to get us out of it 🚀

To do that, I help data leaders develop strategies to become more influential so that they can transform the data culture within their organisations whilst growing in their careers.

Here's what a recent coaching client of mine had to say about working with me:

❝ Highly recommend working with Tris to advance professional development in a data-related career, whether you are just starting out in the workforce or in management/C-Suite. Tris is an experienced practitioner and leader with expertise in multiple industries that use data proactively. ❞ - M.N. (USA)

If you're new (or old) around here make sure to drop me a 👋 in the comments. 

And if you fancy a free 1:1 chat about what we could achieve together, hit that button at the top of the post and let's get it booked in! ☺️

Data Driven ≠ People looking at dashboards 🙅🏼‍♂️

You don't achieved data centricity through the wide adoption of a BI tool 📊 

It doesn't matter how many people are using them ❌

In fact, if your data team is purely dedicated to the production of dashboards and reports, than that may actually signify a backwards step in your path to a data driven outcome. 

If this is the case, you're severely underutilising your data team! ☠️

Many companies that call themselves 'data-driven' are FAR from it.

While access to business data is a crucial FIRST step in achieving a data-centric outcome, it is only a small and early step in the overall journey. Becoming data driven is actually a lot harder than most people realise. 

So what does it actually look like to be data-driven? 🤷‍♂️

True data centricity or 'data drivenness' is achieved when there are tangible commercial and operational outcomes stemming from the use of data at all decision making levels in the business. 

As with everything I write about, it comes down to value. 💵

Are you using data to effectively generate more value for the business?

Is data the first and last consideration in the strategy setting and decision making processes at the company? Are intuition and experience used to back up the data rather than to contradict it?

Are the top leaders openly asking, "What does the data say?"

Or, "Have we tested this assumption yet"?

If you're a data leaders who is sick and tired of hearing the company say they are data driven, when you know for a fact that they aren't, what steps are you taking to rectify this? 

Well, one incredible step you can take is to sign up to my new newsletter:

✨✨Strategies for Effective Data Leadership✨✨

I'll drop the lincoln in the arguments below!

Contrary to popular belief among many data people...

Promotions aren't just handed out freely for doing a good job. 

Those who know, and are able to articulate their own worth to the organisation are always first in line when it comes to promotions. 

Those who really know how the game is played don't even wait until the review process has begun to start selling themselves. 

They do it every single day. 

Data professionals however are, for some reason, the very worst at this. 

There is a belief held by data people that their hard work and the insights provided will do all the talking for them. That if they show up everyday and do a good job that they will be rewarded for their efforts.  

Rightly or wrongly, this is naive and shortsighted. 

We have to be BETTER sales people! 

And here are 2 compelling reasons why:

🔹 Our own career progression
🔹 For the sake of our organisation's success and growth

People in data think talking about our data accomplishments is salesy or boasting... But I argue that we have a STRONG obligation to do it, and by not doing it we are actually harming our organisations ability to grow and succeed. 

Resources go NOT where they are needed but where they are requested.

If you don't ask, you don't get. Simple.

If we want our organisations to invest in their data as well as their data people then we have got to speak up!

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I partner with data professionals looking to supercharge their careers and grow into influential and unstoppable data leaders through 1:1 coaching.

If you'd like to have a free 1:1 intro call with me, click the "book appointment" button at the top of this post now!

Data is the unloved child of business. 💔

The other disciplines keep us around, but they don't think we're one of them. 

They're not entirely sure where we belong... 

They know we're important. But they're not entirely sure why. They're not clear on how we fit into the equation. They've been told data is the new oil, or data is important so they're going along with it...

But deep down, they're really unclear about how we add value.

And the impacts of this are obvious to those of us in data:

🔸 Data teams are woefully under resourced.
🔸 Data don't get credit when the business wins.
🔸 Data leadership is excluded from strategic decision making.
🔸 Non-data leaders believe problems are solved with more technology.
🔸 Data is seen only as a support function rather than as a business partner.

And where there is poor data leadership the problems are exacerbated.

This is because a true data leader is also an educator. 

Their job (like it or not) is to educate the rest of the business and bring them along for the data journey. We can't expect business leaders to self nominate for data literacy training or somehow decipher the value of data on their own. 

That's exactly what our job is.

Nobody is going to do it for us!

Influential and effective data capabilities don't come about on their own. They need powerful and influential data leaders. And in legacy/non-digital native businesses, the need for this is 10-fold. 

Now ask yourself: Is your data leadership influential enough?

If you're the data leader: Am I powerful enough?

If the answer to either of these is no, then you have a job in front of you. 

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I help data leaders all over the world to develop strategies to become more influential so that they can transform the data culture within their organisations whilst growing in their careers.

If you think you could benefit from a free 1:1 chat with me, hit the button at the top of the post and let's talk.

You wanna know what I find really unattractive? ⚡️

When data and business teams just don't connect well 🚩

This is going to be a very 'polarising' post, but let's dive in ⬇️

Apologies for the magnet puns 😬

There's a lot of frustration 'currently' when it comes to data and business. Data people blame business people for not understanding the importance of data and the business feels that data doesn't provide enough value. 

