Speak Your Mind as a Data Consultant

Adopt the attitude of a data expert that your clients will appreciate

What Inspired This Issue?

This is going to be a shorter issue. We've done analyses that involved large amounts of unstructured and structured data. We've had analyses with a fast turnaround - there was no time to ask questions to stakeholders. These project briefs were very limited, and many assumptions had to be made.

Everything from operational efficiency to tying sales to capacity, we’ve seen it all. Many gaps can arise in an analysis like this - especially when you have to join datasets together to get a full picture. Gaps such as referential integrity, missing values, lack of context about business goals, and an incomplete picture.

If gaps in the data quality are so great, what do you do as a data professional/consultant? Do you bow down to the hierarchical gods of the business world? Telling executives that you will get an analysis done by any means necessary? Or do you exercise your power as a gatekeeper into the world of insights and analytics? Leveraging your unique skill set as a superpower that can’t be matched by anyone else.

You’re the Expert - Own That and Take Control

In my experience, it’s terrible when executives rattle off fluffy questions about their business performance and expect the data professional to produce enriching information almost immediately. What’s even worse is not getting the access needed to do proper discovery on these people. You’re almost expected to be a mind reader, and everyone assumes that because you have this data skill set you’ll be able to produce something valuable on the first go.

My direct instinct when this happens is to call out the gaps. State that the first pass will be a minimum viable product (MVP), and whatever we accomplish will be iterated on. However, I’m stating the obvious…

I think the bigger lesson here is to be bold, stay confident, and speak your mind. The beautiful thing as a data consultant is that you have all the control. The worry about internal politics and company hierarchy is gone. You have the full ability to speak up and be the trusted expert in the room, regardless of what anyone thinks about you. This is still taking some getting used to myself.

After spending 6 years in corporate, it’s easy to default back into that mindset with clients. You just want to produce good work, and you don’t want to cause disruption. Instead, you cover up the crux of the issue with fancy jargon and an elaborate data strategy that completely dilutes the core solution to their problem. Because that solution isn’t what they want to hear.

However, the deeper I’m getting into consulting, it’s necessary to be disruptive. I’m not saying to be disrespectful. Not at all. What I’m saying is that you need to challenge the status quo for how people view data professionals and consultants. As a data consultant, your ass is on the line. Let them know you’re the expert.

If the data quality sucks, tell them. If the project brief isn’t enough to understand a goal, call that out. Don’t lead them on thinking that your consulting firm will perform “magic” on a garbage ask with trash data. Be critical, but respectful. Then offer ideas for solutions.

Some of the all time data greats I’ve had the pleasure of working with, a common theme I’ve observed is their ability to tell it like it is. They could care less what a client thinks of them if that means waking them up to reality. However, doing so in a way that doesn’t piss off the other party. It’s a delicate balance, and one I have yet to find.

In case you couldn’t tell, this issue wasn’t for my typical healthcare and roofing audience. However, if you’ve stuck with me to this point, I want to say at least you know the seismic shift you’re getting at Steinert Analytics. Aligned to our core value of Unrivaled Transparency, we aim to be as real as it gets. We aren’t here to put on a Broadway show for your data. We’re here to keep you informed exactly where your company and its requests are at, and will communicate the probability of success immediately.

What we deliver will always be representative of the best we could do with what we had, while setting the expectation and calling out the gaps. Until next week, we look forward to solutioning those gaps with you.

If you’re interested in chatting with me more about this, feel free to book a consultation call or coffee chat here.