New month friction
We just hit a new month. Along with the calendar change comes data demands.
Many business teams take a breath of fresh air and energy when a new month hits.
They often turn to the data team and ask for the following:
End of month reporting.
Refreshed data sets.
Forecasts for the next month.
Reconciling data from partial weeks of a month.
Inspecting month-over-month and same-period-last-year changes.
How long does it take you to respond to these requests?
Does it stir up dread and frustration when end-of-month data requests arrive?
These are subtle nudges at friction.
Sometimes they are neon flashing signs pointing at friction.
Friction in your data processes, data model, team dynamics, data quality, etc.
Friction that slows down your ability to respond to business needs.
Making your data (and the data team) more of a liability than an asset.
If the end of the month is a challenge for your team, take 15 minutes today and identify one point of friction you faced.
Maybe there are many more points of friction. Don’t worry there will be more month ends.
And if you need help. Or a sounding board.
I’m here,
Sawyer
p.s. If month-end isn’t your struggle, then replace it with the challenging data season for you. New quarter, new fiscal year, new semester, etc.
