Data is a company’s most important asset, so why aren’t more companies turning their analytics departments into profit centers? In today’s episode my guest took this concept to the next level by bringing a dedicated accountant on staff to manage their analytics profit center. When Derrick Louis says he is focused on the bottom line, he means it! Previously the Executive Director of IT at RaceTrac Petroleum, Derrick currently heads up IT at Cumberland Farms/EG America. As a business-driven IT leader, he harnesses the power of technology, people, and innovation to combat rising costs, create nimble organizations, and drive scalable growth.
In today’s conversation, Derrick shares some practical tips and advice that will inspire you to think differently about how you work with your customers, especially when it comes to being financially responsible. We touch on why you should be quantifying how your analytics team work adds to your bottom line, how to know when it’s time to become a profit center, and the value of keeping track of every dollar you save your org by bringing an accountant in, and so much more! For data leaders that are struggling to show their value to their org or aren’t sure where to start on creating a profit center, this episode is for you!
“Having an accountant to say where you are, where your spend is, and what your return on investment is at every level of your [analytics delivery] game is almost a no-brainer once you do it.” [0:08:15]
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3 Knowledge Bombs
- Derrick on leveraging your ROI - If you’re not actually quantifying how your data adds to your bottom line, you’re missing out! A profit center forces you to think about data differently, calculate your return on investment, and create a prioritisation matrix.
- Derrick on handling anonymous data requests - You don’t have unlimited capacity. You need to learn to pick which battles to fight if you want to win the war! Rather than taking on endless anonymous IT requests, focus on big strategic items.
- Derrick on financial transparency - By keeping track of the dollars you save your organization, you not only foster transparency, but it’s an opportunity to feed those dollars back into your department.
In this episode, you'll learn:
- [07:30] - Why Derrick says that having an accountant on staff is a ‘no-brainer’.
- [11:44] - The definition of an analytics profit center and why you should be focused on your bottom line.
- [15:49] - How to convince your company to shift from a cost center to a profit center.
- [22:40] - How effective data leaders deal with pushback from their leadership.
- [27:20] - Derrick’s advice for departments that want to become profit centers, but don’t know where to start.
- [28:27] - Why you have to learn to pick your battles; you don’t have unlimited capacity!
- [30:30] - Which department leads you need to talk to first to facilitate change in your department.
- [33:32] - What led Derrick to bring an accountant into his analytics team.
- [35:28] - Some of the specialized skills that an accountant brings to the table.
- [40:40] - How having this financial expertise on the team helped Derrick deal with vendors; cost savings.
- [42:56] - Different types of reporting that you need, including the value of user spend.
- [44:03] - Why Derrick says that the accountant ultimately “paid for himself.”
- [44:40] - The reasons you should keep track of the dollars you’ve saved your organization.
- [47:02] - Why Derrick believes that, ultimately, hiring an accountant is a form of transparency.
- [48:30] - The benefits of moving from role to role to gain experience in IT without sacrificing your goals and career aspirations.
- [50:25] - Who inspires Derrick; from Jeff Bezos to his former boss, Will Alexander.
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“Keep a spreadsheet [to say], ‘Here’s the amount of dollars we have saved the organization,’ whether it’s from efficiency gained, hours saved, whether it’s from negotiation of a contract, whether it’s from consolidation software. All of that is money saved.” [0:44:40]
Links and Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Connect to Derrick Louis via LinkedIn
- Check out where he works - EG America
- Derrick Louis’ favorite book and why: Learn how to improve your IT organizations by reading The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George Spafford
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