So what's actually going on here? There are 2 major problems.

🔸 1. Data literacy is sorely lacking across many businesses. 

Data is still largely seen as a technical discipline and one that exists to provide reports and information to stakeholders. Despite the abundance of data across practically every discipline, people in non-data roles are still not focused on how data can support their work and believe it as a supporting function. 

They are not self-sufficient in analysing data and rely too heavily on data teams. 

🔸 2. Data teams are not close enough the business.

In the same way that non-data teams lack data literacy, data teams often lack business literacy or, at the very least, lack an understanding of how the business they are in truly operates. 

They are not exposed to the formulation of strategic initiatives and are therefore not able to provide crucial insight that would help set those initiatives.
This limits the exposure of data teams to wider business strategy and creates an impenetrable us and them dynamic.

Business stakeholders don't feel like data is their job and so rely heavily on an often ill-informed, siloed data team to provide ad-hoc insight without the broader context.

🤦🏼‍♂️ The outcomes of these 2 problems is a business team that's not really looking at data and doesn't understand how to base decisions around it and a data team that is not sure how their data contributes to the businesses' strategy overall. 

🔹So, what can we do about this?

Most of the people reading this will be data people so I'm going to put the responsibility firmly on YOU. ☝ 

⚡️ Work with the business to kick off data literacy initiatives for your non-data team mates. Let them know what data is available, getting them working data (excel, charts reports etc.), and get them comfortable communicating with data.

⚡️ Force your data analysts out of their comfort zones. Get them to proactively interact with all areas of the business and get them solving problems for those teams without having to be asked first. 

⚡️ Demonstrate value at every turn!!! Sell your achievements!!

⚡️ Fight for a seat at the top tables. Businesses need data to make to informed decisions. If data is not represented, then how can we ensure data is properly considered in the setting of strategic initiatives? You can't.

It will be an uphill battle, but this is by far the most crucial fight to be won. 

Start with these challenges and things will begin to connect! ⚡️

A Cautionary Tale About Data Democratisation.

Picture this scenario:

You (a data professional) are presenting a thoroughly executed analysis to a group of business stakeholders. You're in the middle of delivering your insight when you're rudely interrupted by some idiot you work with.

"That's not what I saw when I did my analysis" they say.

"Sh*t", you mutter quietly to yourself. "Not this again...."

This scenario is the outcome of a poorly executed exercise in Data Democratisation. You've given them just enough data to be dangerous with it and now you're paying the price!

Let me ask: Are you focused on Democratising Data?

It's a worthy goal but in many organisations it's an enormous challenge. 🥅

First off, let's be clear on the definition of Data Democratisation:
" To make digital information available to the end user and to allow non-data experts to be able to gather and analyse data without expert help. "

Sounds great, right? On the surface, data democratisation is a worthy cause. 

But in practice it is fraught with potential dangers. Namely: misinterpretation.

Often, Data Democratisation begins and ends with dashboards 📈📊

But true Data Democratisation is SO much more than just dashboards.

We as data professionals cannot simply provide access to data, whether raw or in visualisation form, without also providing a fundamental understanding of data and relevant statistical concepts that underpin it.

Otherwise we risk severe misinterpretation and or selective use of data that can lead to seriously misinformed decision making. This will invariable fall back on us if we are not careful. 

There must be no data without education first. 

That is true data leadership.

Access to data is like driving a car. It can be very safe in the hands of those who have passed the test and proven their ability to use it responsibly. But in the hands of those who have not.... it can be an extremely dangerous weapon. 

If you like this please remember that others will too!
Like 👍🏼 Comment 💬 Repost ♻️ Follow me➕ and turn on notifications 🔔

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I've created a free playbook for data leaders who want to build more data centric cultures in their organisations. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/g8XnNqiy

The hardest truth to face for data leaders? 

It's this 👇🏻

Our data initiatives fail - way too often.

There isn't any one reason for this. In fact, there are loads.

But one recurring challenge I come across in my conversations with Data Leaders around the world, is that many organisations fail to cultivate any semblance of an org-wide data-centric culture.

It's well established that a robust data strategy is crucial. 

A data strategy helps us align our data initiatives with the overarching goals of the organisation to ensure that our activities are intentional and support our business objectives. 

But simply having a data strategy will not guarantee successful outcomes. 

For a data strategy (and data initiative) to succeed in its objectives, I believe it is crucial for leadership teams and data leaders to cultivate a robust data culture throughout the organisation. 

A data-culture underpins understanding and attitudes towards data, as they relate to:

🔹 Data Literacy
🔹 Leadership alignment
🔹 Collaborative Practices
🔹 Data driven decision making
🔹 Data governance and ethical use 

Data is not simply the job of a data team to execute. 

For data strategies and initiatives to succeed, and for businesses to be able to leverage data in their decision making processes at all levels than building and cultivating a robust data culture should be the top priority for any data leader.

How data is perceived throughout an organisation will make or break your data ambitions. 

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📌📌 I've put together a free little playbook I think you're going to love:

DATA LEADERSHIP
Strategies for creating a data-centric culture in your organisation

Check out here: https://lnkd.in/g8XnNqiy

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